First time 14er gear

[Giro47]

Hello all! (First ever forum post)
I am very happy and eager to be a part of this page/group and begin my hopeful journey exploring this beautiful state.

I am a newer Colorado resident from good ol’ New Hampshire.
Average hiker back in New England, however I’ve never done such hikes as there are in CO.

With that being said, with the wealth of knowledge in this group I am looking for recommendations on the best gear and clothing to get for a new 14er hiker. I’m sure this has been asked before and I’d like to apologize, with so much regarding gear it was tough to pinpoint such a previous post.

I know a lot of things can get expensive, and while I understand you get what you pay for, I’m more on a budget unfortunately, but I’d still be happy with any recommendations.

Thank you all in advance and I hope you have a great day!

-Kyle

[peterkfes]

Welcome Granite Stater! From a fellow New Englander in Andover, MA and UNH undergrad. I'll begin by stating that my experiences in the White Mountains and Rocky Mountains have amazing similarities to complement the obvious differences. White's...just as physically demanding with sections as steep or steeper than fourteeners and elevation gains that are quite similar. But, oh my, the altitude...and the grand openness of the Rockies. I enjoy the solitude of hiking and climbing alone but since 2005 when I started my fourteener adventure I've met so many interesting people on the trails. Many are transplants from all over the country, it's been crazy fun to meet fellow outdoor lovers.
It took me two peaks to decide hiking poles were a must. I started back then at age 51 and after seeing a few people my age with them I was sold. I call them my four wheel drive and don't leave home without them. Backpack; others will share specific brands, I'll say that I started with something too small with too little storage on those first climbs. Bought something more appropriate in Boulder on one trip, I think I spent about $100 and it's been fine. I've used it on two backpack trips to Willow Lake for Challenger-Kit Carson and to Lake Como for Blanca-Ellingwood. For those trips I bought a packnet that attaches over the backpack to increase storage capacity for tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag.
Clothing; again, I'll let others be more specific but it took me a few years to learn about high tech fabrics and now most of my inner layers have been upgraded. The item I spent the most on is my outer wind-rain-all around jacket. I spent some bucks at REI for that and love it. This after several climbs where my old windbreaker during pre-dawn hours wasn't enough and when I'd pull up to rest needed to put my lightweight plastic poncho over my jacket to help reduce heat loss. Once day breaks I'm fine as temperature and activity level both rise and keeping warm isn't an issue. Hiking pants, hats, and gloves. I've been using Home Depot gloves with decent grip action, they don't last long, I wore holes in the fingertips during Longs but now have cool souvenirs in my office and replacing them is cheap. Don't forget a helmet as you graduate to class 3 and your photography/video equipment. Again, back when I started I carried separate still and video cameras. I've since shed some weight as technology advanced and those two cameras became one. Darn, I still have early climbs on digital compact video cassettes to transfer.
Returning to your comment about being on a budget; there are some pretty expensive tents out there and they're probably worth their price tag for serious camping. That said, I use a $40 Coleman two person tent for my backpack trips from Dick's Sporting Goods and a medium weight sleeping bag from my old hunting days in NH. My capstone backpack trip to Chicago Basin awaits one of these years, I'll see if the gear I've pieced together passes that test as it looks like Purgatory flats will be the trail head with the train in limbo. I am considering investing in a better backpack with shoulder harness for that trip. I had to stop every hour hiking to Lake Como to take the pack off and rest my shoulders. Enjoy all of the great advice you're about to get from others, Bill does an amazing job with this website and the generosity most forum members show is great.
Lastly, and returning to my initial comment about the altitude. I came down off my first two summits with altitude headaches that were bad enough that I knew I needed to figure things out. Haven't had another episode in forty peaks since and there are many thoughts from all of us on how to avoid this. That'll be a different forum thread, just search for what's already been posted and you'll be fine.

[glenmiz]

Welcome Kyle.

As you might expect, not rocket science and you don't need a lot to get started.

