A beautiful day that was a bit hard on my knees, to say the least. We camped in the national forest next to the North Mt. Elbert trailhead - only about a tenth of a mile away from the trailhead. We were on the trail by 5 AM and made the summit a little bit after 10 AM. It is STEEP - very, very, VERY steep. The weather was very windy on the way up, but died down by the time we made the summit and on the way down it was a bit too warm without a breeze. No issues routefinding; the trail is very clearly marked. It's stunningly beautiful and I'm so glad to have summitted my first Colorado 14er (under my own power - I don't count driving up Pikes Peak, even though I log it on here). Elbert was a great start. I wish the trail was better switchbacked, and my oh my is it rocky and also slippery from washouts on the steepest parts. I wish I had brought poles for the trek down for the worst parts of it. Still - a beautiful, beautiful day and I'm so glad to have experienced this. USA State high point #25 for me - halfway there, but some big ones still to go...!