14er – Page 2 – Wild Wanderer

Mt Columbia in Winter – 14,073

RT Length: 14.28 miles

Elevation Gain: 5498’

I’d already summited 3 peaks this week, but with my being so close to 100 14ers and winter weather moving in I really wanted to try to get in one more summit. I did a lot of weather watching: the storm kept changing areas, times, wind speeds, etc. I finally settled on Mt Columbia because I haven’t done it yet in winter and someone said they’d trenched it earlier in the week (remember, my motto this year is not to let a trench go to waste).

I didn’t make it all the way to the Harvard Lakes Trailhead on the drive in. There was too much snow and I ended up backing my truck up for about half a mile to find a good parking space. I parked here. There’s room for 2-3 vehicles if everyone parks nicely.

I gathered my gear and started hiking along the road. It’s about a mile from where I parked to the Harvard Lakes Trailhead along this road. Alost as soon as I started hiking my flashlight stopped working, so I had to get out another. When that one stopped working as well I walked for a bit in the dark, then sighed and got out my emergency charger/flashlight. It was then I realized I’d missed the trailhead, so I had to backtrack a ways. I was also very glad I’d decided to turn around/head back when I did on my drive in: the road isn’t driveable to the trailhead.

I made it to the proper trailhead, and followed the Colorado Trail as it switchbacked up the side of the mountain.

After hiking on the Colorado Trail for .8 miles I left the trail and followed the ridge. Luckily, this part was (mostly) already trenched.

From here on out it was a ridge hike. I followed the ridge to treeline (about 1.25 miles). Some of the area below treeline was trenched, but there were many areas under several feet of snow. I was stubborn and reused to put on snowshoes, postholing up to my waist several times.

Also, it takes forever to get to treeline!

Finally, it became impossible to go any further without snowshoes, so I put them on, just before making it out of treeline. Here’s a good overall view of the route above treeline. It’s important to note the true summit is still not visible (it’s behind that ridge, to the north).

Now this became a ridge hike, above treeline. I could see the clouds moving in, and indeed, it was snowing off and on. The wind was also picking up. Taking off my snowshoes, I followed the ridge as it wound northeast. First heading towards point 12042

Once there, I lost some elevation, and the ridge split. I don’t think it matters which side of the ridge you take. I went right, since there was less snow there. Here’s an overview of the route

My camera died here (due to the cold), so I started using my phone. Here are some more close-up pictures

Around this point the wind became unbearable, and I could no longer take off my gloves to take pictures with my phone, so I don’t’ have any from this point on. Also, as you can tell, the weather moved in and you wouldn’t have been able to tell much from the photos anyway. What you need to know about the rest of this hike is it’s further than it looks, it’s all class 2, the ridge goes on forever, and what you think is the summit… isn’t. The summit is actually the northernmost point, not what looks like the summit from below (that’s PT 13544). It’s a rocky summit, and I couldn’t find a summit marker (but I also didn’t look for one).

The wind didn’t let up, and I summited in whiteout conditions. It seems the 50% chance of snow after 11am was happing at 9am. I tagged the summit, turned around, and retraced my steps down that long ridge. My fingers and toes were burning inside my socks and glvoes. I had on ski goggles that kept fogging up, and I had to be careful of my footing since I couldn’t see much in front of me. As I got further down the ridge the weather let up a bit, and I could see my way back (these pictures were actually taken from my way in).

I put my snowshoes back on and kept them on for the rest of the hike. The snow started picking up again, especially as I made it back to treeline.

I made it back to the Colorado Trail, and followed it back to the road

And now to follow the road back to my truck

Along the way I was passed by a cross country skier. He seemed impressed I’d just hiked Mt Columbia, especially since it was now snowing quite a bit. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little worried about my drive out. I wished him well as I took off my snowshoes and kept trudging along the road.

Just as I made it back to the trailhead I turned and saw a white dog running towards me, no owner in sight, clenching a deer leg in its mouth.

The skier said it was his dog, assembling a deer one piece at a time. His wife soon followed after the dog, they packed up and were on their way. I made it back to my truck at 12pm, making this a 14.28 mile hike with 5498’ of elevation gain in 9 hours.

The snow was really falling, so I got out of there quickly. The roads weren’t as bad as I’d thought, and completely clear by the time I made it to town.

In the end, I was glad I’d hiked today, but will most likely do this one again to get better ridge pictures. I should have picked a better weather day.