Clothing - layers are key and the mistake that's easy to make is to have too many clothes on. Start cold with only enough layers to feel chilled. It won't be long any you'll warm up and getting sweaty is not your friend. I bring short and long-sleeved synthetic layers and wear hiking pants that allow me to zip them off to shorts. I also bring a fleece layer and a rain jacket (and pants in the monsoon months) in my pack. If I'm hiking in the winter, I'll bring a puffy and either wear or carry stretch pants for extra warmth. Nothing special in the socks category but bring an extra pair for failed stream crossings. Good, comfortable, solid boots are a must - don't skimp here - but I have trouble with my feet (some folks will tell you trailrunners are the cat's pajamas). I carry a hat and light gloves (mittens as well in winter/spring).

Gear - start with the Ten Essentials https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice ... tials.html
Packs are essential but there are a million variations. I have three that I use depending on trip (small, medium, large). Camera. Beyond that, hiking poles are great for balance. Micro-spikes are a must if you hike established trails at low elevation in the spring as they get pretty icy. Snow gear gets more complicated - I'd suggest leaving this for a little down the road.

A Partner and a Plan - know what your plan is, know what weather to expect, and let someone know where you're going and when to expect you to return. Try to resist summit fever and learn to be willing to turn around if things aren't right.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll get other input. Have a great time.

Glen

[bigredmachine]

If you watch the weather and start early (before 5 am) you can can typically avoid the rain altogether. A nice synthetic base layer , a mid layer, and a good water/wind resistant jacket. A beanie, some light gloves, trail runners and your set to go for 99% of your summer hikes.

In all reality if you start early and don’t hike with with rain in the forecast you can wear jeans and a sweatshirt, not ideal, you’ll get a stink eye or two, but hey that’s how they did it in the 80’s.

[spiderman]

Top priority is navigation. Cell phones work well, although it is best if you had two people each with cell phones, apps, and backup powerbanks. Free apps like Peakbagger are excellent. Learn how to record your tracks so that you can retrace your path if the conditions turn bad. One of the most common mistakes is to head down the wrong direction from the peak. Tracks will make it easier to avoid this screw up. Second priority is a flashlight so that you can keep hiking even if your phone and powerbanks fail. That happens. Nitecore has a couple nice/cheap models like NU20 and NU25.

If you are hiking in August and September, you don't have to worry much about snowfield and icy trails. In other seasons, watch out for those things because it is easy to get way over your head and realize you are in trouble. Microspikes are awesome for mixed snow/dirt/rock. Ice axes are also essential many months of the year. Get a light one and learn how to self arrest, chop steps, and not fall.

Most importantly, find a good partner.

[Alpine Guy]

Sunglasses come in handy, especially for early season hikes that involve crossing snow fields. And I highly recommend a GPS or GPS phone app to augment your map and compass (don't leave home w/o those).

[TomPierce]

All good advice above. My contribution: Get a good headlamp. It's also one of the 10 essentials (although originally it was listed as a flashlight). To avoid afternoon thunderstorms you'll need a pre-dawn start (headlamp!). You can't navigate unless you can see (headlamp!) And if you come down in the dark what will you need? Headlamp! I suspect you'll stick with this for years and even with improving skills a headlamp is just something you always toss in the pack. You don't need the best in the world, but get a good one with decent lumens and burn time (or at least carry spare batteries).

Have fun, be safe.

-Tom

[peter303]

3/4ths of 14ers are walkups, i.e.class 1 with a clearly defined trail, or class 2 maneuvering over piles of rock. So the equipment is pretty much the same as hiking elsewhere in the summer.

My definition of "summer", snow-free and ice-free is a very short period in the high mountains. Summer is from around July 1 to late August. A big problem Search-and-Rescue has that newbies and flatlanders see people running off to the beaches on TV for Memorial Day. Not in the mountains where there is still plenty of snow and ice at high altitude and temperature below freezing. With some extra gear you can add late June, September and early October to the low snow hiking season.

Mountain weather is extremely changeable. During summer hiking you have have prepare for temperatures between 20 degrees and 90 degrees during various portions of the hike.That means layers to fully cover your body when necessary and to remove when necessary. Including hat, light gloves, jacket, long pants, shorts, teeshirt even in summer.

