It all started because Kevin Reilly needed something to do. He was reading about the exploits of endurance athletes and researching difficult mountain linkups that combine multiple peaks into epic hiking feats. And he decided to pursue one of his own.
Just 2 years after he and his wife moved to Colorado from Massachusetts, Reilly was in a lot of pain. In 2023, he was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, forcing him to take a break from his longtime career as an electrician.
He experienced intense pain if he tried to work — but it also hurt if he just sat around for too long. Reilly needed a project, so he started looking at Colorado’s biggest mountains and dreaming about something that would push him to his limits. Though he’d only hiked two of the state’s 14ers (a local moniker for mountains over 14,000 feet), Reilly felt attracted to the grandeur of the Rockies.
That’s how he came up with a linkup of La Plata Peak, Mount Massive, and Mount Elbert, three of the highest mountains in the state. With over 14,000 feet of elevation gain across nearly 31 miles, he realized his pet project could be a worthy addition to Colorado’s endless supply of outdoor challenges.
After months of intense training and planning, the 35-year-old set out on Sept. 14 and crushed the linkup in less than 24 hours. It wasn’t until later that he spoke with Fastest Known Time. It turned out that he’d “accidentally” recorded the feat sufficiently for inclusion with the record-keeping organization.
So say hello to the Cloud City Highline. It might sound daunting, but Reilly is sure of one thing: “If an asthmatic, arthritis-ridden, former smoker can do it, what’s your excuse?”
Kevin Reilly: Planning, Training for Pain and Gain
When Reilly started planning the logistics for his 14er linkup, he told GearJunkie that he had very little experience with high mountains — or endurance sports in general.
Before he began daily training that would last for many months, the longest race he’d completed was a 5K. His diagnosis in 2023 came shortly after he hiked his first 14ers: Mount Bierstadt and Mount Huron, the latter of which was his first solo ascent up a Colorado peak. But as Reilly became enamored of hiking in the mountains, he also had to confront the realities of his arthritis and its impact on his life.
“It was a really humbling thing at age 33 to ask guys to move a ladder for me,” Reilly said. “I wasn’t handling it well.”
Ultimately, Reilly said he had to take a break from his electrician job with the support of his wife, Alayna. He needed to pursue something different — find a new project. So, he began researching Colorado’s toughest mountain hikes, looking for a goal that was intense but doable.
He considered known linkups like the popular Decalibron Loop, which includes the summits of four 14ers along its 7-mile trail. But with only 3,700 feet of elevation gain, that still seemed too easy to Reilly.
Reilly said he was seeking something that didn’t have a lot of records attached to it.
“I just wanted something void of competition. I know what competition can get out of me, and it’s not always great,” he said. “This was born out of a desire to push myself, not stack myself up against other people. These specific mountains allowed me to do that.”
The specific mountains — La Plata, Mount Massive, and Elbert — are three peaks that dominate Colorado’s Sawatch range. He designed a route that would summit all three of the mountains, involving 14,414 feet of vertical gain. He didn’t know if he could pull that off in less than 24 hours like he wanted, so Reilly started training hard.
In the months leading up to his Sept. 14 attempt, he walked, ran, or hiked over 3,000 miles. In 2023, he ran his first half-marathon. Then, he finished a full marathon. When September finally arrived, it was time to see if all that training had paid off.
‘Cloud City Highline’ FKT: 19 Hours, 53 Minutes, and 5 Seconds
Reilly’s wife woke him up at midnight on the “morning” of Sept. 14 and drove him to the base of La Plata Peak. By 2:15 a.m., Reilly was on the trail. There were no signs of life anywhere in the darkness.
“It was pretty spooky,” he said. “No matter how many times you do this, there’s still a boogeyman on the other side of the trees.”
Then he emerged from the treeline, greeted by a warm breeze and a glittering Milky Way overhead. Feeling happy to have the mountain to himself, Reilly “motored up” La Plata in the black, and quickly descended the back down.
At this point, his wife picked him for a short, 3-mile ride to the Mount Elbert trailhead. Reilly used a car for this short portion of the trip because of concerns about the road’s lack of rails, sidewalks, and streetlights. He acknowledges, though, that another hiker may choose to take the risk.
Once at the Mount Elbert trailhead, he started cruising up the south side — his favorite part of the linkup. The state’s highest mountain, Elbert’s primary route is forgiving, with a gentle slope meandering up a big, open plain beneath an “otherworldly” sky, Reilly said.
After summiting, he descended the northern side, eventually arriving at his first tent and cache of supplies. It was much needed, as he’d run out of water miles earlier.
From there, he followed the Colorado Trail until the Mount Massive trailhead. It was there when Reilly started to feel the toll on his body. After 12 hours, he’d already covered 20 miles with about 10,000 feet of elevation change.
His joints were “on fire” from the exertion. So Reilly said he took off his Brooks Cascadia trail runners and spent a few minutes icing down his legs in Half Moon Creek. He smeared some Dawn dish soap on his blistered feet as a lubricant, which he called “an old family trick,” and threw on some knee braces.
“The third one was a really rough one,” he said. “I was having a hard time getting my water down or eating.”
As he arrived on the mountain saddle, Reilly found it difficult to enjoy the panoramic view of the Continental Divide. He “puked all over the place” as soon as he took off his Nathan 12L running pack. That “wasn’t a good sign,” he said, but he knew he only needed an hour to make the final summit.
When he finally reached it, he had the peak to himself. He broke down in tears as he texted his wife and mother to let them know he was safe.
He’d pulled it off. His Garmin Enduro 2 watch recorded a time of 19 hours, 53 minutes, and 5 seconds.
‘Capable of Anything’
The next morning “was pretty cool,” Reilly said, with the wheels already turning in his head, “about the next thing.” He’d accomplished exactly what he wanted, which was finding his limit.
“I walked away from this feeling like I am absolutely capable of doing whatever I want to,” Reilly said.
He said he’d love to find a way to “do this all the time.” But with the coming winter bringing the hiking season to an end, he hopped on Indeed last month to start looking for work. This time, however, he’s not even considering jobs that will bring more pain to his arthritic hands.
And he may have found something: teaching special education at a local public school. He briefly worked in special education in Massachusetts, and he feels excited to return to “the one thing I’d ever done for work that had made me feel good about myself.”
“I’ve redefined myself over the last couple of years,” he said. “There’s very little we’re not capable of.”
