Hiking the 14ers as a checklist v.s love of the mountains

[montavonm]

Hi all, honestly not exactly sure what I'm trying to ask. I'm from the midwest, and daydream about moving to Colorado all the time, mainly influenced by the 14ers, outdoor/mountain lifestyle, and opportunity for a different lifestyle than my current (mountains/running/rock climbing/etc).

I went through a rough patch of life this summer and unfortunately canceled my Colorado vacation last minute. I had some self reflection time and found myself wondering if I even actually enjoy the mountains, or am just chasing the checklist of 58 for whatever reason that I think will bring satisfaction (I tend to do this type of thing - marathons/ultras, 100 mile bike rides, etc).

Surely someone on here has been through the same thing, or at least type of thinking at some point. I really want to drop everything in life and head to the mountains for awhile, but I'm internally conflicted how I would feel after obsessing over knocking out all 58 and climbing every highly rated peak on mountain project as fast as possible.

I ask in a manner of as much respect for the mountains and nature as possible - not to belittle climbing all 58 or other goals whatsoever. I realize this is a lifetime goal that should/can be taken over time, but have trouble staying in the moment and feel like I'm just chasing the next shiny dopamine hit. Someone please drop some wisdom on me.

TL;DR
Anyone went balls to the walls chasing all 58 peaks or other objectives in life and then felt sad/conflicted when it was over?

[Gulf_Coast_Hiker]

I'm old and know I'll probably never have enough time to devote to finishing the 14ers. I've spent more time doing the type of events you mentioned, mainly because I had no idea that hiking/climbing all 58 14ers was a thing. Therefore, I got a late start. But wow, I sure do enjoy and relish the time I get to spend in the mountains of CO. So I'd say if you have the opportunity, go for it. I'm sure there are many others here who spend a lot of time and money each year travelling to CO just to hike a few (or more than a few) 14ers. Each one has it's own character and you meet great people along the way. This site is like an encyclopedia for the 14ers, so for me it's kind of like taking an extend course, which it totally part of the fun.

PS - If you do finish the 14ers, there are over 500 13ers to start on...

[dr_j]

The "58" were a gradual thing for me, I finished after a nearly 11 year effort. I live out of state, so it's some extra effort to get to the Colorado mountains on summer weekends. With the driving distance, it would never be a sprint, and I found myself repeating a good number of peaks with friends and trying different routes before finally finishing in Chicago Basin. I wrote up some of my thoughts in one of my trip reports- there were certainly times where I may have missed an early wake up call, or just couldn't get myself to drive the 4+ hours, and I had to let go of those moments, as guilty as I may have felt at the time.

[Jorts]

Anyone went balls to the walls chasing all 58 peaks or other objectives in life and then felt sad/conflicted when it was over?

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

I don't think list chasing and living in the moment have to be mutually exclusive. Chasing lists like the 14ers enables experiences that we might overlook otherwise. Whether I'm climbing Colorado's high peaks, hiking the CT, skiing a bucket list line or just running on my local neighborhood trails that I've done hundreds of times - I'm appreciating and relishing the opportunity and the health to do exactly that. Living life deliberately with a sense of gratitude and mindfulness makes everything richer whether it's part of a list or not.

Edit: I'm one of the people who went balls to the wall to complete the 14ers in a short period of time.

Brent

[Bale]

There was a good thread a while back you might like. I think it was called “post finisher letdown”.

[Scott P]

I took me more than 22 years to finish, but finishing was sort of a let down. The main reason was that I feel like my clock is clicking and in some ways I wish I had done some different mountains since some of the 14ers weren't that great (while others were). I feel I may have missed some opportunities to do some "better mountains" that may or may not ever finish. To give an example of what I mean, it was actually a shorter drive for me to go to places like the Tetons or Wind Rivers than it was to go to places such as Culebra Peak or San Luis Peak. I'm not saying those 14ers are bad mountains, but I wish I climbed more in places like the Tetons and Winds and less time on peaks such as Culebra or San Luis.

Until the latter half of finishing the 14ers though, climbing the 14ers was pretty convenient since I would just climb the ones closest to where I worked. For example, my first ones were Sneffels, Wilson Peak, Mt. Wilson, and El Diente since I was working at Naturita and Telluride the first summer I moved to Colorado. That same summer I then worked in Granby so Longs was next followed by Grays. By the end though, projects I was working on (all over the mountain areas of Colorado as well as on the West Slope desert areas) weren't always close to the 14ers I had already done so travel times became greater (which isn't an obstacle as I have traveled a lot farther than Colorado to climb peaks).

I'd say if it begins to be chore to you, ditch the list and do something else. If you are still enjoying the list and it doesn't get to be a chore, finish the list. There's never enough time in a lifetime to do everything you want unless your list of things you want to do is short. As far me, I'll never go for a fixed list again.

[PJ88]

The mountains are magic. Some people on here do the 58 really quickly. When I started out, I felt I had to do as much as I could as fast as possible. Now that I am a bit further along, I realize I like to find the balance between getting out in the mountains and spending time with my family. Sometimes my climbing partners reach out and I go climbing when I really don't want to, but it ends up being worth it because of the people I am with. I like taking winters off so that I can focus on other things and refresh my passion. Try also climbing 13ers that speak to you if no 14ers sound good. Basically, find what works for you on your own timeline.

[ScottLovesRMNP]

My reflection on this extends beyond the 14ers, but I think it applies nicely to the Colorado 14er list as much as any other list.

