I helped my parents finish their Colorado Centennial Peaks project, which was 4 days of backpacking in the Weminuche Wilderness. Since my parents like doing things the hard way, this involved a nearly 20 mile approach from the less traveled route to the base of the mountain.
Lessons learned:
- Carrying a 50lb pack is a serious effort
- It’s a good idea to get all of your beta together first, including visuals of the mountain from the side that you’re approaching
- It’s also a good idea to have a good GPS with good maps that you can verify locations on beforehand
- If you don’t have a good GPS, it will be very useful to have an accurate, calibrated altimeter.