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| Hiking | 12.47 Miles |
4,102 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.47 Miles | 7 Hrs 6 Mns | | 1.79 mph |
| 4,102 ft AEG | 8 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | No summit for me - this is a serious hike, especially if you have a low-clearance vehicle.
Free campsites are available in the Huerfano State Wildlife Area. I stayed there, because I wasn't sure if my car would make it to the dispersed camping sites in the last 2 miles before the TH. This proved to be a good decision.
Not turning my alarm volume higher than the nearby stream proved to be a bad decision. I woke up at 5:20 instead of 4, and I soon discovered that the road was too rough to get to where 14ers.com said was the 2WD trailhead. No matter, because that spot had a big "No Parking" sign anyways! Long story short, I started late and had to hike 4 miles to the TH instead of the 2 miles that I expected.
The approach is pretty challenging - there's a difficult stream crossing, and the trail is tighter and more rugged than what you expect on a 14er.
I made it up to a little over 13k, just before the final saddle, before I decided to call it. Clouds were building (but turned out to be benign), descending climbers said that the route was much more involved than they expected, I was behind schedule, and I had what I think was an altitude headache. The one bit of luck I had was running into some friendly climbers who drove me the last couple miles back to my car 
Oh well...this will be one to try again as a backpack or with folks that have a higher-clearance car. The area is gorgeous; you have dramatic views of Blanca and Ellingwood at various points throughout the hike. It's always worth seeing a new corner of CO, even without a summit. |
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