The conventional advice is start hiking at dawn, summit in the morning and be going down by noon to avoid lightning storms. Though Colorado is the state with the 2nd highest number of lightning deaths, more of those happen on the golf course than the summit. It is rather unnerving to have lightning bolts and thunder claps around you while completely exposed above the treeline. Many hikers try to sleep (camp, vehicle) near the trailhead the night before to get on the trail early.

There is debate in this forum between hiking boots and trail runners. Boots support your ankles, grip uneven surfaces, allow heavier packs. Runners help with surfaces to some degree, less blisters and may let you move faster.

I like to do 2-3 high altitude conditioning hikes early season to prepare for thin air. I like to drive up road passes 10,000 to 12,000 feet and hike a bit there. (2020 is a special year where some of these passes will open late or parking shut down due to [unnecessary] epidemic fears.)

I recommend the first several 14er hikes with other people to learn from them.

Have fun. There are few things as thrilling as hiking to a mountain summit.

[nyker]

Welcome Giro47,

All good comments above.

Since a lot has been mentioned on gear, the only thing I'll mention on gear is that if you've done peaks in the White Mountains and Adirondacks, you'll use pretty much the same
gear in CO as there with some exceptions.

There are some key differences from hiking in the northeast vs. hiking/mountaineering/peak bagging in Colorado

* Altitude - As discussed, this is the big one. Even when generally acclimatized, you'll have to consider the impact of the higher elevation on things
like climate and temperature differentials, your performance, hydration and weather and preparation. You'll feel the altitude at first but if you're living out in CO, you'll get used to it.
Remember there is roughly a 3 degree temperature change for each 1,000ft in change in elevation, so if its 85*F in Denver one sunny afternoon, getting down to say 50*F at night,
don't be surprised to start out at the trail head in freezing temps and see ice and snow at 13,000-14,000ft persisting well into summer.

* Standard Trailheads / Four Wheel Drive Trail heads - this will dictate the effort on your hike/climb. Often peaks have "start points" at multiple
elevations on the same road, one higher than the other; the higher ones being accessible by 4x4 or AWD vehicles or those ok pushing
a 2wd car to its limit, with some "upper trailheads" only reachable by a 4x4, so consider this when trip planning since a 14er that many do as a 5
mile roundtrip with +3,200ft gain could mean 16 mi round trip and +5000ft gain starting at the parking lot where the 2wd road ends so pay attention to that
and plan your start time and day accordingly.

* Monsoon season - unlike the White Mountains and Adirondacks, from June-ish through early September, the Rockies have pretty
regular thunderstorms almost daily usually occurring in early-mid afternoons but could be earlier in the morning. Whereas most of the hiking in the east coast even
on harder routes on the taller peaks is done under treeline, much of the routes on 13ers and 14ers are above treeline by definition. So, the lightning risk in Colorado
is higher than back east all things equal. What this means is in summer time, you need to start early, often well before sunrise in an "alpine start" to aim to
be up and back down below treeline by midday/early afternoon.

* Exposure to the elements, particularly storms and lightning - similar to the points above, given the higher elevation of the terrain on most peaks and
non summit trails also, you'll find yourself more exposed to the weather, wind, the sun more often and also are more susceptible to storms
coming in, whiteouts making navigation tougher. In short, watch the weather days out ahead of your planned outing and change plans if needed.

* Trails/Routes - many folks who hike in the east coast where much of the trail is undercover of trees and thick brush are surprised and sometimes intimidated to hike in the Rockies
and Sierras, where huge wide open expanses open up in front you and you can see the distant target peak the whole time. This is great for some, and nerve wracking for others.
Routes on the popular peaks out west are also pretty well defined and often make use of switchbacks to climb steep parts of the mountain. Not better or worse
than the straight up nature of east coast peaks, just different.The difference is more appreciated in ice and snow. In the east you'll use you axe and crampons to negotiate the tight ice
flows and steep ice/snow covered ravines and some areas prone to avalanches. In the Rockies you'll have have higher up long snow filled gulleys (ie "couloirs") which can give you a
3,000ft or more vertical climb alone on routes which are often fraught with avalanche risk at the wrong time. If you plan on venturing out in snow, learn about safe snow travel,
best to take a course on that from CMC or hire a guide for a couple of snow climbs to show you the ropes in an open environment.

