I've done Capitol 3 times, 2 of them as day trips.
As said....miles and elevation. It's surely doable. I wanted to be on the summit for sunrise on one of my day trips and left the TH at 10:30 pm and hiked all night. Made the summit for sunrise.....very memorable.
Some advice. Weather is a game changer....do not push your luck. Turn around at any ANY sign of storms. Calories and pace...eat and drink early and often....you're a runner, you know this stuff. I too run/ran trail ultra's so that strategy worked for me. Put your head down and do the miles. It can be done. RETURN THE WAY YOU CAME!
Have fun and safe travels.
CAPITOL PEAK IN AUGUST. DAY HIKE?
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oldschool
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Re: CAPITOL PEAK IN AUGUST. DAY HIKE?
"There's a feeling I get when I look to the West and my spirit is crying for leaving" Led Zeppelin
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Steve2
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Re: CAPITOL PEAK IN AUGUST. DAY HIKE?
If you live in CO, you probably don't need Diamox. But this guy lives at sea level. If he thinks he can fly in and rush up 14ers with no ill effects, he's in for a surprise.brichardsson wrote:Oh for the love. There is a lot of great advice in this thread, I would follow it. "And take Diamox" is not part of said great advice.
Aerobic fitness does not equate to acclimation to altitude.
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bigredmachine
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Re: CAPITOL PEAK IN AUGUST. DAY HIKE?
I’m 215lbs and not the good type...i did it as a day hike last August. 15 of the 17 miles are easy peezy., the other two miles are hard and time consuming. Take your time and and keep your focus until back to the lake...then throw it on cruise control.
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719BR
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Re: CAPITOL PEAK IN AUGUST. DAY HIKE?
i agree with all of that. just not the part you added about diamox.Altitude High wrote:
If you live in CO, you probably don't need Diamox. But this guy lives at sea level. If he thinks he can fly in and rush up 14ers with no ill effects, he's in for a surprise.
Aerobic fitness does not equate to acclimation to altitude.
for the record, i'm from sea level. well, technically 40' or so, but you get the point. i do all of my 14ers without diamox.
diamox is a drug. it's a drug that needs to be prescribed. it's a drug that needs to be prescribed after evaluation of the patient by a physician and a review of contraindications and a discussion of potential risks, of which there are a few, a couple of which are serious. it's not something to be thrown around like it's not a big deal. i mean, you wouldn't just hand a guy your kidney medicine, or blood pressure medicine, or whatever, right? and that's not even having the discussion as to whether it works, and its proper usage (hint: it's not for climbing 14ers).
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Steve2
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Re: CAPITOL PEAK IN AUGUST. DAY HIKE?
OK, we disagree about Diamox. That's fine.brichardsson wrote:i agree with all of that. just not the part you added about diamox.
Whether to use Diamox is an individual choice. And everyone is different. For example, on my first trip above 11,000 feet I developed mild HAPE (high-altitude pulmonary edema). Or maybe it was AMS, but the symptoms were like HAPE. On my next trip I took Diamox, and had no symptoms at all. It's possible my body had adjusted in the meantime, but I suspect Diamox had much to do with the improvement.
What does the CDC recommend?: "Consider using acetazolamide [Diamox] to speed acclimatization, if abrupt ascent is unavoidable."
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook ... de-illness
Yes, you need a prescription. I got mine from my opthamologist after giving him a CDC article and telling him of my Colorado Trail plans.
So again, I suggest that the original poster consider using Diamox if he has no experience at altitude (he doesn't say), and if he's going to fly in from sea level and head up Capital Peak without a gradual acclimation to altitude first.
