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Peak(s):  Mt. Belford  -  14,202 feet
Mt. Oxford  -  14,158 feet
Missouri Mountain  -  14,071 feet
Date Posted:  08/16/2016
Date Climbed:   08/14/2016
Author:  gabsimonelouise
 Belford, Oxford, Missouri Triple-Whammy   

The Short of It:

1. The road to Missouri Gulch Trailhead is dirt, but easy 2WD.

2. We slept in the car in the parking lot which had plenty of facilities (although bring your own toilet paper). The lot was empty at night but nearly full by about 6 AM the next day.

3. We took the standard routes for all summits.

4. Two and a half hours to summit Mt. Belford from the parking lot; 1 hour from Belford summit to Oxford summit; 1 hour from Oxford summit to the top of trail that leads down to Elkhead Pass; 1 hour from there to Missouri Mountain NW Ridge trail junction; 1 hour 10 minutes from junction to Missouri summit; 3 hours from summit to parking lot. 9 hrs 40 min RT total.

5. We estimated the RT distance for this route to be about 15 miles and 7,000 feet of elevation gain.

The Long of It:

Saturday, 8/13/16, 8:00 PM: After a 2 hour 20 minute drive from Denver, we arrived at the Missouri Gulch Trailhead parking lot. Lot was half-full, but filled up as hikers started filing in between 5 and 6 AM. The trailhead is very well maintained, with a caibo plus about six port-a-potties, so no excuse to leave your, uh, refuse, at the trailhead please. Just remember to bring your own toilet paper as not all facilities had it. We rolled out our bags and pads in the back of our Subaru and slept.

Sunday, 8/14/16, 5:15 AM: Rude awakening by alarm clock.

6:00 AM: On the trail. The trail was easy to follow except at the second river crossing (the one without a bridge), cross at the logjam immediately. It may look tempting to turn right and follow what looks like a trail upwards, but our friend warned us that this dead-ends and you will get wet! Just above tree line we turned left at the sign for Mt. Belford (right leads to Elkhead Pass/Missouri Mountain) and began the ascent of millions of little switchbacks. The trail flowed well, and was comfortable to walk on. Not too many large steps or loose rocks. We found the quality of most of the trails we hiked in Missouri Gulch to be top-notch.

8:30 AM: Summited Mt. Belford.
Image
Belford in da bag!
Ate a snack, and left for Mt. Oxford. The downhill portion between Belford and Oxford was slippery with loose dirt and was the only portion of the Belford/Oxford trails that gave us (and our butts) trouble. The ascent to Oxford was gradual and easy.

9:30 AM: Summited Mt. Oxford.
Image
Oxford in da bag!
Ate a snack, then headed toward Belford again. Once we reached the ridge we turned right toward the Belford summit but stopped at a trail junction about 100 feet from where we met the ridge.
Image
On the Belford ridge looking down at Elkhead Pass.
Image
Looking up at the Belford ridge from Elkhead Pass.
We made a sharp left and descended to Elkhead Pass, where we took in the view
Image
View from Elkhead Pass.
and pondered the not-well-traveled-looking route up Missouri's east-facing ridge.
Image
Questionable east-facing trail up Missouri.
A woman on the summit said she climbed the east-facing route once and figured it must've been class 4. Hiker beware. We kept on the Elkhead Pass Trail towards the junction of the NW Ridge route. It's obvious which way to go!
Image
Easy Elkhead Pass trail towards NW Ridge route trail junction for Missouri.


10:30 AM: Reached the trail junction. Ate a snack, and began the ascent to Missouri's peak. Please follow the trail; it is well-marked and the long switchbacks soften the ascent. Toe-digging and calf-crushing your way up the center of the steep gulley does look like a more efficient use of time, but we cringed as we watched a hiker go off-trail and tromp the tundra. At the top of the gulley, a left took us along the ridge to the summit. The ridge is longer than most 14ers, but it's a nice respite from the straight-up. Beware slippery sand just before the final push to summit; a slip and fall would mean a long slog back up in loose scree. You can also avoid the sand and climb over the rock outcroppings, but a fall from those would surely hurt. Play to your strengths.

12:30 PM: Third summit of the day!
Image
Missouri in da bag!
We took our time and relaxed in the sun. And, of course, ate a snack. The sun remained in the sky for our hike all the way back down.

3:30 PM: Back at the parking lot. I dipped in the stream under the bridge to cool off and we ate all the rest of our snacks. Just in case y'all didn't think we'd had enough snacks!



Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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Comments or Questions
James Scott
User
Job Well Done
8/17/2016 8:45am
I did these three peaks a few weeks back, but I started with Missouri because I didn't want to ascend the Belford shoulder. Both ways work, but I'd rather go down that part. I enjoyed your pictures- what a beautiful basin when it's green, and returning from Elkhead must have been a great way to appreciate it. Solid day!


gabsimonelouise
User
Thanks James!
8/17/2016 9:02am
We weren't sure we wanted to do all 3 but when we got to that basin we just couldn't resist. Such an amazing area Happy trails!


MtnHub
User
Great job!
8/17/2016 1:28pm
That's no small feat getting all three in a day hike. Congratulations in getting it done! Was just up Elkhead for the first time a couple of years ago. Missouri and Belford are fun to repeat; once is enough for Oxford. Ha!


Krullin_14ers
User
Fantastic Beta, great pics!
8/30/2016 8:37am
I have a question, though.

From Belford, do you have any idea the milage to Elkhead Pass (where the giant cairn is).

Thx!


gabsimonelouise
User
1-1.5 miles?
8/30/2016 9:15am
It was probably 1-1.5 miles, all downhill on easy trail. It took us about 30 minutes to get from just below Belford to Elkhead Pass.



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