From North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead

Mount Harvard and Mount Columbia were my first fourteeners of 1999.   At first, it seemed like a bit of a chore to climb these two peaks because they were fourteeners; I probably would not have opted to climb these peaks if it hadn’t been for their height.  They’re not very exciting.  However, this trip turned out (as usual) to be a lot of fun although it was very long and difficult. 

A co-worker, Bill Snodgrass, and I drove out to Buena Vista for dinner and then along the North Cottonwood Creek road to find a place to car camp.  There were plenty of spots along this road and we found a nice one about a quarter of a mile from the trailhead.  For fun, we hiked up to the trailhead to check things out then spent the rest of the evening filtering water, drinking wine, and talking.   We went to bed around 10pm.  I slept well and woke up around 5:30.   I spent 30 minutes getting my things ready and then Bill got up around 6:15.   We packed up his jeep and drove up to the trailhead.  We began hiking around 7:20 am.

We started well below treeline (typical of the Sawatch) at about 9500 feet.  The trail is in excellent shape and parallels North Cottonwood Creek for a two miles or so.   You cross the creek twice over solid bridges.  After the second bridge, you come to a “Y” in the trail.  Right heads up to Horn Fork Basin and Mount Harvard.  The other leads to Kroenke Lake, one of the routes to Mount Yale.
 
We hiked through forest for about four miles total then finally emerged in the open and had our first views of Mount Harvard.  Mount Columbia was to our right but was nothing much more than a huge scree slope.  We knew this would be our route down Columbia.  I knew that wasn’t going to be any fun.

Mount Harvard is basically a giant bulk of a mountain.  There’s not much definitive shape to it.   However, it’s the third highest in the state.  In the picture to the left, the summit is the highest point on the left-hand side.

Horn Fork Basin is quite a large basin.  The trail snakes around and eventually wends it’s way up to the slopes of Mount Harvard.

After taking a short break, we headed back up the trail.
 
After winding a little closer to Mount Columbia, the trail follows a fairly swift stream.  You have to eventually cross the stream.  A couple of trails split along the creek and formed various stream crossings.  We picked the one that seemed to have had the most traffic.

At another stream crossing made easy by large boulders strategically placed,I took a couple of slides of this shot as well.  I basically had to lay down in the grass to get as close as possible to the flowers.

We eventually arrived underneath Mount Harvard and headed for the saddle on the west side of the basin.  This involved crossing a couple of snowfields.  I didn’t have my gaiters and occasionally my boot would punch through and bits of icy snow would fill up in my shoes.  I had to dig my finger in my shoes to remove the snow.   This got to be a pain, but eventually we made it to the ridge.  I became more and more tired as we slogged our way up the slopes of Mount Harvard.  When we were about 100 feet below the summit, an angry wren started dive-bombing us!  I suppose we were close to it’s nest but because we didn’t know where we were, we simply zoomed past it’s area.
 
We headed up the west ridge for the final 60 or 70 feet of the summit which actually included some fun 3rd class scrambling.  We encountered another hiker who was sort of scared of the final pitch but we led him up and he made it fine.  There were two other guys on top of the peak when we arrived.  No one else was heading over to Columbia and it started getting quite dark around us, though it was fairly clear over Columbia.

We spent about 15 or 20 minutes on the summit taking pictures and talking.  At one point, I had Bill take a slide of me.  I removed my hat for the picture and after he snapped it, I noticed it slowly disappearing underneath a rock!  A marmot was trying to steal it.  I jumped down of my perch quickly and reached underneath the rock into a small cave and felt around for the hat, expecting a bite any second!  Finally, I felt it and I pulled on it but the marmot didn’t want to let go.  Finally, it came loose.

The marmot popped out a few seconds later wondering what had happened to his new prize.
 
The hike along Harvard’s ridge included some easy scrambling.  We then turned south and started heading for the infamous Columbia-Harvard ridge.  As we swung to the south and saw the ridge directly in front of us, we heard the fateful rumbling of thunder.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was hoping that the thunder and lightning would hold off to allow us to summit Columbia but it appeared that that would not be the case.  This was like deja vu to Bill who had climbed these two peaks about 10 years earlier in almost identical circumstances.  There wasn’t much we could do though except continue on.  At this point, we were about as far as possible from the jeep.  To get back, we’d have to march forward; there was no escape route at this point.

