Huron Peak Trip Report 07/14/2008

Peak(s):	Huron Peak - 14,006 feet
Date Posted:	07/14/2008
Date Climbed:	07/12/2008
Author:	Green Knight

Huron Peak 07.12.08 GK
Mount Huron 07/12/2008 On Friday night I finished packing a few things for the hike, played a little Guitar Hero with my son and got him off to bed and just as I am heading to catch some Z's myself, my good friend Bob (ShadyHater69) shows up. We chat for a bit and I finally crawl into bed about midnight. Three AM comes way to fast and I somehow manage to get up without hitting snooze, truthfully I am so excited for this hike I was invigorated the second I woke up. I brew a pot of coffee and manage to forget all about by the time we leave at 3:45. So my Wife (Hummingbird80241), Bob and I all load up into the Trailblazer (what a fitting name for a vehicle, considering!) we listen to some tunes and make it to the trailhead by 6:55. There was some debate about going up the 4x4 road, but in the end we decided to enjoy the forest and hike the extra 2 miles in. On the road there is a nice wide stream which Heather and Bob cross without a problem in their waterproof boots, I don't have this luxury and in no way want to start the trip with wet feet. So as I am carefully crossing from rock to rock through this, I notice a small trail, what the heck I figure I'll take this and go around, after a minute or so I come to a section of the stream I had no chance of crossing and staying dry so I head back down and ford it like everyone else, my friends thought the detour was pretty funny. So after a couple of miles up this road it forks and we see the small sign with the peak pointing us to the right, I can see how people miss this little thing. We continue up onto the actual trail. It was absolutely beautiful within the forest; I love the canopy that the trees made, it was surreal in here . I've had a surgery or six on my knees and this was the first 14er I have climbed since the last ACL replacement in March, going up is much easier than coming down and I take the lead through the forest. I manage to stumble over a rock in the middle of the path at one point, and Bob does the same along the way up. My wife gives us hell, not to worry I tell her you are next. We continue on for a good hour or two or so and finally stop for a quick bite and some sunscreen as we are about to leave the timberline and shade behind. I'm a bit fatigued by this point and as we round a switchback we can finally see Huron Peak and an amazing view of the three Apostles as we round the corner I was awed and a little discouraged. It felt like we just finished with a 14er and now were starting from scratch staring at the peak looming above us The snowfield that is usually here was almost completely melted which made crossing the field relatively easy. There were so many wild flowers around us. Along the way I notice the aroma of weed, either the flowers are a bit pungent or there was a convent of hippies hiding out somewhere. As we start the assent there is a nice staircase of rocks to get us started, I'd like to thank however built this. We run across some small streams from all of the snow runoff, the trail is muddy in a few places and a stream itself in others. Heather confides along this portion of the trip that something popped in her knee/quad, but doesn't let it slow her down at all, she ties off her bandanna for a little support and hikes on. My friends and I finally reach the true assent and all of the wonderful scree and loose dirt along the way, we take our time and finally summit around 10:50. The view of the three Apostils is absolutely fantastic from the top of Huron Peak and the shear drop of and snow on the other side is pretty cool too. Bob and I down a Coors Light, which very well may have been the best beer I have ever had, and Bob mentally checks this off of his bucket list. Heather has some Advil and a banana 'cause she's not monkeying around. We take a few pictures, have some snacks and relax for a few minutes before starting the decent. I go ahead and pull up the rear on the way down, my least favorite part of the climb is directly after we head down from the summit, the ground is loose and my knees are sore, I am thankful for my poles and carefully traverse on down. There are patches of columbines along the way, I can see why this is the state flower seeing them in their clusters of five or six in purples and white alongside this green mountainside is truly beautiful. We make it back to the forest and one of those pesky rocks pops up mid path and trips my wife, so we came full circle here. You can hear the river/stream running along various points of the trial, combine that with the lush surrounding and you have yourself a very peacefully trek. By the time we reach the road and the stream from earlier I am well beyond caring if my feet get wet I tromp right through the middle of it and the cold feels wonderful on my sore feet. We make it back to the truck around 2:30 change it to flip flops and drive on down. Now there is a lake that we had decided to jump into alongside the road. The lake is huge and is fed from the Arkansas River (if I'm not mistaken) and there is a ton of snow runoff heading straight into this. Needless to say it's going to be cold. I am on the brink of exhaustion by this point. We find a perfect pull spot on the side of the road and dive into the lake fully clothed, the water is cold and refreshing and wakes us all up. It was a great trip and I would highly recommend Huron Peak to anyone that enjoys things that are tasty and delicious or just the outdoors and the wonderful mountains of Colorado. Until next time, Zach Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Huron Peak 07.12.08 GK

Mount Huron
07/12/2008

On Friday night I finished packing a few things for the hike, played a little Guitar Hero with my son and got him off to bed and just as I am heading to catch some Z's myself, my good friend Bob (ShadyHater69) shows up. We chat for a bit and I finally crawl into bed about midnight. Three AM comes way to fast and I somehow manage to get up without hitting snooze, truthfully I am so excited for this hike I was invigorated the second I woke up. I brew a pot of coffee and manage to forget all about by the time we leave at 3:45.

