Mount Sherman • Hike • Colorado • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Aug 18 2025

Mike_W

Guides 104
Routes 256
Photos 16,118
Triplogs 528

53 male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Aug 18 2025
		Mike_W • Triplogs 528

Hiking	5.20 Miles	1,979 AEG

Hiking	5.20 Miles	5 Hrs 3 Mns	1.46 mph
	1,979 ft AEG	1 Hour 30 Mns Break

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I was told this was one of the easiest 14ers. Of course none of them are truly easy but relatively speaking this is one that probably many semi-experienced hikers can do.

I arrived at the trailhead around 8.30 am and found a parking spot not far from the closed gate which prevented cars from driving any further. I knew the round trip was roughly 5 miles and that meant that even going as slow as 1 MPH, I would easily be off the summit by Noon in the event that there was a storm. The weather was great. I saw clouds in the distance and there were no storms on the forecast for now.

Starting off it was just an old mining road. After about 1/3 mile of hiking up the road I saw an old mining area on the left side. There was a wooden structure partially destroyed, some metal tracks in different places, and what looked like an old rail car with a steering wheel attached. Why there was a steering wheel on it, I can't imagine. Maybe the steering wheel only controlled some kind of breaking mechanism. I saw a few mining holes and some tailings. The holes were all blocked by metal grates.

Initially, I could see Mt Sherman straight up and Mt Sheridan (13k+) to the left. If there was time, I thought about hiking Mt Sheridan also but I decided to pass since I planned on doing the DeCalibron loop and a total of FOUR 14ers the next day and that was going to be a tough day.

When I got up higher the road basically narrowed and turned into a trail but the trail was in great shape and easy to follow. I got up to the high ridgeline and saw some patches of snow. First time I ever saw this in August!

It was pretty rocky on the upper part but it was a pretty nice trail the entire way with not too many loose rocks. Before getting to the summit, I saw a family with 2 young kids starting to head down. I was surprised that the kids actually made it and seemed to be doing well. At the summit, I found a metal pole in a rock pile along with an old wooden slab that said Mt Sherman, 14,043 feet. There were a few other people near the summit when I got there and they offered to take my photo at the top.

There was a small rock enclosure near the top to get shelter in case there was any wind but it was quite calm the day I was up there. I wore a T-shirt for much of the lower part of the hike and put on a wind breaker when I got up higher because of the cool air. I got some photos and videos from the top and then started my descent down.

On the way down I decided to take a different trail branch that went further to the West and slightly toward Mt Sheridan. There was some more old mining equipment there and the trail was in worse condition. In a couple of areas I felt like I was scrambling across the rock and the trail was wiped out by various rock slides but I continued forward and the trail re-appeared again. I got down to another mining road which was the site of another mining area. I followed the road down and it met up with the original road I was on earlier and that took me back to the trailhead.

All in all it was a very pleasant and enjoyable hike and the weather conditions were outstanding! I would have been OK with a light sprinkle but it didn't happen.

Stats:
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round trip distance 5.2 miles
1979 feet AEG
strava moving time 3 hrs 20 mins
strava elapsed time 5 hrs 3 mins

I camped the night before at a free camping area not so far away off of FSR 18.2B. It was close to Horseshoe campground.

GPS location: 39.203769, -106.082561

_____________________

Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us

Oct 03 2020

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Oct 03 2020
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	5.28 Miles	2,243 AEG

Hiking	5.28 Miles	8 Hrs 7 Mns	0.85 mph
	2,243 ft AEG	1 Hour 53 Mns Break

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realm09

watermelonW

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Slowest hike ever, but my kids completed their first 14er. Got started around 0830. Cold and breezy, but sunny. Some smoke, but not as bad as I thought it might be. We took our time, obviously. The first half went by fairly quickly, but the second half was slow. Very windy once we got to the saddle, so we added some more layers. The final ridge walk was actually quite fun, and the kids liked that part too. A few tiny patches of snow and ice, but very easy to avoid. The kids were very tired at the top, so we took a long break before heading back down. Again, slow descent through the top half, and faster on the lower half. I love seeing old mining remnants, so that was fun for me. Great day with the kids.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Intrepid Back Shot Mine Shaft

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Stop crying and just go do the hike.

Sep 06 2018

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,485
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,375

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Mount Sherman & Mount Sheridan, CO

Hiking		Sep 06 2018
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,375

Hiking	6.50 Miles	2,825 AEG

Hiking	6.50 Miles	6 Hrs 11 Mns	1.57 mph
	2,825 ft AEG	2 Hrs 2 Mns Break

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Mount Sherman

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On this hike we went to the summit of both Mount Sherman (14,036') and Mount Sheridan (13,748').

The hike begins and ends at the Iowa Gulch TH, which is about 8 miles outside of Leadville. The last 5-6 miles to the TH are on an unpaved road, which is a bit rough and rocky. However, if you take your time, most any passenger car can make it.

When we got to the TH, which was at a little higher than 12,000' in elevation, it was 32 degrees with a brisk wind blowing. As we gained elevation, there was an inch or so of snow covering the trail (it snowed the previous day). The wind seemed to pick up as we gained elevation, which made for a cold hike. Thankfully, the wind was not quite as strong on the summits.