We opted not to do the ridge directly because we were short of time and heard that it was difficult and messy.  Thankfully, the thunder didn’t return.  It remained dark, cloudy, snowy, and rainy for the rest of the day.  But, the important thing was that there was no thunder and lightning.  So, we took the standard route and dropped down the east side.  We should have dropped down sooner but instead descended a nasty, loose gully.  I slipped a couple of times – what a drag. We crossed through the snowfields and eventually arrived at a bench with tarns and wildflowers where we took a break.  At this point, I was really really tired.  We had about 700 feet more to arrive at the top of Mount Columbia.  It took us quite a while and a couple of more breaks but we did indeed finally make after about an hour.
 
We arrived on the top of Mount Columbia in snow flurries and thick, low-setting clouds. you can see Mount Harvard in the background.  We stayed on the summit for about 15 minutes.  We signed the register and then just lay there for a while.  The elevation was done, but we had that huge scree slope to descend.  Even after descending the slope, there was still another 4 miles remaining to get back to the car.   And it was about 5:45pm.  Well, after heading down the ridge a while, we started down.  We should have dropped down after another hundred yards to enjoy a little bit more of a grassy slope but we didn’t.  I started out in front of Bill and slid, slipped, and slopped my way down to the bottom.  As I neared the bottom, several thick, low-setting clouds moved in and out of the area.  It was pretty neat.   I took a picture of Bill descending the scree slope with the summit of Columbia shrouded in the clouds. 

At the bottom, we changed our socks, rested again, and headed off.  I went ahead looking for a trail that I expected to find leading back to the main trail in Horn Fork Basin.  I found it right away and it took about 10 minutes for us to get back to the main trail.  The main trail felt like the autoban after traversing the ridge and descending the scree slope.  My legs were trembling from that ordeal but I had my second wind as we arrived at the trail.  I zoomed back down to the car ahead of Bill and had a chat with another hiker for about 30 minutes until Bill showed up.  We left the trailhead around 9:50.  We stopped for a fast dinner-to-go in Silverthorne and arrived back at the Blake Street Terrace building around 1 am where my car was parked.  We both arrived back at home around 1:30 am.

This was a great trip although it was very very long and difficult.
 

From Jennings Creek Trailhead

Tabeguache Peak and Mount Shavano are the southernmost fourteeners of the Sawatch Range and are often hiked together.  I was very excited about hiking both peaks because that would mark the exact halfway point to my completion of the Colorado Fourteeners. Two weeks earlier, I hiked up Mount Antero in beautiful weather.  The weather was also fantastic this weekend and there was even less snow.  A friend from work, Bill Snodgrass, and I left Westminster around 6:15 am and drove to a quaint cafe outside of Poncha Springs to meet one of Bill’s friends, Steve Johnson.  Both Steve and Bill are veteran hikers having finished the fourteeners long ago.  But they were still up for a hike of Tabeguache and Shavano.
 
We drove up a bumpy dirt road to the Jennings Creek trailhead and started hiking around 10:20 am.  According to a warning at the trailhead, the trail was eroded and an alternate route on the other side of Shavano was suggested.  Unfortunately, it was getting late so we opted not to turn around.   The trail indeed is in bad shape.  Higher up, in a skeletal forest of dead evergreen trees, the main trail splits several times into a wide-open eroded space.   It’s impossible to tell one “trail” from the other. This obviously, wasn’t caused by human traffic; it’s just naturally eroded.  Hiking on it doesn’t help though.

Finally, we emerged from the lower slopes and were greeted with this views of both fourteeners (l-r Tabeguache and Shavano).  From here, I realized how long this hike really was going to be.  To get to Shavano, we’d have to hike a giant horseshoe of a ridge.

This is a great time of year to hike.  We only passed two other people all day.  The day was perfectly clear, there was little wind, and the weather promised to hold all day.  We also saw some mountain goats before arriving at this saddle.

