Gemes hiked a one of the tallest mountains in Colorado!
Senior marketing and entrepreneurship major Gemes has quite the adventurous side! Her love for the outdoors led her to hike a 14er - how cool!
Growing up, Gemes spent her summers in Colorado, which she said is "probably my favorite place to get away, hike, raft, and play lots outside."
In Colorado, Gemes said hiking a 14er - a 14,000+ foot mountain - is the "gold standard of hiking." It's something she's had on her bucket list for a while and she finally got to check it off!
"The altitude hits really hard coming from sea level so you have to make sure you do a little prep, workout lots to the months leading up too, and drink more water than you thought possible," she said.
Gemes flew in for a weekend with her sister and friends from camp. When it came down to the hiking, however, she said her most of friends weren't on board. While her friends motivated her from the sidelines, she geared up for the trek with some of her guy friends.
The crew had to get an early start at 5 a.m. to get down in time and avoid afternoon thunderstorms above the tree line. They packed lots of snacks, sandwiches, tons of water.
Gemes hiked for 10 miles with almost 4,000 ft elevation gain. Gemes said hiking in the high elevation was the hardest thing she's ever done in her life.
"The worst part was when you get to the false summit thinking it’s the end to realize you have a really strenuous last mile to make it to the actual top," she remembered.
Once she got to the top, she realized it was all worth it. Gemes said the view was well worth the struggle - so beautiful that she may be willing to take on another 14er in the future.