Mt Columbia Summit Sticker can be bought here

Uncompahgre in Winter – 14,309

RT Length: 16.42 miles

Elevation Gain: 5068’

This was a last-minute decision. I left the house at 10:30pm and made it to the trailhead by 4am, after a rather tricky/slick/whiteout conditions drive over Monarch Pass (note to self: check the weather along the route, not just for the peak you’re climbing). I also had a gas station mishap in Gunnison (long story) so my truck smelled like gasoline when I parked. I was pleasantly surprised to find CR 20 nicely plowed from Lake City. There was 1 other vehicle at the trailhead, and only room for 2.

The other vehicle looked outfitted for sleeping, and there were window coverings on the windows, so I wasn’t sure if there was someone sleeping inside. I tried to be quiet as I hit the trail at 4:30am. This is the lower trailhead, so I followed the 4WD dirt road (now packed with snow) for 4 miles to the upper trailhead.

There was some ice on the trail, but it was mostly an easy road to follow

And here’s a look at the stream crossings. There were snow bridges over the water, and you could hear water flowing under the snow.

I was still hiking in the dark when I saw a flashlight behaving erratically up ahead. As I got closer, I realized it was a skier. My flashlight was acting funky, so I couldn’t see him clearly, which was good, because he told me he was changing his pants (putting on warmer ones). His name was Paul and he sounded like he was in his 20s. He said he’d “see me up there” and I continued on.

From this point it was clear he’d been trenching with his skis, but even so, I didn’t need to put on snowshoes until I made it to treeline. I continued hiking along the road

I made it to the upper trailhead and the bathroom (I didn’t check to see if it was open, but it looked like there were game trails leading up to the door)

This is where the trail got ‘iffy’. There was no longer a trench, but if I strayed from the old trench I’d sink up to my waist in snow. I put on my snowshoes and only postholed every 30 steps or so. Here’s the upper trailhead

From the upper trailhead the trail heads northwest to treeline and then through willows.

Once at the willows I had to gain this small ridge. This was easier to do in the morning than in the afternoon (pics of my glissade route later). Here’s my path

Just as I made it up this ridge the sun began to rise. I had a great view of the sunrise over Uncompahgre

And looking back

There was no trench here, nor any sign of a previous one, so I got to make my own. Here’s my basic path

And step by step. Lots of trenching, but pretty straightforward. Your goal is to gain the ridge.

You’re aiming for this sign on the ridge. There are a lot of these signs in the area, all saying to be careful of vegetation, so make sure you aim for the one obviously on the ridge.

Once on the ridge, I turned right and followed a faint trail northwest. The snow on the switchbacks was a bit sketchy.

I gained the ridge again and traversed a short distance along the backside, looking for a short gully to climb

I took off my snowshoes at the gully and climbed up, carrying them (bad idea)

At the top of the gully I found cairns and a trail that wound back to the east side of the mountain to the summit, so I stashed my snowshoes and kept going.

I walked back and forth all along the summit to make sure I hit the actual summit. The summit is towards the middle… the pictures were better towards the west though. Also, usually when there’s a lot of snow I can see herds of animals, or at least their tracks in the basins below or on the ridges. No tracks today, so they’re all probably below treeline now.

It was a long drive back home, so I turned and retraced my steps

I made my way back to the gully and found my stashed snowshoes. I seriously wished I’d stashed them below the gully, but because I wasn’t sure of the conditions above I’d brought them with me. I carried them gingerly in my left hand as I headed down

At the bottom of the gully I put my snowshoes back on and kept them on for the remainder of the hike. I turned left and followed my tracks back to the ridge.

Once in the ridge I had some switchbacks to go down before following the ridge proper. It had only been about an hour or so, but the tracks I’d made on my way in were already gone, so I got to make new ones.

Once down the switchbacks most of my tracks were still there, so I followed them back down the basin. Side note: From here I could see the skiers tracks, and the skier still in the basin below. He’d chosen a different route to gain the ridge, and seemed to be stopping for lunch. Since he was on skis I expected him to pass me on the way down.

This is where I ran into a little bit of trouble… The skier had gone over my tracks on his way in, and in doing so made them slippery as the sun warmed. They’d turned into ice, and my snowshoes couldn’t grab onto my tracks. The snow was too soft to make new tracks. I tried to retrace my steps down, lost footing on the ice, and glissaded into the willows. The slipping wasn’t calculated, but the glissading was: Once I’d started I quickly assessed the risks and just decided to keep going.

Here’s a look back on that short glissade

And now, to hike out. The trench was still in place, so it was relatively easy. Here are some pics.

