Mt. Huron, Mts Oxford & Belford, and Missouri Mountain

July 3-5th, 2004
Angi and I wanted to go backpacking with friends for the Fourth as we did last year, but we couldn't get it organized. At the last minute we planned to knock off a few easier Sawatch Range fourteeners. Our ambitious plan included four peaks in three days.
We leaft Boulder as soon as Angi was off work at 4:30 and headed towards Leadville. After a little extra holiday traffic we found ourselves at the 2WD parking, just south of Winfield. It was 8pm, and we had about an hour until dark. We lugged our packs about a mile up the road and found a good spot to camp. The 4x4's kept driving by late into the night, but we fell asleep easily.
Our first day was the most difficult. It would involve climbing over 3,000 vertical feet to Huron Peak's summit, returning to the car, and then hauling our overnight gear 2,000' vertical feet up the very steep Missouri Gulch. Missouri Gulch would be our home for the next two days, as we would climb three more peaks.
Our ascent up the road went quickly, and we enjoyed the progression of sunrise around us. This was a very busy area for the Fourth of July. It did not bother us too much, as we had thrown the hope of solitude away during the planning stages of the trip.
When we broke timberline, we were awareded with our first views for the incredible Three Apostles. They are aptly named North Apostle, West Apostle, and Ice Mountain. We were making great time on the trail, and passed a coulple small parties, and two large groups of kids. We reached a large bench near 12,000', and could now see the rest of the route, which was very straightforward.
After an hour and a half, we found our selves on Huron's surprisingly small summit. There was a lone pair fellows at the summit, and we happily shared the shelter with them. It was only 9am, and still pretty cold on top, so we didn't stay long. We were very glad the throngs of people had not yet arrived.
As we descended back down the north ridge, we saw dozens of other people ascending the mountain. It was a very busy day. We made great time and were back down to camp in about two hours. We quickly packed up and headed for the car to get some lunch. There was a lot of smoke from fires in New Mexico, which gave the sun a very eerie, red glow.

Mount Belford and Mount Oxford:

After a much needed lunch, we re-packed our gear with food for the next two days, and drove 20 minutes down the road to the Missouri Gulch trailhead. It was absolutely packed with cars. We could barely find a spot to park. We headed off up the trail, and it soon began the difficult switchbacks I remember from my last trip, in 2002.
With about 8 miles already behind us, and warm afternoon temperatures, we climbed the trial slowly. Soon we reached the old cabin, and I knew we were nearing treeline. Since we would be camping for two days, I did not want to be in a spot exposed to lightning, in case the weather was bad the next afternoon. We headed a little farther than the cabin, and found a great campsite in one of the last sands of trees. We were perched on a small ledge, barely large enough for the tent, overlooking the roaring creek, forty feet below.
I am not sure what caused us to think this was a good idea, but I know it was caused in part by our absolute tiredness after such a long day. We simply could not stay awake, so we decided to fall asleep at 6pm, and wake up early to climb Mt. Belford for sunrise, as I had done in 2002. Not only was the sunrise spectacluar the first time, it was also one of the coldest experiences in my life.
We awoke at 1:30am, and were on the trail soon after, with the full moon to light the way, I didn't even use my headlamp. We climbed the steep switchbacks in the darkness, slowly rising above the silouhettes of the surrounding peaks. We were a bit ahead of schedule, and arrived on the summit with the first glimmer of twilight at 4:20am.
We sat, utterly frozen, on the summit for the next hour and a half. It was a bit below freezing, and a steady wind was blowing. Angi and I huddled together and watched the slow progression of sunrise. The sunrise was an incredible deep red color, again due to the wildfires in New Mexico. After a few summit shots we headed off towards Mt. Oxford.
The ridge went fairly easy, and we made the traverse in about an hour. It was incredible to see how close Mt. Harvard seemed, after it seemed so distant from Huron Peak the day before. It was still only 8am, and we headed back over the ridge.
We saw the first people of the day as we neared Belford's summit for the second time. I'm sure they had no idea what we'd been up to! After some extended viewing and discussion of the route up Missouri Mountain, we left Mt. Belford's summit. We had chosen to ascend Elkhead pass, and try for Emerald and Iowa peaks, two of Colorado's Highest Hundred, in addition to Missouri Mountain the next day.

Missouri Mountain:

On day three, we awoke at a more reasonable hour, and were on the trail to elkhead pass by sunrise. Less than an hour later, we reached the turnoff to the standard route on Missouri, contemplated our future, and continued on towards Elkhead Pass. There were some interesting clouds swirling around, very large and dark for 7am. We were a little uncertain of what would come.
We very soon found out what as in store for us. After twenty minutes we reached Elkhead pass, and were greeted by strong winds, rapidly dropping temperatures, and snow flurries. We gazed out to Emerald and Iowa, and realized our day was likely done. We would have to return home without Missouri Mountain, and I would have to return for a third time.
This prospect seemed so bleak, that by the time we had reached the turnoff for the main route on Missouri, and the snow had abated, we decided to head up anyway, and see how far we could get. We huffed up the trail, incredibly built by CFI in a talus field, and somewhat worn in the center of the gully. We met another climber when we reached the saddle after an hour or so.
We climbed the interesting ridge, which was mostly barely class 2, with a short, easy pitch which was slightly more difficult. However, the ridge took a bit longer than we thought, and it took about another hour to reach Missouri's summit. It was very cold and windy, and there were threatening clouds all around, but the weather had held out long enough for us to complete all the goals of the trip.
After as long as we could stand on the cold summit catting to our new friend, we headed down. I contemplated descending the C-Couloir as I had before, but since the weather had turned cold, the snow was still far to firm to glissaide such a steep slope. We found ourselves getting really far ahead of our buddy, and didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but we had a long day ahead of us, had hoped we'd have an opportunity later (which sadly, we didn't, so, Lee: Thanks for the chatting!).
We arrived in camp, and packed as quickly as we could, but were pretty pooped from all the work the last three days. We headed off down the steep trail, babying our knees, which had to bear the added insult of fully loaded overnight packs. As with many of our trips, we made it back to the car just in time for the rain to start, and we felt bad for the many others still out on the trail. We assumed this to be the case, since the parking lot was still about half full as we leaft with rain falling heavily.
The trip was a great success, and minus the worst traffic I have ever seen on I-70 (stopped for half an hour, with people walking around the parked cars on the interstate), it was a really fun an challenging was to bag a few easy peaks. I don't think of myself as much of a peak bagger, opting for more difficult routes during the off season, etc. However, it was nice to catch Angi up a bit on our fourteener count. She reached 18, and myself, 22.