Engaged on Mount Elbert

We had been planning a special hike to the top of Mount Elbert for several weeks, but were rained out multiple weekends’ prior. We finally decided that we would just wake up early enough that the afternoon thunderstorms wouldn't be an issue because by the time they rolled in we'd already be back to the car. My husband, Justin, woke me up at 2:30 am on Sunday, July 29. We grabbed a couple granola bars and guzzled down as much coffee as humanly possible.

We made it to the Mount Elbert trailhead at 4:45 am and started our hike in the dark. It was a grueling beginning to a brutal hike up to 14,440 feet. We were thrilled, after four strenuous hours of hiking to finally reach the summit. We took pictures and celebrated our climb with delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ice-cold beer. Just before we were ready to hike back down, Justin suggested we walk over and take one more look to the west.

He then got down on one knee, pulled a ring out of his pocket and proposed. I don't know if it was the altitude or the shock of the proposal, but I almost blacked out at this point. It took me a second to reel it back in before saying, "yes!" (of course). The crowd of other climbers on the summit began cheering and hollering for us, and we remained at the top basking in excitement for a while longer before heading back down to the truck.