I made it back to my truck at 1:30pm, making this a 16.42 mile hike with 5069’ of elevation gain in 9 hours. I never did see the skier. Here’s a topo map of my route

Also, on the way out there’s ice climbing!!!

Culebra Peak in Winter – 14,047

RT Length: 14.87 miles

Elevation Gain: 5337’

When someone asks you to climb Culebra Peak with them in winter, you say yes! I really needed to get out hiking with friends, and when Bill asked me to hike Mt Princeton with him, of course I said yes! But then, plans changed and he decided to hike Culebra instead. The weather didn’t look too bad (only 20% chance of snow), so when he asked if I wanted to go along I said yes: I mean, securing reservations is difficult in winter as you need a group, and he was putting together a group.

In any event, I made it to the trailhead an hour early. They open the gates at 6, and close them at 6:15am, and I didn’t want to miss that window. Everyone else got there early as well. There were 5 of us hiking today (3 girls, 2 guys), and 4 vehicles: 3 4Runners, and my Tundra. Toyotas seem to be popular among self-professed mountaineers.

Here’s a picture of the gate:

Promptly at 6am the gates opened, we were checked in, and we drove to the Ranch office. There was space for about 5 vehicles to park. We all got out of our vehicles, were given instructions on how to let ourselves out of the gate, and shown where the trail started. I was glad we all had 4WD vehicles, because while the dirt road in was clear of ice, the parking area wasn’t plowed.

We gathered our gear and were off around 6:15am. The trail starts to the east of the parking area. In fact, most of this hike heads east.

Here’s an overview of the entire hike, from the road in

We followed the 4WD jeep road for 5 miles, gaining 2600’ of elevation. What was nice was they’d groomed the road until 4 way with snowmobiles, and after that there was a solid trench to treeline.

This part of the hike was very pleasant, as I talked with the guys (the girls weren’t as fast as we were at this point). We had a great pace, and I learned about other hikes they’d done and some of their goals. At one point I gave everyone a sticker, which got rave reviews. They understood the color schemes and even gave me ideas for other stickers in the future. I asked them to let me know how they hold up.

Once at treeline we were a group again. We donned our snowshoes and headed southeast up the side of the mountain. We had to trench here, but a lot of the area had solid snow. Here’s the path we took to the ridge

Once on the ridge everyone else took off their snowshoes, but I decided to keep mine on (mainly because I knew I wouldn’t be able to get them on again once I took them off). The weather started coming in, and it looked like that 20% chance of snow was going to materialize.

I was on my own from this point on, or, at least I thought I was, as I could no longer see anyone else and I was now in the lead. I made it to the ridge, as evidenced by this large cairn.

At the cairn I turned right and followed the ridge until it ended, which felt like forever! It’s a totally different hike when you have no visibility. But there was a bonus to the lack of visibility: it took a while for the bighorn sheep to notice me. When they did, they were off, running down the mountainside

I continued to follow the ridge as it lost some elevation (a hundred feet or so) and then started climbing again.

There were several small ‘false summits’ on this hike, but they were probably mostly due to the lack of visibility.

As I neared the summit I looked back and noticed three of the other hikers closely behind me. They’d taken off their snowshoes back on the ridge, and my snowshoes were slowing me down. Let me tell you, snowshoes on rock is not a good combination. We all ended up summiting around the same time, and took a group selfie. I couldn’t help but be jealous of everyone else: They didn’t need balaclavas and they were all taking off their gloves. I on the other hand, was trying to keep from crying because my fingers were hurting so bad. Also: we were all wearing the same gear/gloves so I blame my Raynaud’s (funny how mountaineers tend to find out what works and everyone uses the same stuff).

It was here I learned we’d lost one of our members on the ridge (he turned back early), and that everyone else was heading towards Red Mountain. I wished them good luck, as I’ve already summited Red Mountain and wanted to get down to where the sun was shining. We all had a group hug/high-five session, I turned and headed back the way I’d come, with little bits of sunlight peeking through the clouds when the wind made an opening.

Here’s that dip I was talking about earlier. The cairn is circled in red

Once at the cairn I turned left and headed back down the ridge, which was tons of fun with little visibility!

I was glad when I made it down to around 12K and was now below the clouds. Here’s a view of the hike out

This was great because I could just follow our tracks back. Once below the clouds the weather was actually quite nice. I could see Little Bear, Blanca, and Lindsey on the hike out. Also, the hike out seemed to take forever! It was only 5 miles, but it kept going, and going, and going. Wow! Had I really hiked in all this way this morning?