After taking a lunch break, we headed left towards Tabeguache Peak.  Bill and Steve decided that they would not continue on to Shavano since they’d already been a few times so I decided I would eventually get in front of them, zoom over Tabeguache, hike up to Shavano, then meet them back on top of Tabeguache.
 
The route to Shavano is semi-straightforward.  The trail disappears and re-appears from time to time on the talus slopes below Tabeguache.  Once you arrive the highpoint of the ridge before summiting Tabeguache, you can see that the summit of Tabeguache is not quite as easy as the typical Sawatch fourteener.  There’s a fair amount of route-finding necessary in order to pick the best route.  It’s not too hard but it certainly is more challenging than most.  I paused only for a moment on the summit, not taking any time to sit and rest. It was getting kind of late.  It was already 3:15. So, I bounded down the other side of Tabeguache which had a fair amount of deep snow on it and began the long ridge ascent to the summit of Shavano.  The wind was pretty hard on Shavano so I put on my jacket.  I continued on past two false summits and arrived about 50 minutes later at the top.  I paused only for about 5 minutes for pictures and zoomed back down.  I was kind of bummed about not being able to spend a lot of time on the summit but I needed to get back to Steve and Bill who were waiting on the top of Tabeguache.  At the saddle between the two fourteeners, I took about a 2 minute break to finish up some food.  Then I reluctantly began the slog back up to the summit of Tabeguache through deep snow.  I was back on top with Bill and Steve at 5:15 and requested about a ten minute break before descending. I was really tired!

The view from the summits today was fabulous. We could see forever. We were able to pick out at least seventeen fourteeners including San Luis, Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre, the Blanca Group, the Crestones, the Maroon Bells, Castle Peak, and the nearby Sawatch Peaks. Steve even saw a giant meteor streak through the sky.

We started heading back down around 5:30.  We realized that we would be hiking in the dark very soon!

We were able to make it down off the talus to the lower ridge before we needed our flashlights. We were a little worried about finding the trail again since we had so obscure during the day. Strangely enough, we found the trail right away and easily followed it all the way back down. The stars were shined brilliantly. I hadn’t hiked off a mountain in the dark before. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Standard Approach up Baldwin Gulch

Mount Antero is known for its gemstones, notable quartz and aquamarine.   Unfortunately, when I went, there was snow everywhere so it made gem searching rather difficult.  On the good side, I practically had the peak to myself.   There was a party of five hikers but I passed them and got far enough in front where I was able to enjoy a 45-minute lounge in the warm sun on the summit.

This outstanding view of Antero occurs just after turning off highway 24.  The aspens were great this weekend but they were definitely on the way out.  The best aspen weekends were the previous two in which I soloed Belford and Missouri.

I got a fairly late start on Antero.  I left home around 6:30 am and, because of the long 4×4 road up Baldwin Gulch, I didn’t actually start hiking until 10. No matter though, I was the first on the summit and still had plenty of time when I got back to visit St. Elmo.  Plus, the summer thunderstorm season was over. There would be no weather troubles on this perfect day!
 
The road is not rough at all.  The worst part is at the very beginning. So if you can handle that, you can get up as high as you want.  There is one stream crossing but it’s a breeze too.  A lot of people park at the small parking lot before crossing the stream.  I continued on.  The road was even smoother past the creek!  However, snow patches were becoming more common.   I parked about halfway up the road mainly because I was itching to start the hike but I also didn’t feel like getting onto some slick snow.  The roads turned out to be OK all the way up to the base of Antero.  Now, you can continue up the jeep trail on the slopes of Antero.  The road is in very good shape.  However, it’s very very narrow.  There’s barely enough room for one car.  I’d hate to meet another car coming down!  If you go, pick a Tuesday and go early, you’ll hopefully have the place to yourself.  This day, however, the slopes of Antero were not an option for 4×4′s; large drifts lay across the roads.
 
