Huron Peak was never high on my list of “must-do” 14ers until several friends told me how pretty the hike was. After Saturday’s 8 hour day on Evans and Bierstadt my father and I decided for a slightly easier hike (ie, less mileage, easier trails, but still a lot of elevation gain). A morning drive brought us to Winfield and another 6:30am departure. Another hiker was just starting up the trail and we three had compatible paces for the 2 mile walk on the 4wd road. We feel into conversation with Eric and decided to continue hiking together as the trail turned east and began climbing (with plenty of switchbacks) to treeline. To the south the peaks of the Three Apostles began to reveal themselves.
Now above the trees we also reached the sun’s rays and quickly warmed up in the still air.
A brief flat walk split the otherwise consistently upwards ascent. Then we returned to the steep climb with a section of trail we fondly called “The Stairmaster.”
The stairmaster was composed of rock steps, each of 10-15 inches in height. Thankfully, the stairmaster didn’t last long and we returned to more gentle trail switchbacking through greenery.
I knew my altimeter was reading low as we climbed above the nearby 13er Browns Peak but still read 200 feet below that summit’s elevation.
We took several breaks as the opportunities presented themselves – mostly when hikers descended past us and were willing to chat. Still, we soon saw the final slopes to the summit.
After 3 and a half hours we made the top to find great views of the Three Apostles again. If I needed a reminder, the couloir on Ice Mountain (Middle Apostle) went higher into my to-do list.
A family on top had printed a sign and let us borrow it for our own summit photos. Unfortunately, it misnamed Huron Peak.
Clouds seemed to be rapidly building to our west so we finished up the summit photos and started back down.
The stairmaster section was passed and we we could forward to the flat meadow to stretch our legs.
Final views of Ice Mountain and West Apostle said their goodbyes as we returned to the trees.
Back down on the 4wd road we started walking back to our cars. With about a quarter mile to go a vehicle stopped and offered a ride. My dad was willing to take them up on it and I took off running – sensing a challenge. Rough roads and a vehicle coming uphill provided the advantage I needed to beat the motorized transportation.