I made it back to the Ranch Office, signed out, and drove to the gate. It was super muddy at the gate, and since I now have a topper on my truck, I couldn’t just toss my gear in the back. Oh well! I put my boots on top of my snowshoes and was on my way.

I made it back to my truck at 2pm, making this a 14.87 mile hike with 5337’ of elevation gain in under 8 hours.

The Culebra Peak summit sticker can be bought here

Mt Yale in Winter – 14,196

RT Length: 9.58 miles

Elevation Gain: 4315’

The drive in was icy in spots, with about 3 inches of fresh snow on the road. I could tell a vehicle had made it to the trailhead at least an hour earlier, because there was snow over the tracks and it hadn’t been snowing on my drive. There were two other vehicles in the lot, which looked to be boondockers. I backed my truck in and got out my gear. The lot is huge, and since the road is closed for winter just past the trailhead there is a lot of room for vehicles carrying snowmobiles. When I got back later in the day there were no less than 40 large vehicles with trailers for hauling snowmobiles in the parking lot and lining the road.

I was on the trail a little late today, around 6am. I knew it was supposed to be cold and I didn’t want to start too early: the sun is my friend when it’s cold out! The trail starts at the north end of the parking area. There are trail signs here.

It’s winter, but since it hasn’t snowed heavily for a few days there was a trench in place, making this a class 1 trail all the way to treeline.

I followed the trail for 1.5 miles to a junction, then turned right, following the trail northeast towards Mt Yale.

After the junction the elevation gain picked up and the trail became icy in areas

At treeline the elevation gain became more intense. I kept heading northeast, rounding this hill

And coming to a larger hill to navigate. Here I passed two male hikers in their early 20s. I’m not sure when they started this morning, but they looked to be in good spirits and more than happy for me to start making tracks. Here’s how I navigated this obstacle

I wasn’t yet into the upper basin however. Here’s an overview of the rest of the route

And here’s step by step to the ridge. The snow was actually a few feet deep in areas, and I postholed a bit. No ice axe or snowshoes were necessary. I wore microspikes for the entire hike.

The weather was very nice today, but cold. Temperatures ranged from -3 degrees to 13 degrees, before windchill. I kept pumping my fingers back and forth to keep them warm, stopping every few feet to clap them together briskly. Strangely, my toes didn’t seem to get that cold. Luckily for me, this is my 4^th summit of Mt Yale, so I didn’t need a map: I knew where I was going and just kept heading towards the saddle. Once on the saddle I turned right and followed the icy ridge southeast towards the summit. Here’s the overall route

It was frigid, and icy, and windy, and cold! You can tell how cold by looking at the boulders

Here’s a look at the summit of Mt Yale

I summited Mt Yale at 11:05am. I was upset to find the camera I’d placed in-between my jackets to stay warm had once again frozen, so I had to use my cell phone for pictures.

It was very, very cold, so I didn’t stay long. I turned and headed back down the ridge

A shadowselfie just for fun!

Here’s the route down from the saddle

After making it back to the saddle I turned left and followed my tracks back down

About halfway back to treeline I passed the two young hikers again. They looked exhausted, but in good spirits. It was their first winter 14er, and I wished them luck. They were more than glad to be following my tracks. Here are my tracks back down to treeline.

Once back at treeline I followed the trench back to the trailhead. This part was fun; due to the light snow that fell overnight the wind was causing the snow on the branches to lift into the air and swirl to the ground. It was like it was snowing on a bluebird day.

I made it back to the trailhead at 12pm, making this a 9.58 mile hike with 4315’ of elevation gain in 6 hours. There were TONS of snowmobilers in the parking lot: more than I’ve ever seen at a trailhead before. They were loud, and I was glad I was done with my hike. No wonder I hadn’t seen any animals today!

Here’s a topo map of my route:

I usually wear sandals while driving home so my feet can dry out. Today, after putting on my sandals, I accidentally stepped in snow with my left foot and it instantly triggered an attack. My toes turned blue and stiffened. As I’m writing this it’s been almost 24 hours, and I still don’t have feeling in the two smallest toes on my left foot. Luckily however, they are now a normal color.

The Mt Yale Summit Sticker can be bought here

Mt Belford in Winter – 14,197

RT Length: 11.15.miles

Elevation Gain: 4764’

Note, this is the third time I’ve hiked Mt Belford, so this time I’ll just be giving a quick overview with a few pictures and thoughts. A full trip report can be found here for Mt Belford via Elkhead Pass, and here for Mt Belford and Mt Oxford in winter conditions.

Also note: whining ahead.