Hiking up these switchbacks is so easy.  It makes Antero a pleasure to hike up – if you’re in the mood for a mellow stroll at high altitude, which I was.  However, some of the drifts were pretty high so I ended up postholing quite a bit.  I got tired of this and figured if I was postholing, I might as well do it on a more direct route.   So I skipped the final two or three switchbacks and hiked directly up the gully to the highest road. It was actually quite easy. At this point, there was a climbers trail heading up to the upper slopes.  The road continued on.  I slowly crossed a huge snowdrift and hiked up the trail to the flat area at about 12,800.   From here you have fantastic and dramatic views of Shavano and Tabeguache.

At this point, the hiking was very easy for a while.  There was very little elevation gain as the trail rejoined the road and the road swung around to the east side of the mountain and began a few more small switchbacks.  I’d passed the 5 climbers when I exited onto the climbers trail and they were nowhere in sight.  Before beginning the switchbacks, I sat down and took a break, ate, and took some pictures, including a self portrait. After climbing up the final switchbacks, you arrive at a wide saddle. At this saddle is a small parking lot (sort of) for cars. This is as high as you can go in an automobile and if you make it this far, Antero is within 30 minutes! Of course, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who would call this an official climb of Antero. Anyway, from this saddle, you get the first view of the final ridge that leads to the summit.
 
The ridge has some fun scrambling on it but you certainly don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. I went over the top of the ridge most of the way but wasn’t interested in doing anything to difficult or dangerous since I was by myself. The wind started picking up here quite a bit. I had to put on my gloves and hat. At the end of the semi-scrambling, you begin to gain the final altitude. The ridge widens dramatically to a big talus slope similar to Mount Princeton or Grays Peak.

Note the trail that leads to the right around the sub-peak.  This is a very deceptive trail!  I decided I would try to spice up the hike by taking this trail back to the flats.  Boy, was that a mistake!   The trail indeed started leading there and it was easy hiking.  Then suddenly, it ended!  Either it was hike all the way back up the trail to the saddle and hike back down the road, or descend to the road below.  Descending was certainly shorter but it looked like a messy talus hike.  It was!  It took me quite a while to get back down to the road.  If you’re ever tempted to take this trail, don’t!  It’s not worth it.  The road back offers much easier hiking and nicer views.
 
After taking this picture and a mega panoramic picture that ranged all the way from Shavano to Princeton, I called home, ate, and took about a 15 minute catnap.  The wind was very calm up here.  Very pleasant.  After I hiked back down to the aformentioned talus field, I arrived at the high road on Antero.  Instead of taking the road all the way back, I took the direct route and followed a gully out.   It turned out to be a good choice (though my 35mm Canon camera took about a 200 foot tumble – thank goodness for my case) and I was out in no time.  I sauntered down the rest of the road back to my jeep then headed to St. Elmo.   St. Elmo turned out to be a nice side-trip.  There’s also several other ghost towns in that area – Iron City, Tincup, and Romely (I think it was Romely).

From Huerfano Vally, Northwest Ridge

Mount Lindsey is a really fun and challenging climb in many aspects. Robert and I drove down to Mount Lindsey on August 1st to camp overnight. The jeep trail that runs through the center of the valley is very long (about 10 miles) and gets really rough about halfway there. It had rained on us almost the entire way and the ground was very wet. There were some huge mud puddles and some steep inclines to go over. According to some info that I’d found on the road, 2-wheel drive cars could indeed make it all the way to the trailhead. Man, is this incorrect! There’s no way a 2 wheel drive can make it to the trailhead except by being dropped by helicopter. Amidst this rugged road is some of the prettiest scenery that I have seen in Colorado yet. There were thick forests of aspen surrounded by deep emerald green meadows with small ponds located in various spots. On top of this, the giant north face of Blanca Peak looks over the entire valley. It’s quite dramatic.
 
We arrived at the trailhead around 6:30pm and packed in about .5 – .75 miles to our campsite which, unlike the other campsites we saw, was well-hidden from the trail and situated next to the roaring Huerfano Creek. The creek posed one of the biggest challenges to us. After setting up camp and eating, we scouted ahead on the trail and found that the creek crossing was going to be difficult. The main crossing was very wide and deep and only passable by wading. So, we explored upstream and downstream until we found the most suitable place to cross which was downstream near an island formed by the creek forking and rejoining with itself. Crossing over to the island was easy, crossing from the island to the opposite side was tricky. We found the most narrow spot (which translated into deep and swiftly flowing water) and began extending the shore with large rocks. We build a small ramp about two feet long that made the leap over the stream possible. It wasn’t easy either. I tested and got over safely but it was much spookier coming back. Well, it began to get dark so we decided we would see if anyone would set stepping stones on the trail in the morning and if not, we’d use our way station.

