Fourth of July 2017 hiking trip to Colorado.  Truck camped at the North Mount Elbert Trailhead outside of Leadville.  Sunday's hike was climbing 13er Weston Peak (13,572 ft) from Weston Pass.  The first 1400 ft was extremely steep!  So we made our own switchbacks across the rocky tundra slope.  Gorgeous views as usual.  Weather was already coming in at 11am, so we decided not to attempt the 2nd 13er along the ridge.

Monday's hike had a historical bent.  The Hagerman Tunnel was built in the late 1800's for the Colorado Midland Railroad.  Much of the hike was along the old rail bed.  The tunnel (don't go in!) had perpetual ice in it.  There were also a couple of beautiful lakes.  Weather again came in, started raining 15 minutes after we finished at 11am.

A lot of good food and beverages for the weekend!  Stopped at the Moonlight Pizza and Brewpub in Salida on the way up Saturday:  pizza, salad, etc.  Sunday night's dinner in Leadville at the Periodic Brewery.  Hummus and pita chips (more than we could finish), BBQ chicken sandwich, lots of people watching of the locals and tourists.  Lunch on the way back at the Eddyline Brewery in Buena Vista:  mushroom and pesto quinoa w/ grilled salmon, spinach salad, etc.  We didn't lose any weight on this high altitude hiking weekend!