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Peak(s):  Huron Peak  -  14,006 feet
Browns Peak  -  13,526 feet
Date Posted:  10/16/2010
Date Climbed:   10/16/2010
Author:  lizard
 Huron descent via Browns   

Slept in my car the night before - I wanted to avoid driving 6 hours in one day (turns out it's only about 2:40 from Denver and that includes me driving very slowly up that 2 mile 4WD road in my Subaru Outback). It was super cold trying to sleep so I think I only managed a couple hours or so. I was happy when my alarm went off which would mean the sun would come out to warm me up soon!

So I start up the trail that starts past the trail head parking. I see a National Forest type sign and think that the trail is straight. Luckily I looked to the left and say a Huron sign and followed that trail instead (going straight is NOT correct)!!
Look to the left when you see the main trail sign and you should see this Huron Sign:
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I followed the switchbacks and was waiting for the sun to come out soon and start warming me up (it did not, I was on the west side of the mountain - oh well, I finally started to feel my toes an hour into the hike which was cause for celebration).

So there was a little snow on the trail below 12,000 feet but nothing that required yak trax or microspikes (not yet anyway).
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I continued up and was rewarded with a spectacular view of the 3 apostles. As I kept going and reached a flat part I stopped to enjoy the panoramic mountain view that surrounded me. I was in awe.
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View of Huron
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Next part started to get a little steep but nothing too major. Once I hit maybe 12,800 feet the snow started to get unavoidable. I followed previous hikers' tracks in order to stay on the trail. Snow was maybe 6-8" deep - I did get some in my boots but I was really appreciating having gore tex hiking boots - my feet managed to stay dry without gaiters (though they would be nice, don't get me wrong).
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At 13,500 the trail really was just picking your way through the rocks and finding a way up top, the trail was probably just buried in snow or maybe I was off it. I was wishing I hadn't forgotten my poles in the car - they really would have helped at this point. I didn't put on my microspikes quite yet - going up I didn't really need them.
Me on the summit
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Up top I chatted with another group and they told me they were heading down the ridge and over to Brown's Peak, a nearby 13er. I figured, why not - it didn't look like too much more climbing.
View of the ridge we climbed across
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We put on our microspikes and headed down toward the ridge - microspikes were great for this - I felt much more secure going down, especially because I didn't have poles.
View of Huron from the Ridge
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The ridge ended up being a little scary - there's no defined trail really so I just held on with my arms and moved my feet very carefully. I told myself one foot in front of the other and whatever you do don't look down. I made it to the to top of Brown's and then way down ended up being pretty steep. It was loose gravel with some rocks to stop your slide (I almost did the splits once - yikes) and then a lot of picking your way across big boulders. We finally met back up with the main trail and followed that all the way down.

On the way up to Browns
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View of Browns from the bottom of that scary descent
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Even with the Browns ascent total distance was only a little over 7 miles. So really not too long of a day! Views from this trail and from the summit of Huron are just spectacular - this has to be one of my favorites!



Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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Comments or Questions
TriGirl
User
Nice climb!
10/17/2010 4:14am
Glad you liked Huron I hope we can climb in the next couple of weeks. The snow looks fun.
Dee


jam6880
User
I figured, why not
10/22/2010 12:33am
”i figured, why not” That is my logic all year long!!! way to go climb on!!!



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