We slept very well that night. Our campsite was soft and perfectly level and smooth. We got up rather late in the morning and went up to the stream crossing and noticed a towel on the other side. Somebody had suffered and waded through that frigid morning water. We weren’t about to do that so we backtracked and crossed at our spot.
 
We made it across with no problems but the other side was really marshy. After we hooked back up with the main trail, we continued up the valley a way until the trail turned left and started climbing below the talus and towards the Nipple Creek canyon. The trail is pretty clear and leads all the way up the canyon to the basin below Lindsey. However, we got off route at one point and ended up hiking directly up Nipple Creek. Fortunately, we regained the trail well below treeline but, on the way down, it was difficult to see how we’d gotten off the trail. I suppose the trail looks different on the way up as opposed to the way down and there were a few places that entered the forest that looked like trails. No harm done though, and we got some nice close-up views of Nipple Creek.

Near treeline, there’s a tunnel carved out of the rock on the opposite side of the creek. There are no mines labeled on the map but this cave was definitely artificial. We were dissappointed too because I’d left my flashlight back at camp.   It was really creepy after walking in only 15 feet. The tunnel continued about 20 feet ahead and turned and ascended to the left. Maybe some other time we can explore it. However, I’d hate to run into some “thing” deep in that tunnel.
 
After exiting the Nipple Creek Valley, we came to a wide basin filled with boulders and green grass. Ahead of us we saw the prominent pyramid of Mount Lindsey. At first, we mistook this for “Iron Nipple” which lies to the left of Lindsey from here. I figured that a mountain named “Iron Nipple” would have to look pretty difficult to warrant such a name but it turns out that it’s a rather wimpy mountain. I have no idea why it’s even named. It’s a sub-peak of an unnamed 13,800+ peak. Go figure.

There are a few faint trails that lead to a small saddle in front of Lindsey, from this sub-saddle, you turn left and climb to the Lindsey/Iron Nipple saddle. There are two routes you can take at this point. The standard route leads up the north face up a couple of steep gullys. The other route is the northwest ridge which is a tough, exposed ridge climb. After having so much fun on Navajo Peak the year before, we opted for the ridge. We descended the North Face route.
 
The northwest ridge was pretty easy going at first – just scrambling over large boulders. Later on, the ridge narrowed drastically. There are a few gullies that run up to meet the ridge which makes the ridge appear unpassable. As we approached the tops of the gullies though, it was easy to see where to cross them. At one point, the ridge narrowed to just a couple of inches, so we dropped down about 5 feet and traversed across a ledge a few inches wide while holding on to the top part of the ridge. The most difficult section by far, however, is near the middle of the ridge where you can see a prominent, vertical triangle-shaped cliff. From a distance, we thought we could easily traverse around the right side but upon closer inspection that wasn’t an option without a rope. We climbed up the left side and continued up steep rock until regaining the ridge. After this, the scrambling relaxes again and it is very pleasant all the way to the top. There’s a false summit to climb over but the true summit lies only a couple of hundred feet beyond. There weren’t too many people on the peak this day – we had the summit all to ourselves. It was a perfect day and we could see for miles.

Standard Route from Kite Lake

Three fourteeners in one day is a peak baggers dream come true. This trip delivers with flying colors.  You start at picturesque Kite Lake (12,000) and tour, from left to right, the ridge along the basin above the lake.

A few months ago, I wasn’t too interested in these 14ers because they seemed so bland. And, from looking at the map, I imagined the Kite Lake area to be completely scarred by all the mining activity (kind of like on the other side at Climax). Well, this was not the case at all. The area was quite beautiful…highly recommended for all.

I spent the night at Kite Lake and woke up around 6:15 and hit the trail at 6:30   The trail up to Democrat is straightforward. There’s a false jeep trail along the lake. Don’t take this trail because it eventually ends lower down in the basin. The real trail  starts at the high end of the campground at Kite Lake.