The trail was rocky virtually the entire way. After about 1.5 miles we came to a saddle between Mount Sherman and Mount Sheridan. The elevation of the saddle was around 13,100'. To get to Sherman, you go NE for about a mile, and to get to Sheridan you go SW for about 3/4 of a mile. From the saddle we went to the summit of Sherman; then came back down to the saddle and went up Sheridan. There were 3 other people on top of Sherman when we got there, and one other person on top of Sheridan. We saw a few people on the trail, but not very many. Given the weather conditions, I'm surprised that we weren't the only ones out there.

On the way down from Sheridan we saw 3 mountain goats. I walked pretty close to one of them, and figured that he would head in the opposite direction; instead, he just layed down on the ground, seemingly oblivious to me being there.

Most people seem to think that Sherman is the least difficult 14er, but I thought that it was tougher than Bierstadt. Of course, we also went up to Sheridan, and the weather on this day made the hike seem pretty tough.

From the saddle we could see several people doing the hike from the Fourmile Creek TH. From Leadville, that TH would be about a 2 hour drive, which is why we opted to do the hike from Iowa Gulch.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Unidentified Flora

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mountain Goat

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Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

1 archive

Jul 05 2014

rvcarter

Guides 36
Routes 310
Photos 2,235
Triplogs 241

79 male

Joined Mar 27 2008
tucson, az

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Jul 05 2014
		rvcarter • Triplogs 241

Hiking	5.10 Miles	2,065 AEG

Hiking	5.10 Miles
	2,065 ft AEG

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Randy and I did Mt. Sherman from the west TH out of Leadville. Not too hard but some very steep sections and lots of scree. Watch your footing. Pretty crowded in the 4th weekend, but fun nonetheless. Great views from summit. I'll try to load a gps track for the road in to the TH from Leadville.

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Check out my Instagram posts at "cartershift", and videos on my Rumble channel "rvcarter".

Sep 01 2013

DBmooner

Triplogs 100

40 male

Joined Jan 03 2011
chandler, Az

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Sep 01 2013
		DBmooner • Triplogs 100

Hiking	4.50 Miles	2,150 AEG

Hiking	4.50 Miles	3 Hrs 30 Mns	1.29 mph
	2,150 ft AEG

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I came from the Leadville side witch is a little shorter but it makes it a little steeper. it is a nice easy hike so it was very crowded and very little parking so you need to get there early. I started hiking around 7:30 with the summit still covered in clouds from the storm the night be for . It stayed hidden in the clouds till I was about a 1/4 mile from the summit. I made it to the summit at 9:45 and it was a zoo so I took a couple pictures and took off back to the truck . Right be for you get to the trail head the trail drops 100 feet below the parking lot, well when I was coming down the small slope I was jogging passed a group of people who had a dog to make thing easy I went off trail to avoid them well I guess their dog didn't like it so he ran up and bite me on my knee. It wasn't a bad bite it only left 1 small hole in my right knee. After I yelled at them for not having their dog on a leash and finding out if it had it's shots I headed across the field and back up the hill to the parking lot to clean out the bite.

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Aug 04 2012

BobP

Guides 2
Routes 251
Photos 4,593
Triplogs 3,212

63 male

Joined Feb 26 2008
Scottsdale, AZ

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Aug 04 2012
		BobP • Triplogs 3,212

Hiking	4.30 Miles	2,080 AEG

Hiking	4.30 Miles
	2,080 ft AEG

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fricknaley

Cool mining area. Started hiking at 515 under the light of the bright moon. We were the first to summit. This one exceeded expectations. It was great to hike with Nick..

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mining Equipment

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dauntless Mine Last Chance Mine Mount Sheridan Mount Sherman

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https://www.seeitourway.org
Always pronounce Egeszsegedre properly......
If you like this triplog you must be a friend of BrunoP

1 archive

Aug 04 2012

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,124

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Aug 04 2012
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,124

Hiking	4.30 Miles	2,080 AEG

Hiking	4.30 Miles
	2,080 ft AEG

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BobP

we weren't sure about the weather so we got an early start at about 5am. cold, but clear. wandered up through the mining areas in the dark, could hear water running down the canyon. pretty cool.

started climbing in earnest as the sun rose to awesome views of Sherman and Sheridan. hit the ridge and it really opened up...wow!!

on the ridge up to sherman the wind was raging and it froze my nose. actually not too bad on the summit. the views were just great and i was way stoked to hit my first colorado 14er with hoppy bob

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hi

Jul 30 2012

juliachaos

Routes 37
Photos 2,160
Triplogs 627

43 female

Joined Mar 01 2010
Phoenix, AZ

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Jul 30 2012
		juliachaos • Triplogs 627

Hiking	5.25 Miles	2,100 AEG

Hiking	5.25 Miles
	2,100 ft AEG

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First solo 14er.

