Joel climbed a 14er

Saturday Joel climbed a 14er--a 14er is a mountain over 14,000 feet in elevation (in other words, pretty darn high). He climbed 4 miles up Grays mountain to reach the peak. And he wasn't alone. We estimated that there were about 200 people hiking with him that morning (this mountain is popular because it is close to Denver and it is a relatively short hike to the peak).

The kids and I went with him and played around at the base while he hiked. We had a picnic, pulled up wildflowers, watched butterflies, and tossed rocks into the stream. I tried to get Madeleine to walk up the trail some but she would only go up about 50 yards --to where the good rocks were (the trail was covered in rocks but she insisted that the good rocks were all in this one location).

Pictures: Top left-Looking back at the trail and the other hikers. Top right-another look back at the trail. Bottom left-A group of people at the peak. Bottom right-View from the peak of the mountain.

You will notice that there are no trees. Trees can't grow above about 11,000 feet in elevation.