14,270'

Last weekend I had a pretty ridiculous idea to take Trey hiking up a "14er." Gray's Peak was our destination. This meant getting up at 4:30, making the 90 minute drive up the hill, and starting early to beat the predictable afternoon thunderstorms. Here's Trey at the trailhead, not too excited because his face was cold; and rightfully so it was a balmy 30 degrees.

The trail ahead of us, and the Continental Divide on the left.

Rounding a turn with our first view of Gray's Peak. To the right is Torrey's Peak, also a 14er that we were not going to "bag." Up to this point Trey was moving well, but was consistently whining about his cold face.

A little shot of us making our way up the trail. To keep Trey motivated I kept mentioning how the sun was coming up over the divide and he'd soon be warm. He didn't believe me until...

It finally rose over the ridge and hit his little face.

Looking back with the suns rays finally breaking through. Needless to say Trey started putting a little more to his step once it warmed up.

A little cookie break with Gray's behind him. Throughout our hike just about every person on the trail wanted to know his age, and they were very encouraging which, of course, he loved...including the many high fives. It was fun to see grown adults struggling and then watch Trey go right on by. The route up was definitely steep, so to help him out I'd hold the walking pole behind me while he hung on to it. Also a good way to keep track of him.

Up to this point, Trey had mentioned several times how much fun he was having and how happy he was to be here with me which was very reassuring. The closer we got, I could tell that he was getting pretty worn out so I had to keep the encouragement coming. We stopped when we needed to, but I still had to push him along, especially when we reached the snow.

Finally, resting above 14,000 feet. Once we reached the top he received a huge round of applause from those already there. Honestly, and yes it's corny, it was a very proud moment to see him make it after a long morning. I, of course, hooped and hollered myself.

A very proud papa with Trey at the summit. After 10 minutes I could sense that he wasn't doing so well with the altitude. He was getting sleepy, understandably, but was also nauseous and saying he head a headache. He would later say he didn't know if he was just tired, dehydrated, or if it was all of the Oreo's he ate at the top. Mmm, maybe all three plus being on top of a mountain.

Looking south with the Continental Divide on the right.

South.

West with Breckenridge and Lake Dillon in the background.

After Trey mentioned he wasn't feeling well, it was time to go. As we started down he was obviously out of gas and not doing well in the snow. I began to wonder if I had made a huge mistake since we were really only half way done. Admittedly, I had to drag him through the snow and hang on to him as we made our way down. It definitely made walking slippery, and I was anxious to get back to the dirt myself. When we finally made it out of the snow he fell back saying he wanted his "nice warm bed." Me too.

After another half mile he started to perk up which was a relief.

We stopped here for about 20 minutes to rest and take in the view which undoubtedly was beautiful. The trail weaves its way through the valley below.

On the way down with Kelso mountain behind us.

Still smiling at the end. Once I told him there was an ice pop waiting for him in the car I couldn't slow him down. The last mile was spent laughing, and enjoying our surroundings.

After the 4 mile drive to the freeway on an awful dirt road, he was out. In all, it was 4 hours up, 3 hours down, and 8 miles roundtrip. I was confident that he would make it, just wasn't sure how long it would take, and it was worth every step.