Huerfano - South Slopes (with Iron Nipple option)

From the town of Gardner, located northwest of Walsenburg, take Colorado 69 west for approximately half a mile, then turn west onto County Road 550. The trailhead is 22+ miles from this point. Start measuring mileage here:

• At 7.0 miles, the road turns to dirt.
• At 11.8 miles, stay left on Forest Road 580.
• At 15.7 miles, stay left at the entrance to the Singing River ranch. The road becomes narrow, but usually still 2WD with good clearance.
• At 16.7 miles, pass the entrance to the Aspen River ranch.
• At approx. 20 miles, reach the the west side of large, landslide area where the road was re-routed in 2016. After this point, there's a steep section that requires 4WD.
• Continue 2 miles on the rough, narrow road to reach the Lily Lake TH. There are dispersed camping spots along this section.

From the parking area, take the Lily Lake trail south through the trees and down to a large meadow -  1. Walk 1 mile to a trail junction where the Lily Lake trail turns right -  2. Continue straight on the main, unmarked trail. Hike another 100 yards, cross the Huerfano River ( 3) and continue south. Over 0.1 mile after the river crossing, the trail begins to climb left, away from the river. Zigzag through the forest to reach a boulder field, near 10,800' -  4. Starting on the right side of the boulder field, climb approx. 600 feet through the forest to reach a gully/stream, near 11,400'. Continue along the left side of the gully and cross it near 11,600' -  5. Hike south up a hillside to reach tree line, near 12,000', overlooking a high basin -  6. Drop slightly and walk toward the east side of a basin. Ascend to 12,200' ( 7) before following a small ridge ( 8) to reach a 13,000-foot crest -  9. Maneuver through a boulder field and onto the 13,150-foot saddle between 13er Iron Nipple and 14er Mt. Lindsey.

Turn left to see Iron Nipple and Huerfano Peak -  10. Hike north along the ridge crest to reach some cliffs blocking Iron Nipple -  11. The route goes between two large cliffs that form "goalposts." Turn left and ascend a rocky section leading between the cliffs -  12. Pass between the cliffs to reach a flat spot, near 13,300'. Iron Nipple is immediately to your left and Huerfano Peak beyond -  13 and  14. If you plan to include Iron Nipple, you can either go over the Nipple first or bypass it and climb it on your return. The remaining description uses the latter option...

Walk a few more steps north and drop right to begin bypassing Iron Nipple's east cliffs -  15. Descend 100 feet before continuing north on talus, along the base of the cliffs. After passing the base, ascend toward the ridge crest -  16. Regain the ridge crest near 13,300' and continue northeast toward Huerfano -  17. Near 13,600', pass a bump before heading directly toward the summit -  18. Reach the south end of the summit ridge ( 19) and proceed to the top -  20. If you are not climbing Iron Nipple, simply return via the same route.

To add unranked 13er Iron Nipple (13,500'), retrace your steps along the ridge until you reach Iron Nipple -  21 and  22. The bypass used earlier is down to your left. As shown in  22, stay left of some cliffs and ascend Class 2 terrain up the center of the Nipple. As you approach the summit ridge ( 23), the difficulty and pitch increase slightly. If you enter Class 3 or higher terrain, you haven't taken the easiest line. Once you're on the summit ridge, turn right and move west a bit to see the summit -  24. You've reached the crux of the route. Carefully walk along the left side of a semi-exposed, short, dull knife edge and then up to the top -  25. Descend Iron Nipple by retracing your line along the summit ridge ( 26) and continuing toward the south end of it until you reach a talus slope leading down to those goalpost cliffs -  27. Descend 200 feet to reach easier ground and exit via your ascent route.