Huron Peak Trip Report 08/21/2005

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Huron Peak - 14,006 feet
Date Posted	08/21/2005
Date Climbed	08/16/2005
Author	tay8000m

Report
Climbed Huron via the standard route (North Ridge) from the Clear Creek TH at the end of the 4-WD road on 8/24/05. The road is very rough. I had a rented Chevy Trailblazer 4WD which made it w/o much difficulty after I received a recommendation from someone coming out. As indicated in previous posts, the first part of the road which ascends several hundred feet is the roughest. The rest is not smooth sailing, just not as rough. There is a large and deep mud bog after the Banker Mine which does require some careful negotiation. The other issue is oncoming traffic, so be aware of where wide spots or pullouts are along the road in the event you have to back up to allow passage of another vehicle. I camped at the TH which is a beautiful location in the valley along the creek with a small pond adjacent to the TH. Fish seemed to be biting in the afternoon in the pond/lake - if this is an interest. There are numerous campsites on both the east and west sides of the road. I met a couple who hiked up valley to Lake Ann who said it was a very beautiful area and recommended it. Good views of the Three Apostles from the TH. Left the TH at 5:15 AM. Around an hour or so hike through the woods up to timber line and onto the basin. Another beautiful area and a potentially great camping site for an extended visit. A small stream runs down the basin as a water source. 45' to an hour hike across the basin, then up the west facing slope via numerous switch backs to the north ridge. The trail is quite good and straight forward. Once on the ridge it is several hundred feet up a scree slope to the summit. The scree is less friendly than the trail up to the ridge crest, but it is still obvious and well trodden. I topped out around 8:45 AM and was back at the TH by 11:00AM. The weather pattern was interesting as it was a clear, star-lite sky when I started out. By the time I was crossing the basin, it looked like a freight train of a storm was coming across the ridge to the west. The clouds were funnelled across the valley just to the south of Huron and between it and the Three Apostles. As a result the visibilty on the summit was quite poor with wind gusts up to an estimated 40MPH. Cell phone did not work on the summit. I thought the route was dog friendly as the amount of scree exposure was not great. The week before I tried a summit attempt by turning left off of the 4WD road onto another jeep path 1/4th mile from the 2WD parking area. This put me on the ridge overlooking the basin but north and west of Brown's. Trying to get over or around Brown's along the ridge seemed problematic. There are cliff bands which impede one's ability to down climb from the ridge west of Brown's into the basin. Bottom line - while the route may seem shorter on the National Geographic map, it is not practical for lesser mortals like myself. Stick to the standard route.

Report

Climbed Huron via the standard route (North Ridge) from the Clear Creek TH at the end of the 4-WD road on 8/24/05. The road is very rough. I had a rented Chevy Trailblazer 4WD which made it w/o much difficulty after I received a recommendation from someone coming out. As indicated in previous posts, the first part of the road which ascends several hundred feet is the roughest. The rest is not smooth sailing, just not as rough. There is a large and deep mud bog after the Banker Mine which does require some careful negotiation. The other issue is oncoming traffic, so be aware of where wide spots or pullouts are along the road in the event you have to back up to allow passage of another vehicle. I camped at the TH which is a beautiful location in the valley along the creek with a small pond adjacent to the TH. Fish seemed to be biting in the afternoon in the pond/lake - if this is an interest. There are numerous campsites on both the east and west sides of the road. I met a couple who hiked up valley to Lake Ann who said it was a very beautiful area and recommended it. Good views of the Three Apostles from the TH. Left the TH at 5:15 AM. Around an hour or so hike through the woods up to timber line and onto the basin. Another beautiful area and a potentially great camping site for an extended visit. A small stream runs down the basin as a water source. 45' to an hour hike across the basin, then up the west facing slope via numerous switch backs to the north ridge. The trail is quite good and straight forward. Once on the ridge it is several hundred feet up a scree slope to the summit. The scree is less friendly than the trail up to the ridge crest, but it is still obvious and well trodden. I topped out around 8:45 AM and was back at the TH by 11:00AM. The weather pattern was interesting as it was a clear, star-lite sky when I started out. By the time I was crossing the basin, it looked like a freight train of a storm was coming across the ridge to the west. The clouds were funnelled across the valley just to the south of Huron and between it and the Three Apostles. As a result the visibilty on the summit was quite poor with wind gusts up to an estimated 40MPH. Cell phone did not work on the summit. I thought the route was dog friendly as the amount of scree exposure was not great. The week before I tried a summit attempt by turning left off of the 4WD road onto another jeep path 1/4th mile from the 2WD parking area. This put me on the ridge overlooking the basin but north and west of Brown's. Trying to get over or around Brown's along the ridge seemed problematic. There are cliff bands which impede one's ability to down climb from the ridge west of Brown's into the basin. Bottom line - while the route may seem shorter on the National Geographic map, it is not practical for lesser mortals like myself. Stick to the standard route.

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