This was a pretty easy hike. Lots of trail options to the top, and lots of craggy boulders to walk on, so it can get a little sketchy at times.. but not bad at all. I talked to a lot of people on the mountain, and it seemed as though everyone was from the midwest! There was a man from Longmont up top who had done 29 14ers, and he was with his grandson.. this was his first. I started back down the trail and soon met up with two very nice, very entertaining Tucson hikers. They'd had quite the adventure that day, accidentally hiking to a 13er nearby before getting to the top of Sherman. I think I convinced them that sleeping in the car is even better than it's cracked up to be.

Afterward, went in to Fairplay to "South Park City" to watch a little water polo and have a Breck Lucky U. I saw the man from Longmont again, and proudly showed him my Left Hand pin.. at which point he ran back to his car and came back sporting a pretty darn cool Left Hand hat! Love the people ya meet on the trail.

This concludes my conquest of Tenmile-Mosquito 14ers!

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Aug 08 2008

Davis2001r6

Guides 6
Routes 40
Photos 887
Triplogs 214

44 male

Joined Dec 06 2003
Bordeaux, France

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Aug 08 2008
		Davis2001r6 • Triplogs 214

Hiking	5.10 Miles	3,316 AEG

Hiking	5.10 Miles	3 Hrs 4 Mns	1.66 mph
	3,316 ft AEG

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Mt. Sherman 14,036'

After driving in 6 hours of rain I found myself in Fairplay, CO. Fairplay is also part of South Park, where the show was named from. It's the 5th highest city in Colorado at 9953'. It's a small town, but I found a bar and grill to get a burger at 8pm. It was still pouring outside and I was unsure how far I would be able to drive up the mountain in these conditions. To my pleasant surprise I was able to drive in the rainstorm all the way to 11,700ft, there was a small turnout there for a parking area. I was a bit worried about being up that high for a couple of reasons, it was still storming outside and after driving up from Phoenix, didn't want a killer headache in the morning from the altitude.

With the cold rain I had no intention of setting up the tent, so I slept an uncomfortable night in the car. Woke up and it was pretty clear, but dang cold out. Scott, you didn't tell me it was cold in the morning Smile I drove to the next parking spot at 11,900' I tried to get up the hill a few hundred feet but the rocks were loose and the civic was telling me no. SO I backed down and parked. 5 minutes later a AWD Subaru did the same thing I did and then parked next to me.

The hike climbs up through some old mining ruins. With a few buildings and some equipment still left up there. There are some switchbacks with take you to a saddle between Mt. Sherman (14'er) and Mt. Sheridon (13'er), I start heading up the ridge to Sherman. The clouds are really coming in now and soon I can't see much while climbing up the ridge. Another 15 minutes and I'm on the summit ridge, the actual summit was just another 5 minute walk so made my way over there. I was the first one up on this Friday morning and signed in up top. I couldn't see anything so headed back down. Soon the group that parked next to me made it up too, we snapped pictures of each other and I kept heading down.

The weather looked to be getting worse on the way down so I decided against heading over to Sheridan as well. Plus I was supposed to be meeting some friends 2 hours away at the Coors Brewery in a few hours. I took a different way back down to check out another set of mining buildings. There were now about 20 people on there way up the hill. Of course once I got down to the car it was starting to clear up and my friends decided against the brewery tour after there 15 hour overnight drive up from Phoenix. So I headed to Colorado Springs to meet up with them.

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Sep 03 2007

MtnGeek

Guides 9
Photos 134
Triplogs 75

48 male

Joined May 01 2002
Denver, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Mount Sherman

South Central, CO

Hiking		Sep 03 2007
		MtnGeek • Triplogs 75

Hiking	5.10 Miles	2,065 AEG

Hiking	5.10 Miles
	2,065 ft AEG

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I have heard many negative things about this peak, such as, it's bland, It's just a lump, uninteresting and so on. I decided I wanted to find out for myself just how boring of a hike this was. After doing Bierstadt on a busy weekend I was a bit concerned about the crowds as well.

The drive up Four Mile Creek was really pretty and Horseshoe Mountain was just fantastic looking. I pulled off the side of the road shy of the parking area due to how bad the road looked rutted out and started hiking there. All the way up to 13,000 feet, I was amazed by all the mining ruins there. This place is rich with history. The surrounding area did not disappoint either. The Valley was really pretty.

Once on the ridge line the view of the Sawatch Range was breathtaking. After staring is awe for quite some time I got my composure back and headed up the ridge. The ridge narrowed down and made the ascent interesting and fun, although not exposed or dangerous. The last fourth mile gains only about 30 feet and seems to drag on forever.

I then headed back to the saddle and headed up Sheridan. I was starving by the time I reached its summit and wolfed down what I could since the thunderstorms were coming. I raced down the boulders as fast as I could hearing thunder behind me the whole way. Pretty scary! Once I got back to the saddle, the storm was gone and the sun was shining again.

The hike itself is a bit busy, but tolerable. The scenery was outstanding and the hike was fun. All the mining ruins added a sense of intrigue and fascination. I really don't know what all the naysayers have against Sherman. It's a fantastic peak!
10th 14er.

_____________________

Mountains are there to be hiked!

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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