The last 3 miles to the Missouri Gulch trailhead were terrible! So bad I asked SkydiverHiker to drive. We were sliding in the ruts and eventually found a turnout about .7 miles from the trailhead and stopped there. This ended up being a fabulous idea, since the trailhead was too covered in snow to park. It looked like someone had tried and it took them quite a while to get out. This is the road to where we parked (easy until the plowing stopped)

Parking further away changed our plans a little, as it added an hour onto our trip. We decided we’d probably just hike Mt Belford today, and leave Oxford for another day. We were on the trail at 5:15am. Here’s a look at the Missouri Gulch Trailhead Parking area

We crossed clear creek and started ascending the side of the mountain wearing microspikes. We saw some elk tracks here, but luckily, no mountain lion tracks this time.

Once in the avalanche area the trench stopped. We crossed the drainage on some sketchy, snow covered logs

Then stopped for a bit to put on our snowshoes. These pictures were taken later in the day on our way back down, so you can see the trench. We put that trench in! I’ve done this hike several times, so I knew to aim for the trees, heading south

Once in the trees the trench picked up again until the cabin

Once past the cabin the trench stopped again. The wind in the gulch is fierce and I’m sure blows away trenches nightly that are made during the day. No worries though, we just headed through the gulch (still wearing our snowshoes) towards Mt Belford’s Northwest Ridge

As we were trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid the willows, I heard ptarmigans chirping, but couldn’t see them. Then, all of the sudden, a ptarmigan busted out from under the snow and walked away. It was here I learned ptarmigans huddle near the willows and stay in their air pockets when it snows to stay warm. They can do this for days, as their food source is under the snow as well. It was so cool to hear them calling to each other throughout the day!

We continued through the basin, only taking our snowshoes off once we reached the ridge. From here we followed the ridge to the summit.

I’m making this sound MUCH easier than it was. This is probably one of my most difficult winter summits to date. With my Raynaud’s I need to keep moving to stay warm, and while SkydiverHiker was doing an excellent job keeping up, we still stopped more than my body would have liked. In fact, about halfway up the ridge I was seriously thinking about turning back: my fingers and toes were burning and the wind was more intense than predicted. With windchill it was at least -20 degrees. We discussed turning back, and decided to continue on (Skydiver Hiker needed a ‘win’ today, and I wouldn’t let him go on without me). SkydiverHiker dropped his and we continued on up the ridge. I continued with my pack because I had an ice axe and essential gear. This continuing on included a lot of intense feelings and emotions, and there was some crying involved and also some nausea. Have you ever hurt so much you felt nauseous? Both SkydiverHiker and I felt that way today. But at least the pain told me I hadn’t lost anything to frostbite. While mountaineering is certainly physical, it’s emotional and a mind game you play with yourself as well. I felt as if I were dying every step of the way, not because I was tired, but because I felt my fingers and toes were on fire. I was dry sobbing at times.

We trudged to the top, where my camera stopped working (I really need to find a better cold-weather camera) so the photos we have are SkydiverHikers from his phone. About 20 yards from the summit SkydiverHiker laid down and didn’t want to get up. I didn’t know this, but his back had been really, really hurting him. This laying down right now was (of course) unacceptable, so I made him get up and lead the way to the summit.

We didn’t stay long, just long enough to get a photo of the summit marker, and then we were on our way back down.

Let me pause here to show you the great views of Missouri Mountain

The screaming and crying continued until we made it to where we were hiking in sunlight, near the base of the ridge. It’s amazing how the warmth of the sun made me feel better, even when it was still well below freezing. Once at the base of the ridge we donned our snowshoes once again and headed back out of the gulch, following our morning trail.

As we warmed up our spirits lifted and we were once again thrilled to be out here hiking. This is one of the most beautiful places in Colorado to hike, and we had it all to ourselves. Well, it was us and the chirping ptarmigans. We hiked back past the cabin and through the avalanche area, took off our snowshoes, and continued back to the trailhead in better spirits. Yes, this is a mental game.

We made it back to the truck at 1:15pm, making this an 11.15 mile hike with 4764’ of elevation gain in 8 hours.

