We took the east ridge up to Humboldt Peak on a warm spring day. The lower trailhead at 8,900ft was nearly empty in the early morning (and was completely empty when we returned in the evening). A brief warning exists reminding you to be safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting up the forest service road with the sun beating down on us, we had a serene view of Westcliffe fading behind us and the San Isabel National Forest looming in front of us. The road did not look any different than it did in 2019, indicating that winter and the early mud season had minimal impact on this gateway to the Crestones.

The initial forest service road is more beautiful and better maintained than Lake Como road on the west side of the Sangres. Any car with decent clearance (read: not sedans) should be able to make it to the upper trailhead. For those who don't mind adding another 4 miles to their trip, the hike up the forest service road is an enjoyable warmup. The tall pine trees and aspens provide an immediate reprieve from the hot summer sun, while the constant and gradual incline prepares your legs for the ascent ahead. Right as we approached the upper trailhead we reach the junction of Rainbow Trail. Take this right turn on to the Rainbow Trail heading north. This beautiful and scenic sub-alpine trail is around 9,600ft and travels North-South across the Sangre de Cristo mountain range for over 100 miles.

After a short jaunt going north on Rainbow Trail we crossed South Colony Creek over a scenic bridge. There is easy access to the creek before and after the bridge, providing a great opportunity to refill water and take a break.

After maybe 10 minutes of hiking on Rainbow Trail we reached the base of the east ridge to Humboldt. Be careful not to continue north on the trail, it is very tempting as the trail is well-maintained and the distance comes quick. This is where having a GPX or route finder makes a difference, and you will break off the Rainbow Trail to the left. Look for a dispersed campsite and some thin, downed trees in this location. From here at the base of the ridge, we did an immediate bushwhack about 200ft or so up a steep hill. The trail here will disappear and not always be obvious. Bushwhack diligently until you reach the east ridge proper. The trail should re-appear as a feint path with multiple cairns, heading west and cutting straight over the ridge.

For what feels like a decent amount of time hike on this narrow but hiker-friendly ridge trail as it cuts through hardy woods and tilted pine trees. If you are following a GPX track, this is where it might get confusing. Eventually the GPX track breaks off to the right, and looks to be off-trail. This might be the quickest route in the winter, but it appears to involve an impressive amount of bushwhacking and difficult routefinding. Full disclosure, we took this route on the way down, and it felt like 1000-2000ft of bushwhacking through steep slopes and dense forest. On the way up, we decided to follow the more obvious trail slightly south of the official GPX route. This trail is much less bushwhacking than the official east ridge route and takes you gradually (but quickly) up the ridge and closer to treeline. Here is a picture showing the slightly more obvious path/clearing to be followed as an alternative to the GPX route.

Eventually we reached 11,000ft and we took a quick break to enjoy the tree cover and recharge. Eventually this "alternate route" fades away and it quickly becomes "choose your own adventure" as you push towards treeline. We encountered some large sections of snow, but all of it can be avoided with enough zig-zagging. Around 11,400 ft we approached a large snowfield, maybe 100ft wide and 600ft tall. It is wet and slushy and can be easily walked across. A careful hiker can likely avoid it entirely.

We briefly crossed the snowfield while ascending for maybe a 50ft stretch, before exiting and approaching the obvious Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine that sits around treeline. These stout pine trees are like the monarchs of the mountains, providing a chance to rest and enjoy the view.

As we broke through treeline around 11,700 ft, the ridge opened up. Small shrubs patch the landscape and the wind gradually builds as you reach the ridge proper. If you have a bluebird day, then count your blessings and enjoy the lovely view. The false summit slowly becomes visible in the distance.

For some, this may be a great part of the hike. The jumbo-size ridge starts off very wide, and the angle of ascent increase gradually and consistently for the remainder of the hike. For others, this may be a slow and miserable part of the hike. The patchy alpine tundra that covers most of the entire ridge may be slippery and harder to move over. The false summit appears close when it first comes into view, but the hiker quickly realizes this is just the trickery of the Crestones. The scale is easy to underestimate, and the next 2000ft to the summit is an endless push over golden alpine tundra.

I took breaks from the tundra by walking over the brief and infrequent rock fields that litter the east ridge. The false summit gets closer, but your legs disagree. Progress feels slow as the landscape never seems to change. Eventually around 12,500ft an engaging view of the Crestone group begins to dance in front of you, as you breach the false summit.

We pushed at a steady pace from treeline to the false summit, taking several short breaks on the wide ridge. After the false summit, we enjoyed the impressive views of the nearby Crestone peaks as they started to appear to the southwest.

As we continued towards 13,300ft the ridge begins to narrow. Several small snowfields blocked our path and we chose to hike directly over them. It seemed like very little snow had fallen across the ridge recently and the snow was melting rapidly.

The tundra morphed into small boulders and rocks which could be easily traversed as we advanced across the ridge.

The remaining hike became an easy, scenic Class 2 line to the summit. The more experienced hiker may prefer to hike more closely to the right edge of the ridge (north side). As the ridge narrows the drop-off to the immediate hiker's right becomes staggering and impressive. For the most part it was completely dry as the tundra turned to rocks.

As we gained the summit, we encountered the last and largest of the rocks towards the top. At no point does the ridge become anything worse than easy Class 2. At the top an initial stone barrier was obvious, and we continued on to a second stone barrier which represented the summit and contained the register.

I fell in love with the Crestone group last year when I made my first camping trip up to South Colony Lakes. I was able to climb Crestone Peak and it made the view that much more incredible from the summit of Humboldt Peak. We spent about 30-40 minutes on the summit before descending the east ridge and retracing our route.