Huron Peak

From Leadville: Drive 20 miles south on U.S. 24 and turn right on the Chaffee County 390 road.
From Buena Vista: Drive 14.5 miles north on U.S. 24 and turn left on the Chaffee County 390 road (dirt).

On 390, drive 12 miles to Winfield. Turn left and measure from here. Drive 0.1 mile to reach the lower, 2WD trailhead in south Winfield. There's a large parking/camping area or you can park on one of the many pull-offs a bit further up the road. 0.4 miles after Winfield the road turns to 4WD and good clearance is required to drive to the Lake Ann trailhead. The road is rough and narrow. After 0.7 mile, stay right at a junction. Near 1.7 miles, the terrain opens up and you'll find parking and along the road in several areas. Continue to the end of the road and Lake Ann trailhead, at 2.1 miles.

Pass the trailhead kiosk ( 1) and walk south on the trail that leads to Apostle Basin and Lake Anne. After a mile The Three Apostles (North Apostle, Ice Mountain and West Apostle) come into view to the south - 2. After 1.5 miles, reach a trail junction and stay left ( 3). Continue another 0.1 mile into the trees to reach an unmarked junction ( 4) and turn sharply left to start up an old trail that leads to some mines up to the east. The trail isn't maintained and there are many trees that have fallen over it - 5. Carefully follow the trail east up through the forest, pass the remnants of an old shack and 11,000' and continue another 1/2 mile to reach a corner of the trail, at 11,600' - 6. On the right side of this corner is a faint trail that heads southeast into the trees. The turn is just before a shack on the old mine trail- 7. It's key to find this corner.

If you've made it this far, you know that this route is no picnic. Well, the route-finding gets more difficult beyond this point. Leave the corner and follow the faint trail into the trees. You'll soon encounter thick forest and fallen trees. If you lose the faint trail, continue directly southeast through the thick forest, without losing any elevation. Continue 0.15 mile to exit the trees at a boulder field - 8. Locate some cairns (or not) and angle east up through the boulder field, toward more trees on the other side. Re-enter thick trees and continue directly east for 0.1 mile. After you fight your way out of the thick forest, reach another boulder field above 11,800' - 9.

Cross this boulder field and gradually gain a little elevation as you hike east. Weave through some willows ( 10) and continue toward a small set of cliffs near 11,900' - 11. Pass left of the cliffs and continue east below the steep southwest slopes up to your left. Point 13,472' is ahead and is a good marker for your progress. Continue east toward the left side of Point 13,472' on easy terrain - 12. After passing below southwest slopes, reach an open, flat spot (12,500') below the saddle between Huron and Point 13,472' - 13. 14 looks back on the tedious traverse to this point. From the flat spot, begin your ascent north/northeast on grass which soon turns to talus and scree at the base of the steep slope under the saddle - 15. Swing left a bit and climb to the grass below the saddle ( 16) and then to the saddle ( 17), above 13,000'. The route is much more fun above this point.

Turn left to see Huron's southeast ridge - 18. 19 is a look back on the saddle. Hike northwest up the ridge ( 20) to reach the top of an initial point at 13,400' - 21. Continue along the ridge toward the top of a broad, 13,780-foot point - 22 and 23. From 13,780' you have a good view of the remaining route - 24. Drop slightly ( 25) and ascend climb over of rock outcroppings along the ridge - 26 and 27. Continue on or just left of the ridge crest for an additional 100' ( 28) to reach the summit - 29, 30 and 31.

This route is no joke! It's harder than the standard route and includes plenty of route-finding, bush-whacking, talus-hopping, some willow-bashing and a scree slope. IMPORTANT: This route enters the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness area. Wilderness areas have special regulations and restrictions for party size, dispersed camping, campfires, etc. Also, dog owners should read the wilderness information carefully because some wilderness areas prohibit dogs to be off-leash and/or limit how close dogs can be to lakes and streams. If you have questions about the wilderness area, please contact a U.S. Forest Service office for the National Forest(s) listed above.