Summit Sticker can be bought here

2021 Hiking Related Goals – and Quandary Peak

Hike on 60 days this calendar year
Hike/walk/run/treadmill 2021 miles
Make it to 100 14ers (I’m currently at 94)
Hike/walk/run/treadmill elevation gain of 1 million feet
Summit a combined total of 10 winter 13/14ers
Finish the Bicentennials
Summit 3 new state highpoints outside of Colorado
Summit 3 new El Paso County Highpoints
Hike another section of the Colorado Trail
Keep my average above 10+ miles and 4000’+ of elevation gain per hike

Quandary Peak – 14,265

RT Length: 7.22 miles

Elevation Gain: 3444’

Just to get 2021 off to a good start, I set my alarm for early and made a reservation to hike the Manitou Springs Incline on New Years Day. Unfortunately, my alarm didn’t go off and I ended up missing my start time. I was super bummed, but I didn’t let it get me down: I still had enough time to get a hike in. I figured I’d just do Quandary Peak instead. This is the 4^th time I’ve hiked Quandary, and I’ve written several trip reports on the peak, so I’ll just post some pictures with highlights:

The road and trail was well packed down

This time I decided not to stop at all, and guess what? I had my fastest summit of Quandary Peak! There were tons of dogs on the trail today, and I even saw a group of skiers with guides. Here’s the summit

It was very, very cold today. It didn’t get above 18 degrees (that’s what the temperature was when I got back to my truck). There was a slight layer of frost on everything

Looking west

Heading back down I came across some BASE jumpers who were intending to jump from the summit. I didn’t think it was windy enough today. In fact, it was a perfect, bluebird day to go hiking!

I saw Mountain Goats on the way down, but they were kind of far away

Here’s a topo map of the route. I made it back to my truck at 11:45am, making this a 4 hour hike: 7.22 miles with 3444’ of elevation gain

The Quandary Peak Summit Sticker can be found here

Humboldt Peak in Winter

RT Length: 14.02 miles

Elevation Gain: 5562’

This was my third time hiking Humboldt, but my first time in calendar winter. The last time I was here there was a terrible wind that was causing the snow to become clouds, and I couldn’t see the summit when I arrived (or my own 2 feet). This time I was here for better pictures of the route, and to count it as an official snowflake. I arrived at the South Colony Lakes lower trailhead and was the only one in the lot when I parked my truck. I put on my gear, using only microspikes as my footwear, and was on the trail at 4:30am. As usual in winter, the snow started just past the 2WD parking area. I always find it amusing to see how far the tire tracks try to go up the road. This time, they didn’t go far.

The snow on the road started right away, but there was a good trench. I followed the road for 2.3 miles to the junction with Rainbow Trail. It was still dark out, and as I rounded the last corner of the trail where I could still ‘see’ the trailhead I noticed there was another car parked there. It seems there would be hikers about a mile behind me today. Also, my flashlight started flickering. Time to change the batteries!

At Rainbow Trail the trench spiked, one side going towards Marble Mountain, the other towards Humboldt Peak’s East Ridge. There weren’t any tracks headed further down the road to South Colony Lakes. I turned right and followed Rainbow Trail for .5 miles.

I quickly came to a bridge, then took the trail to the top of a slope

At the top of the slope I was thrilled to see there was a trench in place leading up the ridge. Last time I did this hike I’d had to trench it myself, and it had taken quite a bit of work. Today, I was going to poach someone else’s trench! Woot!

And what a trench it was! I followed it as it for 2 miles as it ascended the east side of the ridge, all the way to treeline. Here’s an overview of the route up to Humboldt Peak

If you keep heading west and stick to the rib/ridge, it will take you to treeline. I could hear the wind above the trees, and got a bit anxious for the above treeline part of the hike.

As I hit treeline the sun started to rise. I took a few minutes to enjoy the view. (side note: there were a lot of rabbit tracks here)

The trench ended near treeline. I could see where it was supposed to go, so I kind of re-trenched it as best I could wearing just spikes.

Here’s the general overview of my route up the ridge

The wind had been intense all morning, but once I was above treeline it became difficult at times to even stay upright. So much for the forecased 11-17mph winds! I’d started early to avoid the most intense winds that were supposed to start around 11am, but it seems they started a little early. I had to hunker down at times and turn away from the wind, which turned the snowflakes into glass, and was side-stepping as I hiked just to stay in a straight line. I tried to take pictures, but unfortunately, wind is invisible. I kept my gloves on and was glad I’d put on my balaclava at the trailhead. Here are some pictures of the ridge.

Here I noticed some bighorn sheep in the distance. They also noticed me and trotted off.

At the top of the ridge was another ridge, so this had been a false summit. Here’s the actual summit of Humboldt Peak. It’s a straightforward ridge hike to the summit, nothing above class 2.

