I hiked my first Fourteener yesterday by hiking to the summit of Mount Quadrary which is officially listed as 14,265ft elevation. It was a 7.5 mile round trip and while it was definitely hiking and not mountain climbing, I do have to say that the upper two miles of the trail was above tree line and nothing but rocks, large rocks at that, and was very steep in some places, so it was definitely a work out. It was a very enjoyable venture and certainly won't be my last Fourteener to hike (only 53 more to go). I saw three different groups of mountain goats along the way and included some of the pics here. Here is a pic of the mountain at the trailhead. Here is a pic on the way up. It is still about 1 mile and 1500ft more elevation to the summit, and the rocks here are mild compared to what's ahead. This pic gives a better idea of how rocky most of the upper two miles of the trail was. The next several pics are of the same goat. I am no expert on mountain goats but I believe this is a nanny, but maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can clarify. Here is a few landscape pics from the top as well as one of me. I didn't need the jacket while hiking, but once at the summit it was a welcomed addition. I don't know the temperature, but we actually experienced a snow shower while on the summit. And one more pic of a young mtn goat.
Awesome pics! You shoot a Nikon if I remember correctly, right? What is your lens setup for long range?
Awesome pics! Hard to describe the view from the top of a 14er without just seeing it yourself. The more I travel and see new things the more I realize just how little justice the pictures often do for a place.
Great adventure! If it had been me, I probably would have fallen and broke my camera as well as myself!
Yes I shoot a Nikon. I have a variety of lens that I use for long distance. My most versatile lens I use for wildlife is a 70-200mm along with a 2x teleconverter that makes it a 400mm. But these pics were actually taken with a Nikon V1 mirrorless camera and a 30-100mm lens. It is an awesome camera for its size, though still a bit pricey compared to some other alternatives, costing around $700-$1000, depending on what lens you get with it. The Goats were very close and not very afraid of me which really surprised me. I checked and this area is part of a Goat Hunting Unit. The only challenge I could see would be getting to them. Yet they are still very cool animals to photograph and observe.
Yeah, I came close to falling several times navigating through all those rocks. I am showing my age, but I will admit I used trekking poles and they saved my *** more than once. I made fairly good time up to the summit, but it was a little disheartening when someone in their twenties/thirties blew by me without any poles and were soon only a small speck above me on the trail. Bastards...lol
That is awesome. I wish I lived near the mountains so bad. I would love to be able to those things regularly. You are one lucky person, and those pics are great too.