On the one hand, I like creating lists of peaks (the Colorado top 200, the 57 ultras, the California 14ers, etc.) and setting a goal to do as much from them as I can. However, if I don't finish a particular list, I am OK with that and I'll embrace and cherish whatever experiences I can from them, however many or few. For me, the lists have mainly been a tool to encourage myself to go to different places, see different things, and take on new challenges or skills, rather than because of any obsession with the peaks that are on my list. I also absolutely don't measure my self-worth as a function of my peak-bagging achievements or list accomplishments -- that's not very healthy at all in my view. If that's an issue for you, I would suggest that you dump the list-chasing. I have seen people who are so obsessed with their list(s) that they do not appear -- to me at least -- to be actually enjoying what they're doing all that much. I've vowed not to let that happen to me. The lists are great for getting me to new places, to see new scenery, to embrace new challenges, and to have more experiences, and after spending more than a decade exploring Rocky Mountain National Park in detail, the 14ers list masterfully helped me grow beyond RMNP. Nowadays, I tend to prefer to have different experiences rather than climbing the same peaks repeatedly or going to the same area over and over, so lists can be good for that. With the 14ers, it might be jumping around between different ranges, rather than doing all of the Sangres in a group, then all the Elks in a group, etc.

When I am repeating experiences, I prefer to put plenty of time and space between them. After my first visit to Vestal Basin, I waited 4 years to go back again. With Chicago Basin, my second visit came 6 years after my first. I am not in a hurry, and that has helped keep the peak-bagging endeavor from growing tiresome or becoming a chore.

As another example: Exploring the 63 national parks has taken me to places in this country like the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Channel Islands, Big Bend, Acadia, etc. that I doubt I ever would've seen otherwise, and I'm thankful that I have had that list to work on and have loved seeing things that would have been off my radar otherwise. Same thing with the state high points. Sure, I loved doing Gannett and Granite and Rainier, but I also enjoyed Guadalupe Peak (TX), Black Elk Peak (SD), Mt. Rogers (VA), and others because they were new places and new experiences. The list gave those to me, and so that gives the list value to me.

My 4 favorite climbs so far this year have come from four different states: Mt. Shuksan, WA, Cloud Peak, WY, Arc Dome, NV, and Mt. Oso, CO. To keep things from getting stale, I suggest trying to mix up the types of experiences and the types of challenges as much as possible, whether you are following a list or not. For me, having the lists has helped, but I think you'll do well to avoid fanaticism towards any list.

[bdloftin77]

Lots of great advice here. For some reason I naturally gravitate toward lists. The 14ers, the county high and prominence points, completing my home and some neighboring counties, the Colorado P3Ks… But after working through those, I’ve realized that I more enjoy scenic scrambles vs trudging up another class 2 peak, or bushwhacking through scrub oak to another obscure summit. Like Scott, it’s nice to not be “chained to a list” and to have the freedom to explore and go for quality over quantity. I used to have smaller, very attainable lists as my favorites/ones I was working toward. Now I have huge lists that I have no dream of completing, but just a candy jar to pick from when I’m considering something. I also have to balance hiking with family, and that can be very difficult if I’m close to finishing a list and naturally pushing to finish it ASAP. If you ever feel really burnt out on an activity, it also helps to switch gears for a bit to change it up. The year after I finished the 14ers, I felt pretty burnt out after the constant stress and pressure of trying to fit them all in ASAP to finish that year. The next year I went for long, high altitude bike rides, which was very satisfying.

A final note, especially if you have a family of your own… Don’t compare peak totals to others and base your self worth off that. I’ve actually found that the summers I push more to peakbag, those are the summers that my family life quality actually decreases. An inverse relationship, who knew! But seriously, balance is huge.

[climbingcue]

There was a good thread a while back you might like. I think it was called “post finisher letdown”.

Here is that post

https://www.14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... er+letdown

I think it is normal, when you spend so much time on something to have a let down after finishing a list or even a really big goal in life. I know I did when I finished the 14ers , then the top 100 as well as the top 200 list. I just look at the time I spend in the mountains with my friends as the most important part of the experience. I have made many great friends over the years hiking/climbing mountains. and look forward to when I get to spend time with them in the mountains.

[daway8]

I obsessed a bit too much on finishing the 14ers the first time, to the detriment of my social life. Now, rather than obsess on the next list, I'm much more loosely tracking a large number of different lists to choose from - second lap of the 14ers, new 13ers, calendar grid of certain 14ers, winter peaks, etc, etc.

This way I'm much more flexible about what and when I climb things and can better focus on things that are actually enjoyable, plus it's a lot easier to partner with other folks when I know I can help them achieve their goals and still "count it" towards this or that goal of my own, since I have so many to choose from now.

So lists can be a useful tool for motivation and variety as long as you control that tool instead of letting it control you.

[Pcypher]

I agree with and appreciate all the advice given above. I have also struggled with completing goals and then feeling sorta like what is the next thing to give me that same feeling. I actually dread finishing as much as I’m excited for it for the same reason. Part of it is personality. Goal driven or never satisfied. Only you know that answer. I have asked myself what are you trying to prove and to who? It has helped me reveal some of the why. I’m 3 away from finishing this goal I started almost 14 years ago; it wasn’t even the primary goal then! And I know as ready as I am to be a finisher, something else will take my focus and attention shortly after I do. I know I’d be a different person without the obsessive personality but I also wouldn’t be me. Do what makes you happy. If it gets tiring or is no longer enjoyable, do something else for a while. The great thing about CO is you can switch your obsession multiple times and never do it all