14er tips and tricks

"Al, medical school will be harder than this, c'mon let's go."

 - Jake's best piece of motivation on the hike

To follow up with the post from our trek up Quandary Peak, I thought I'd put a list together of the stuff you will actually need to bring and wear if you plan to conquer one of these mountains and the stuff that is highly recommended. Keep in mind I'm no professional, my goal of this post is to just inform you what we packed based on a lot of research I did ahead of time.

Keep in mind that Quandary was a short hike for a 14er, 6-7 hours for a slow poke like me but probably 4-6 for good climbers. 

Clothing for a summer hike

*check the weather ahead of time, but keep in mind it can change quickly

*it's suggested to avoid cotton for everything since it could be very cold and uncomfortable when it gets wet from a spontaneous rainstorm

*we just rummaged through our closet for almost everything and the only things we bought were a pack, socks, and I bought a rain jacket

What we wore

• Dry fit Old Navy tank top 
• Dry fit tee Nike shirts
• Dry fit Nike long sleeved shirts
• Cotton sweatshirt (a last second item that I threw on, it was so cold at 4:30am)
• North Face lightweight rain jacket 
• I wore Spandex/polyester capris
• Jake wore khaki shorts (in forest green if it matters)
• Cabela's hiking socks
• Tennis shoes (hiking shoes recommended)
• Ball caps
• Camelback RimRunner pack
• Jake also brought a regular backpack to carry additional water bottles

What's in our pack?

*keep in mind that additional food and water is needed for longer hikes!!

• Toilet paper
• Trail mix (eaten after the hike)
• Beef jerky (eaten multiple times throughout the hike)
• Quest bars (a new favorite of mine- a delicious post workout protein bar and low carb!)
• Sandwiches
• 3 L of water in the Camelbak 
• 8 water bottles 
• Sunscreen (don't forget your calves, we are fried there)
• Jake's poncho
• Extra shoelaces
• Camera
• Headlight
• Mosquito wipes (didn't use though)
• iPhone
• Gloves
• Jake also brought coffee in his Stanley mug and drank it at the top

Other random tips and suggestions

• Hiking shoes/boots are a good recommendation. If we go again we'll probably invest in those.
• Treking poles or hiking poles or whatever they are called are not necessary...but the "good" climbers had them
• Fun fact, my knees, calves, and ankles are still sore from the climb 5 days ago. 
• Don't be afraid to take as many breaks as you need, it's worth it in the end
• We were on medicine that helped prevent us from altitude sickness, it made our beers and sodas taste funky but it was definitely worth it. (altitude sickness on the climb such as major headaches, nausea, and breathing issues prevented a lot of people from making it to the top.)
• Anyone in a normal healthy or moderately healthy physical condition can do this...(you'll be sore, but you can do it). We saw a wide range of climbers, and a wide range of abilities. The hardest part is keeping yourself motivated the entire time when you just want to give up.