Standing atop Point 13,664—also known as K2—the view southwest to Capitol Peak’s 14,130-foot summit is both intimidating and inspiring. It’s intimidating because the mountain is a soaring fortress of rock. It’s inspiring for the same reason. The mountaineer in me admires the peak’s architecture, and the aesthetics of its few routes of ascent.

From this vantage, I can see the famed northeast ridge head-on. In many circles, it’s referred to simply as The Knife Edge, and it’s why I’ve come to this remote 14er in mid-July. By many standards, Capitol is the king of Colorado 14ers. 

According to legend, French fur trappers in the 1820s were caught in a tremendous snowstorm. To lighten their load, they buried large amounts of gunpowder (poudre) in a hiding place (cache) along the banks of a river.

This is just one of the many stories about how one of the most scenic rivers in Colorado came to be known as the Cache La Poudre. (Pronounced: Cash-lah-Pooder.)

The only thing that qualifies me to write seriously about hiking up 14ers is that I’ve managed to haul myself up 10 of them—and plan to do more. For people who hate the mountains, a 14er is a peak that exceeds 14,000 feet above sea level. Colorado has 54 of them, and you can walk or climb up to the top of all of them.

Surmounting one of these peaks can be a mind-altering experience, depending on your perspective. I’ve sat on the summit of a 14er and contemplated God. I’ve also stood on a peak thinking I was about to regurgitate a Clif Bar 1,000 feet off the side.

Ever wonder what being in the military is like? Yeah, me either. I already spend at least an hour at the gym every morning. So when a friend asked me to join her for a morning of “Boot Camp,” I thought, Pff, how hard could it be?

She warned me that the workout would begin promptly at 5:30—yep, in the a.m.—so I woke at 4:30, sipped some coffee and arrived at the modified warehouse of Altitude Peak Fitness a few minutes early. Those already there ranged in body type, while I tend toward the slim, athletic side. Again, I thought, how hard could this be?