The hike up to Democrat is enjoyable.  The saddle was pretty windy but afforded nice views. You can pick out Quandry Peak easily from here.  It’s on the right-hand side of the photograph on the left. From the saddle, I began hiking up the talus trail (which is in excellent shape) up to the false summit of Democrat.  It took me a measly 1.5 hours to get to the top of Democrat.  That’s a nice change after doing very long fourteeners like Sunlight and Windom.

It seems like I’ve seen mountain goats on the most popular fourteeners.   I’ve seen them on Democrat (very popular), and the immensely popular Grays Peak.   There’s also plenty of mountain goats on one of the most popular mountains of all – because there’s a paved road to the top – Mount Evans!

Mount Lincoln is very close to Cameron and separated only by a saddle that dips 400 feet at most.  In fact, you can see the tip of Lincoln peeking over the left side of Cameron in this photo.  No, Cameron is no official fourteener.

Once you make it to the top of Cameron, all the hard work is over.  It’s a breeze over to Lincoln, and it’s a simple ridge walk with very little elevation over to Bross.

I arrived at the top of Mount Lincoln in 1.25 hours from the top of Democrat.  Still making really good time.  Lincoln has the most interesting summit of the three but it’s still quite rounded and gentle compared to many other peaks. That’s Quandry Peak in the distance.

After leaving Lincoln, you hike back to the wide Lincoln/Cameron saddle and head south.  The hike over to Bross is a virtual highway.  The trail is excellent (it even converts to a road when you get to the slopes of Bross) and the elevation is minimal.  It’s a great place for a brisk walk while enjoying superb views.  It took me only 45 minutes to arrive at the top of Bross from Mount Lincoln.

I never found the register and I certainly wasn’t about to search the whole summit for it.  There were no 4×4′s on top when I was there but there is a trail that goes all the way to the top!  That might be fun to do sometime.  After lounging around on top for about 30-40 minutes, I began the slog down to Kite Lake .   There’s a trail for a half mile or so but eventually you need to head straight down the talus and scree.  I didn’t enjoy that too much but overall this trip was a fantastic, mellow hike.

Excluding the leisure time that I took on the peaks (about 30 minutes on Bross!), the whole trip took about 4 hours and 25 minutes.

Mount Sherman is the lowest fourteener in the Mosquito Range.  I’ve always regarded it as a rather mundane peak and therefore, most likely, a rather boring climb.  Well, it may look mundane but Mount Sherman was a fun fourteener.  This trip featured an enjoyable hike up, perfect weather, and a dramatic, fun finish.

We had to park near winter closure.  Although the road was in excellent condition (easily passable for any type of car), a huge snow drift lay across the road and prevented us from continuing any further.  However, it was an easy hike up to the normal trailhead.  There’s a road that continues up to a mine practically at the base of the mountain.  We continued up this road to nearly the entrance of the mine and then traversed southward underneath the west face of the mountain.
 
There were large wooden poles that ran from the mine along this gully all the way to the top of the saddle.  Apparently, it used to be a crude power line but had been long since abandoned.
 
I really enjoyed Sherman so much because of its long ridge walk.  From, below, the mountain looks quite boring, but I didn’t realize how narrow the ridge was.  It’s not dangerous or exposed but it’s narrow enough to make you feel like you’re flying above everything else.  Also, the Spring snow made it much more enjoyable than it probably is in Summer.
 
We had perfect weather – the best I’ve ever had on a Spring trip.  From the top, we were able to pick out tons of other fourteeners – Grays and Torreys, Bierstadt and Evans, Lincoln, Bross, Democrat, Massive, Elbert, La Plata, Huron, Belford, Oxford, and Harvard!

After lounging around on the summit, we started our descent down the ridge.  Once on the edge of the ridge, we began one of the longest, most awesome glissades that I’ve ever done.  We glissaded all the way back down to the base of Iowa Gulch!  I was certainly surprised at how much fun Mount Sherman turned out to be.  I highly recommend this fourteener – especially in Spring!