Here are some pictures of the ridge. There was some snow, but it was all firm enough not to need traction

On this part of the ridge the wind really picked up. I had to hide behind rock structures to get out of the brunt of it, and the noise it made as it came up and over the rocks was creepy. The balls of my feet were frozen at this point (due to Raynaud’s) and it felt like I was walking with large rocks in my shoes (I wasn’t, it was just the ball of my foot that had frozen). Several times I hunkered down to maintain my balance, but it was still a straightforward ridge hike.

I knew I’d made it to the summit when I found the wind breaks. I never saw a summit marker, but I don’t think there’s one here?

I’ve summited Humboldt Peak twice before, so I knew I was at the summit at the first wind break, but I walked further west for better pictures.

I summited Humboldt Peak at 9:45am

Humboldt Peak:

The views of the Crestones/Sange de Cristo range were beautiful!

Time to head back down the ridge

The wind was still fierce, and I was worried I was getting a nasty windburn in all the areas my balaclava didn’t cover. The wind speeds weren’t supposed to be this high, so I’d left my goggles at my truck. Note to self: next time, bring the goggles. On my way back down the ridge I saw the Bighorn Sheep again. They quickly turned when they saw me and headed over the mountainside. There was a big drop on the other side, and I was surprised I couldn’t see them again when I passed.

This was a simple ridge stroll, or, it would have been, without the wind

Here’s looking at my route back down the ridge to treeline

Here I met some hikers heading up. The wind had died down considerably by this point, so I figured they had the better weather of the day (I found out later it picked back up again, and they said their summit was just as windy as mine). My feet started to de-thaw, and I had a minor Raynaud’s attack: think insane pins and needles as the blood started flowing again. It lasted about 30 minutes, and to combat it I just kept hiking. On a positive note, I could feel my toes! Finding my tracks back to the trail was a bit of a challenge, but I came across them eventually.

Then I followed the trench back to Rainbow Trail. I should have put on snowshoes here, as I postholed ever 30 feet or so, but I really didn’t want to stop. I was just glad I’d started early enough in the day not to need snowshoes (spikes worked just fine). Anyone heading back down later than me would need snowshoes.

Once back at the trail I followed it a half mile to South Colony Lakes Road

Once on the road I hiked the 2.3 miles back to the trailhead, noticing a lot of dog tracks along the way. As I neared the trailhead I saw a couple walking with two beautiful dogs. It seems they were out on a day hike, and I thought this was a great idea, as it was a beautiful day below treeline.

Here’s a look at the trailhead on my way back. Easily 2WD accessible.

I made it back to my truck at 1pm, making this a 14.02 mile hike with 5563’ of elevation gain in 8.5 hours.

Unfortunately, when I made it back to my truck I could hear the conversation the couple with the dogs were having. The man kept cussing at his female companion, and the dogs, over simple things like an overturned water bowl. To me there’s no need for vulgar words, and he was using multiple ones in each sentence he uttered. I felt the urge to say something, but no one else in his party seemed to mind his behavior, so I kept it to myself. I’m not sure why women allow themselves to be treated that way?

The Humboldt Peak Summit Sticker can be bought here

Huron Peak – 14,003, Browns Peak – 13,523, PT 13462, Middle Mountain – 13,060, & Cross Mountain – 12,889

RT Length: 13.83 Miles

Elevation Gain: 4811’

There was a storm predicted for this weekend, so I set out to try to get this loop in before the snow hit. I had no trouble driving the 2WD dirt road all the way to Winfield, even though it was icy in spots.

Once I made it to the 4WD road it became icy. I decided to park in the dispersed camping area and hike along the road. There are several dispersed camping areas here, and plenty of parking.

I put on my microspikes at the truck and didn’t take them off the entire hike (although they were overkill for over half of the hike). I started out following the 4WD road southwest. It quickly became icy and I was glad for the spikes. I could also hear owls on either side of the trail. They were hooting, calling to each other back and forth. We’ve recently had an owl take up residence in our backyard and the calls were similar, so I’m guessing they were great horned owls. I also heard a chirping in-between calls. I’m not sure what animal the chirping belonged to, but it happened every time an owl’s call ended, and before the next one began. In any event, the sounds kept me occupied as I hiked in the dark.

I followed the 4WD road for 2 miles to the upper trailhead (Lake Ann). Here the trail splits. I took the well marked ‘Huron Trail’ that went left up the mountainside.

The Huron Trail is a well marked and easy to follow class 1 trail that takes you all the way to Huron Peak. This is also a well documented trail, so I’ll just add a few photos.

Once at the saddle the trail became increasingly icy, and I was glad to be wearing my microspikes. Also, one of them broke (I continued to wear it anyway. The other one broke as well later on, but microspikes are easily fixable so I wasn’t too worried).