* Wildlife, There is different wildlife out in the Rockies. Mountain lions are the main thing you'll have to think about while hiking in twilight hours
or hiking alone though you may never see one. Other animals such as Moose, elk, deer, back bear, coyotes, bobcats are also out there, but but usually won't be an issue
unless you approach them too closely (Moose in particular don't like that but you have moose in the NE also). Conversely, other than lower elevations,
the risk of running into venomous snakes seems higher in the east since trails and peaks are generally lower in elevation (climate/alpine zones notwithstanding).

Be safe and have fun!

[DArcyS]

Regarding the monsoon season, it peaks in the last week of July and the first week of August ( I never plan long trips during this time). The last part of June and the first part of July tend to be much more dry. The end of August is much dryer than the beginning of August. Many people like to do long climbs in September because the threat of T-storms has diminished, but then one needs to worry about icy conditions due to the first snows, which may be a dusting to significant. I'd rather wake up early in August and climb on rock that doesn't chill my fingers, but others would rather have a later start and climb on cold rock. To each their own.

Hiking season climatology in a nutshell...

[DeTour]

When I started in 2007-08, it was with almost all ultra-cheap Walmart-type gear. Graduating to good or excelent gear has been a process. Priorities matter, which seems to be the heart of OP's question. Fortunately the list of essentials is pretty short, and you might already have some from your New England hiking.

I'd say footwear is first priority, both for comfort, since the feet bear the brunt of long hard days, and traction. I'd consider Vibram (or equivalent if any) soles to be mandatory, especially if you're planning any class 3 routes. Fortunately something respectable with Vibram can be had for $100 or less. Trail runners vs. boots is a personal choice; I recently switch to trail runners and liked the results.

Dryfit clothing is essential IMO because even if you take all the precautions, getting caught in a surprise storm is always a risk. Ditto fpr rain gear that actually works - not everything does. I think most would agree that a helmet is essential if you plan class 3, but even on class 1-2 rockfall from above can be a risk in some circumstances. Examples of that would include trails up gullies with towering sidewalls, like the trough on Longs. But a decent helmet can be purchased for not too much. I recall paying something in the $50-$60 range for mine in 2008.

Someone will criticize me for saying this, but I've gotten away with el cheapo Swissgear hiking poles from Walmart for 12 years - the same pair. Thought about replacing them 100 times over the years, but they never bubbled to the top of the priority list, until this year. For me they're essential for the descent, as the pounding of the constant downward steps makes a mess of my knees. I always figured if the locking mechanisms on mine failed, I could either rig a field repair to jam them together, or make do with one, or borrow from others in my group who also carry them but don't have such an essential need for them. If you get out in the mountains more than me (I get one trip a year from Illinois), a good quality pair would probably be a higher priority.

I also consider a small pack for your summit venture to be something where corners can be cut in the short term without paying a price. Again, if you do it a lot a better pack will pay off in the long run with less risk of aggravating failures of latches, zippers etc. But for getting started, a pack isn't that high-tech. It's a rucksack.

If you camp it gets a bit more complicated. You might get away with a cheap tent for years (I did), although you'll probably pay a price in extra weight. If cheap sleeping gear leads to a lousy night's sleep, it could be really costly the next day. A failed cookstove might play havoc with your nutrition, essential for the physical effort demanded. You might need a bear canister or Ursack. But perhaps the biggest item for me was a large-capacity camp pack. I used a cheap one for years, and paid for it with miserable hikes in to camp, shoulders and back screaming in objection for hours on end. One upgrade to a still-too-cheap Jansport helped a little but really didn't solve the issue. Then last year I nabbed a lightweight Osprey model for $110 at an REI garage sale, learned how to properly load and adjust it, and discovered the problem solved.

[pvnisher]

I used to wear jeans, running shoes, flannel shirt, army poncho in the school backpack. Did just fine.

In retrospect, I'd say priorities are a rain shell with pit zips and zip off pants. Then footwear. i personally like light boots for the waterproof and some ankle bone protection. Timberland Chocorua or similar.

Nothing has to be nice or expensive for summer 14ers.