So my Wife (Hummingbird80241), Bob and I all load up into the Trailblazer (what a fitting name for a vehicle, considering!) we listen to some tunes and make it to the trailhead by 6:55. There was some debate about going up the 4x4 road, but in the end we decided to enjoy the forest and hike the extra 2 miles in. On the road there is a nice wide stream which Heather and Bob cross without a problem in their waterproof boots, I don't have this luxury and in no way want to start the trip with wet feet. So as I am carefully crossing from rock to rock through this, I notice a small trail, what the heck I figure I'll take this and go around, after a minute or so I come to a section of the stream I had no chance of crossing and staying dry so I head back down and ford it like everyone else, my friends thought the detour was pretty funny.

So after a couple of miles up this road

it forks and we see the small sign with the peak pointing us to the right, I can see how people miss this little thing. We continue up onto the actual trail. It was absolutely beautiful within the forest; I love the canopy that the trees made, it was surreal in here

.

I've had a surgery or six on my knees and this was the first 14er I have climbed since the last ACL replacement in March, going up is much easier than coming down and I take the lead through the forest. I manage to stumble over a rock in the middle of the path at one point, and Bob does the same along the way up. My wife gives us hell, not to worry I tell her you are next. We continue on for a good hour or two or so and finally stop for a quick bite and some sunscreen as we are about to leave the timberline and shade behind.

I'm a bit fatigued by this point and as we round a switchback we can finally see Huron Peak and an amazing view of the three Apostles as we round the corner

I was awed and a little discouraged. It felt like we just finished with a 14er and now were starting from scratch staring at the peak looming above us

The snowfield that is usually here was almost completely melted

which made crossing the field relatively easy. There were so many wild flowers around us. Along the way I notice the aroma of weed, either the flowers are a bit pungent or there was a convent of hippies hiding out somewhere.

As we start the assent there is a nice staircase of rocks to get us started, I'd like to thank however built this. We run across some small streams from all of the snow runoff, the trail is muddy in a few places and a stream itself in others.
Heather confides along this portion of the trip that something popped in her knee/quad, but doesn't let it slow her down at all, she ties off her bandanna for a little support and hikes on.

My friends and I finally reach the true assent and all of the wonderful scree and loose dirt along the way, we take our time and finally summit around 10:50. The view of the three Apostils is absolutely fantastic from the top of Huron Peak

and the shear drop of and snow on the other side is pretty cool too.

Bob and I down a Coors Light, which very well may have been the best beer I have ever had, and Bob mentally checks this off of his bucket list. Heather has some Advil and a banana 'cause she's not monkeying around.
We take a few pictures, have some snacks and relax for a few minutes before starting the decent.

I go ahead and pull up the rear on the way down, my least favorite part of the climb is directly after we head down from the summit, the ground is loose and my knees are sore, I am thankful for my poles and carefully traverse on down.

There are patches of columbines along the way, I can see why this is the state flower seeing them in their clusters of five or six in purples and white alongside this green mountainside is truly beautiful.

We make it back to the forest and one of those pesky rocks pops up mid path and trips my wife, so we came full circle here. You can hear the river/stream running along various points of the trial, combine that with the lush surrounding and you have yourself a very peacefully trek.

By the time we reach the road and the stream from earlier I am well beyond caring if my feet get wet I tromp right through the middle of it and the cold feels wonderful on my sore feet. We make it back to the truck around 2:30 change it to flip flops and drive on down. Now there is a lake that we had decided to jump into alongside the road. The lake is huge and is fed from the Arkansas River (if I'm not mistaken) and there is a ton of snow runoff heading straight into this. Needless to say it's going to be cold. I am on the brink of exhaustion by this point. We find a perfect pull spot on the side of the road and dive into the lake fully clothed, the water is cold and refreshing and wakes us all up.

It was a great trip and I would highly recommend Huron Peak to anyone that enjoys things that are tasty and delicious or just the outdoors and the wonderful mountains of Colorado.

Until next time,

Zach

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

ShadyHater69	Sweetness! 7/14/2008 8:13pm Congrats on #2! I had an awesome time with ya‘ll! We‘ll have to do it again in the very near future. You definitely kicked my ass on the ascent; you‘re knee seems to be in much better shape than I thought! I hope Heather puts up some pics of the lake/beer!
hummingbird80241	Ah, knee pain...hooray! 7/14/2008 10:10pm Bob was right, 24 hours after and I am ready to go again. Bring on number Seven!
Green Knight	Sister Report with additional pics of this climb 7/15/2008 4:08pm Here is the link to hummingbird80241‘s report with the additional pics of this trip: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=4686
AlabamaTLC	Congrats!! 8/8/2008 2:29am Glad you got this one under your belt...really enjoyed your down-to-earth TR. Keep it up...hope to run across the three of you this September.

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