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Overnighting at Huron

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 3:40 pm
by Lummp
Hey all,

FNG here returning to attempt Huron again after being chased off 100 feet from the peak due to summer storms rolling through. Will be in the area June 8-18. This time, I've got in my crazy little head that I want to hit Huron midday and get the basin in the afternoon, setup a UL campsite, and then summit the peak starting 3-4AM to catch the sunrise at the peak. Is this just complete dumbassery or something to be reasonably achieved? I do a bit of UL winter hiking in the lower Appalachians (GA/NC/TN), so I feel confident in my gear and leg strength. No so much in lung capacity. Last time I was at Huron, I remember seeing a tent or two near the little pond at 12.5' elevation, so I assume this has been done before with success. *Note, I'll be doing this solo.

Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. Will also be hitting La Plata and possibly Belford/Oxford if I'm feeling feisty.

Thanks,

William

Re: Overnighting at Huron

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:14 pm
by Ptglhs
Nothing stopping you from camping in the Back country, just follow standard rules about distance from trail and water sources. If you're not acclimated then you won't sleep well up that high. Trying to sleep in air with less O2 than you're used to leads to headaches, constantly waking up, and just a pretty uncomfortable night.

I've done a significant portion of my 14ers as overnights because I loathe getting up early for driving/hiking. Backpacking in to treeline, sleeping til 6ish, starting by 7, and being on the summit by 10 is ideal for me. I know you were wanting to start earlier.

Re: Overnighting at Huron

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:25 pm
by dwoodward13
Its possible that area will still have snow, and if not snow probably mud that early in the season. As far as LNT goes, camping on snow would be fine, but mud...less so. Above treeline camping is somewhat frowned upon, but if you do, try and find a spot people have already camped at instead of making a new spot. Summer monsoon usually won't have started yet, so the risk of afternoon thunderstorms would be low. It probably will be decently cold and maybe windy however.

If it were me, I'd probably just camp at the trailhead and get up a few hours earlier to get the sunrise and not have to mess with taking camp up, and possibly sleeping poorly due to the altitude and/or weather.

Re: Overnighting at Huron

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:31 pm
by cottonmountaineering
+1 to huron still having snow, you should be able to make it to winfield fine though

Re: Overnighting at Huron

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:37 pm
by Tim A
If you’re reasonably fit you can probably hike from Winfield to that meadow in 1.5-2 hours, so you aren’t saving much mileage or time by sleeping up there in the snow and wind. You’ll get a much better night’s sleep down in the forest and it saves you the trouble of schlepping your kit up those switchbacks.

Re: Overnighting at Huron

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:46 pm
by two lunches
Tim A wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:37 pm If you’re reasonably fit you can probably hike from Winfield to that meadow in 1.5-2 hours, so you aren’t saving much mileage or time by sleeping up there in the snow and wind. You’ll get a much better night’s sleep down in the forest and it saves you the trouble of schlepping your kit up those switchbacks.
agree. it’s so short via the standard route— i started at 3am once and deeply regretted it. the views are too good to walk up in the dark

Re: Overnighting at Huron

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 5:10 pm
by peter303
It will still be snow climb that early in the season.
Icy crust at night to midmorning.
Boot-sucking slush in afternoon.

Re: Overnighting at Huron

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:23 pm
by Trotter
Very likely snow at 12500 in early june. I'd camp at TH, or if you feeling frisky, possibly in the trees. But you won't save much time in morning. If you only going up 1000 feet. About an hour.

Check out the trip reports advanced search, select only june, and see how much snow there is generally

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripmain.php