I have a lot to say about this experience, and brevity has never been my strong suit, but I’ll give it a whirl. If you’d like to read more about my experience you can check out my blog at https://melissakelley.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-elk-traverse-really-long…
Let me start with – it takes a tribe. I’m incredibly grateful for all the support I received and that others believed that I could do this. You know who you are, thank you!!
Around 1pm, I started down the trail toward Capitol; it felt like I’d had 10 cups of coffee, I was nervous, excited, and jittery. It was very warm, but I was grateful, for once, there were no cows. Going up and down Capitol was pretty uneventful, and I was ahead of my projected splits. As I progressed back toward K2, I was full of doubt and considered bailing on this whole objective. I was scared about traveling solo through the dark; I had played with various start times but settled on this so that it would ensure I was doing the Bells during the day. The agony in my mind of whether to go or not was strong, but when I got to the top of the WDC and peered into the Pierre Lakes basin, and I committed.
The Pierre Lakes Basin was beautiful – quiet and still. I refilled water and hurried along, anxious to gain Satan’s ridge before dark. I peered up at this dreaded section - I didn’t know dirt could be so steep and loose, and still somehow hold together. I slipped a couple times, uttering some choice words, as I clawed my way and held my breath through this section. I hated this part.
There was less snow than when I originally scouted it and a rope that had been in the gully was gone; knowing someone had been out here in the last month somehow brought me some solace.
I slowly picked my way to the ridge, carefully moving on the precarious balanced rocks. Simi, the FKT holder, described this section as the “House of cards,” and although I don’t think I quite had that experience, I do agree that this was the worst/scariest section on the entire traverse.
I breathed a sigh of relief (and smoke) when I gained the ridge; smoke from the local wild fires had rolled in thick, making for a beautiful sunset. I progressed to the saddle and could see Snowmass just as it became dark. I mildly freaked out as I pulled out my headlamp and put on my coat – it was dark.
I contoured around navigating up and down the small rock “ribs” and snow patches, thinking how unfortunate it was that I couldn’t see further ahead to better route plan. Traveling through the night actually went really well, albeit slow. Except when it first got dark, I never had any low moments; I just focused on the task at hand – follow the GPX line and get to the top of Snowmass safely no matter how long it takes.
I summited Snowmass around midnight and surprisingly, had the summit to myself ;) The descent was slow, and again I was grateful for technology and all those who have gone before me as I was a bit disoriented in the dark, thankful to follow the GPX line on my phone. Once I crossed over the main ridge I could then see Hagerman, illuminated by moonlight; I skirted under it and progressed toward the Bells reaching them by first light.
I was slow and began to doubt my route choices as I worked up the backside of Maroon Peak, likely due to fatigue. I eventually picked my way to the top and again had the summit to myself. I didn’t see anyone on the traverse so when I popped up on the ridge and saw my friend Emily there, I nearly cried; what a wonderful surprise! I went into autopilot mode after that as she led me the rest of the way to North Maroon and down.
Soon I heard some cheering in the woods as my partner, Pawel, and friends Eric and Jeff were encouraging me on! I was moved to have my friends there, supporting and encouraging me – I have the best people- and I couldn’t have done it without them.
I reshuffled my pack and then Eric took me up and down Pyramid on the standard route; I had considered dropping off the backside of Pyramid but after scouting Chris Hopkin/Simi’s track, I was not comfortable. Although the extra mileage/vert is a bummer, it was nice to come into the parking lot and see my people again, a total emotional boost!
My friend Jeff led me through the night and to the finish; his excitement was contagious and I finally knew that I was going to do it! He was such an incredible partner to have a long – he always knew what I needed. We took one 30-minute dirt nap before going up and over Copper/Triangle Pass. First light came as we slowly picked our way across the talus/scree field before gaining the ridge to take us to the Conundrum saddle; it felt like a slog, but at least it wasn’t too scary. I turned left and summited Conundrum, and before long we were standing on Castle peak. I looked back at Capitol in the distance and tried to let the reality sink in that I was nearly done. We sat for a while soaking in the views and blubbering about.
I tried to hustle down the 4x4 road but it was pretty pathetic; I felt pretty good except my feet were very tender and rejecting any idea of running. Jeff hadn’t told me that he had to work that evening, I tried to hurry but to no avail. Finally, after what felt like forever, we made it to the paved road where I heard Pawel cheering – I had done it! WE had done it!
I have to say throughout the trek I felt better than I expected mentally, and I felt fairly good physically too; I had some bad knee pain that started very early on that was unexpected but it had become manageable with some Vitamin-I and compensation. I never felt low (only once when the sun went down) and that surprised me; I have to give credit to my people whose support is unmeasurable.
My time was not fast (sadly, it took me much longer than I had anticipated) but I am super proud of the personal growth I had from the entire experience – from the long, solo training days to moving through the dark by myself. I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m so glad I stuck with it and got through this beast in one push. I learned a lot – mostly the fact that I can stay awake for a really long time, which anyone who knows me would have bet against.
Thanks to everyone for their support, and thanks to all those who went before me. I hope getting out there will also encourage other ladies to do so too!
Insta: @theemelkel
Gear:
- Deuter running vest
- Hydration bladder, Katadyn filter, deuter flask
- Atik Petzl headlamp (reactix extra)
- Mountain Hardware ghost whisperer puffy, Montbell raincoat
- Patagonia Terrebonne joggers, North Face gloves, REI sun hoody, running hat
- Snacks – pizza, PB&J sandwiches, cheese its, energy chews, candy bar, nuts
- Brooks Cascadia shoe
- Battery bank, small first aid kit, cheap sunglasses
- BD trekking poles and helmet
- Coros Apex watch
- Garmin Inreach