Huron Peak Trip Report 07/26/2010

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Huron Peak - 14,006 feet
Date Posted	07/26/2010
Modified	07/27/2010
Date Climbed	07/25/2010
Author	Jim Davies

Eagles Fly (pretty) High, and A Tradition Continues
Carol, love of my life and wife of 29 years and one day, has been involved with BSA Troop 1 since our son joined ten years ago. One of her roles there has been as an advisor for merit badges and other awards, and we've also been leading hikes for a few years, 14ers and other interesting stuff. One of her best "clients" along the way has been Spencer Lane, who has been our most loyal hiker (other than our own kids, of course), and who she's advised on a pile of merit badges. Spencer recently completed the requirements for Eagle Scout, and he decided that he'd like to do his Court of Honor (award ceremony) on a 14er. Since Carol has helped him so much along the way, he invited us to be there. The dates available were limited, but one of them was this Sunday, which also happened to be our 29th wedding anniversary. So, heck yes! Julie, Spencer's mom, and little brother Stuart also came along. We started out from Winfield at 8:25 am. The weather forecast was sort of iffy (40% chance of thunderstorms), but we figured we'd find someplace for the ceremony regardless of the weather. As it turned out, Stuart had some foot problems and was pretty much toast by timberline, so we did the ceremony at that point. Tie-dye was the uniform for the hike; Julie helped us make our shirts a few years ago, and Spencer seems to wear nothing else when he's out of uniform. The 60's live! First, Carol administered the Eagle Scout Pledge: Carol administers the Eagle Scout Pledge to Spencer Then Spencer got his new scarf and Eagle badge: Julie pins on Spencer's Eagle badge Stuart perked up long enough for the obligatory family shot: Stuart, Spencer, and Julie Spencer then presented Carol with a pin for being his mentor. She's got four or five of these now. Meanwhile, Stuart is fading.... Carol gets her mentor pin The Lanes all turned back at this point (Spencer has altitude issues of his own, so didn't want to risk going on with us). We said goodbye, and headed off for the summit. We've spent our last three anniversaries climbing 14ers, and didn't want to break our streak! Fortunately, the weather was cooperating. Onward! What's an anniversary without flowers? Anniversary bouquet What can I say, I'm a generous guy! Spare no expense! We summitted about 12:40 under continuing nice weather, and got our obligatory family shot. Four anniversaries in a row on 14ers It took us a few years, but we finally found a common interest. I'm not sure how many years we can keep this up, but Carol knows a guy who's still hiking Pikes Peak in his 70's, so who knows? I wouldn't mind doing this for a few more decades. The descent went quickly, as the weather continued to be grand. We touched base later with the Lanes and found that they'd gotten out OK, so the day was a smashing success. Huron is IMO a near-perfect 14er, especially this time of year, and today was no exception. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Eagles Fly (pretty) High, and A Tradition Continues

Carol, love of my life and wife of 29 years and one day, has been involved with BSA Troop 1 since our son joined ten years ago. One of her roles there has been as an advisor for merit badges and other awards, and we've also been leading hikes for a few years, 14ers and other interesting stuff. One of her best "clients" along the way has been Spencer Lane, who has been our most loyal hiker (other than our own kids, of course), and who she's advised on a pile of merit badges.

Spencer recently completed the requirements for Eagle Scout, and he decided that he'd like to do his Court of Honor (award ceremony) on a 14er. Since Carol has helped him so much along the way, he invited us to be there. The dates available were limited, but one of them was this Sunday, which also happened to be our 29th wedding anniversary. So, heck yes! Julie, Spencer's mom, and little brother Stuart also came along.

We started out from Winfield at 8:25 am. The weather forecast was sort of iffy (40% chance of thunderstorms), but we figured we'd find someplace for the ceremony regardless of the weather. As it turned out, Stuart had some foot problems and was pretty much toast by timberline, so we did the ceremony at that point.

Tie-dye was the uniform for the hike; Julie helped us make our shirts a few years ago, and Spencer seems to wear nothing else when he's out of uniform.

First, Carol administered the Eagle Scout Pledge:

Carol administers the Eagle Scout Pledge to Spencer

Then Spencer got his new scarf and Eagle badge:

Stuart perked up long enough for the obligatory family shot:

Spencer then presented Carol with a pin for being his mentor. She's got four or five of these now. Meanwhile, Stuart is fading....

The Lanes all turned back at this point (Spencer has altitude issues of his own, so didn't want to risk going on with us). We said goodbye, and headed off for the summit. We've spent our last three anniversaries climbing 14ers, and didn't want to break our streak! Fortunately, the weather was cooperating.

What's an anniversary without flowers?

What can I say, I'm a generous guy!

We summitted about 12:40 under continuing nice weather, and got our obligatory family shot.

It took us a few years, but we finally found a common interest.

I'm not sure how many years we can keep this up, but Carol knows a guy who's still hiking Pikes Peak in his 70's, so who knows? I wouldn't mind doing this for a few more decades.

The descent went quickly, as the weather continued to be grand. We touched base later with the Lanes and found that they'd gotten out OK, so the day was a smashing success. Huron is IMO a near-perfect 14er, especially this time of year, and today was no exception.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Dancesatmoonrise	Touching 7/27/2010 2:55pm Jim, a very touching TR. I enjoyed it a great deal. Heres hoping the two of you can continue the tradition for many years to come.
huffy13	Sweet! 8/9/2010 3:36pm What a great way to spend an anniversary. Enjoyed the report! So what's in store for the next anniversary?
Matt	Is that cotton? 1/19/2011 3:38am :oops: :shock: You hippie. I wore a tie dye up Fletcher today, so I've got nothing to say, except, "nice report."
Presto	Wonderful trip report, Jim ... 2/5/2011 12:22am What an accomplishment for Spencer! The more I hear about your wife, the more I like her (mentor indeed). Sounds like a great way to celebrate an anniversary too (we celebrate #29 next year ourselves). Thanks for posting. Happy trails! :D

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