I summited Huron Peak at 7:45am

Huron Peak:

From the summit I had a great view of all the other peaks I intended to hike on this loop. Here’s the overall route, which consists of a nice ridge hike

I turned around and headed back to the Browns/Huron saddle, and then over to Browns Peak. I summited the point here on my way over to Browns, but that’s unnecessary, as it’s not ranked and just adds elevation (the elevation part was why I summited the point)

I summited Browns Peak at 9:10am. Browns Peak is unranked.

Browns Peak:

Here’s a look back on the route to Browns from Huron

From the summit of Browns I could see my next 3 summits, as well as the trail I intended to take back down

It was a simple ridge hike to the saddle and then back up to PT 13462

There was a small false summit before the actual summit

I summited PT 13462 at 9:40am

PT 13462:

Here’s looking back at Huron Peak and Browns Peak

The hike over to Middle Mountain B was also a simple ridge hike. Here’s the route

I summited Middle Mountain at 10:10am (also unranked)

Middle Mountain:

Here’s looking back on the route so far

It was still early in the day so I decided to head over to Cross Mountain. This is another unranked peak, but it’s named, so I didn’t want to leave it out on today’s hike. It was a quick and easy hike northeast over to Cross Mountain.

I summited Cross Mountain at 10:35am

Cross Mountain:

Here’s a look back at the other peaks I summited this morning

I was making this a loop, which meant I needed to re-summit Middle Mountain, turn right and head northwest down the ridge to the 4WD road. Here’s an overview of the route

First, I made my way back to Middle Mountain

Once I’d re-summited Middle Mountain I turned right and headed northwest down the ridge, aiming for the 4WD road

Then I followed the road back to my truck. Here’s an overview:

A word of caution here: the 4WD road isn’t truly a road for most of the way up the side of this mountain. It looks to be an old mining road that hasn’t been used in many years, and has experienced rockslides and avalanches, turning the road into more of a trail down the mountain and into the gulch. In other words, if you have a 4WD vehicle, or even a motorcycle, don’t plan on driving it up this road. Evidence:

Once down in Lulu Gulch the 4WD road picks up again, and is easy to follow.

Here’s a look at the hike down from the ridge

The 4WD road was indeed easy to follow, but it seemed to go on and on. And on. And on. I was very happy with my choice to summit Huron first today, as this was a very long slog back to the main 4WD road and I would have been terribly bored following this road as it switchbacked (needlessly?) down the mountainside. It kept going, and going, and going. I seriously wanted to just cut the switchbacks and make it a straight line (but didn’t)

I was thrilled when I reached the main road

Here’s looking back at the turnoff (this is what you see when hiking in, you can go straight to the Huron Trail or left to follow the mining road and summit Middle Mountain first)

I followed the icy 4WD road back to my truck, thankful for my microspikes

I made it back to my truck at 12:15pm, making this a 13.83 mile loop with 4811’ of elevation gain in 8 hours, 15 minutes.

The Huron Peak Summit Sticker can be bought here

Pyramid Peak – 14,018

I had some friends ask if I’d hike with them this weekend a peak I’d already summited. Normally I like to hike solo, but it was fun hiking with others. Everyone seemed to have a similar pace, which was nice. What wasn’t so nice was the reservation system to get a permit to hike. We paid $30 to park in the parking structure and take the bus in because we weren’t able to get a permit. That meant this had to be a multiple day hike. They only let 15 people on the bus at a time (due to COVID).

I don’t have a lot of pictures of the hike because I’ve already done a trip report, so I’ll just post some highlights.

Our campsite, which had about 20 or so other people camping within a few yards

Crater Lake (near the campsite)

The gully, which had an actual TRAIL this time! Last time I was here there was no trail and the scree was awful. What a nice surprise today!

The ridge to the summit after the gully

The “Leap of Faith”

The ledge

Some chimney climbing/scrambling

A rather cheeky goat that followed us all the way to the summit!!!

The summit

The summit marker

Views from the summit

Some goats just before the gully on the way down… also, a baby goat separated from its herd sounds just like a 3^rd grader blowing as loud as they can through a recorder. Seriously.

A look at the amphitheater from the top of the gully

And a topo map of the route

The Pyramid Peak Summit Sticker can be found here

Mt Bierstadt – Winter

I’ve already summited Mt Bierstadt in winter, so I’ll just post a few highlights. It was cold and windy and beautiful and I was the only one on the mountain that day, practicing social distancing the best way I know how!

Summit Sticker can be bought here