Mt. of the Holy Cross Trip Report 08/06/2014

Peak(s):	Mt. of the Holy Cross - 14,007 feet
Date Posted:	08/06/2014
Date Climbed:	07/14/2014
Author:	Michelle3

Mt of the Holy Cross - North Ridge
Left trailhead: 4:00 PM (Sunday) Top of pass: 5:30 PM Campsite: 7:00 PM Left camp: 6:00 AM (Monday) Summit: 10:00 AM Back to trailhead: 6:00 PM The hikers: Me (Michelle), my brother (Jeff, left), and my boyfriend (Craig, right). Jeff and I came to CO two summers ago to hike our first 14ers (Quandary, Grays, and Torreys) and we were instantly hooked, so we'd been planning this trip ever since then. This was the fourth 14er for Jeff and I and Craig's first. We did a lot of research before we left and decided to hike Holy Cross first because 1) we knew it was long and might be difficult for us (which turned out to be an understatement) and 2) it looked like the most beautiful hike and we wanted to be sure to get it in early in our trip in case the weather didn't work out. We started out on Sunday afternoon from Breckenridge and got to the trailhead by 4pm. The road to the trailhead had a couple spots with bigger ruts, but it seemed like it'd be accessible in any type of vehicle. At the trailhead we made our first friends of the trip, the "family from Texas" as we referred to them. I hope you guys find this - hi! We hiked up through the forest, stopping to take lots of pictures. Every time we stopped to take a picture, we were instantly covered in mosquitoes so we were glad to have plenty of bug spray on hand. We got to the top of half moon pass at 5:30 and were greeted by a cute little chipmunk. We headed down the steep trail and passed by some hikers who let us know to be careful because the way down to the campsite was steep. They were right - it was steep, but nothing too bad. We ran into them right around the time we got some of the best views of the peak. We reached the campsite and crossed the creek to find a place to sleep for the night. We were all nervous about all of our gear falling in the creek while we crossed, so we all opted to just take our shoes off and wade across. Cold, but it made it easy to cross. The family from Texas let us know that campsite 4 looked nice, so we set up camp there. They were right! We had a nice flat rock to eat our sandwiches on and a great view of the peak at sunset. We got up the next morning around 5 and set off by 6. The hike up through the trees was beautiful and we had some wonderful views of the sun rising above the mountains. While we had hoped for the trail to not be too crowded (and it wasn't), we were thankful that there were other climbers that day. We enjoyed talking to the family from Texas and the crew from Beau Jo's on the way up! Meeting other hikers along the way is probably one of my favorite parts of climbing. The trail after the treeline does start to get pretty steep and it was slow-going for us, mostly because of me. I had to take lots of breaks to catch my breath. Luckily, the surroundings were spectacular. The final pitch to the summit involved lots of climbing on all fours over big boulders. Not really a defined trail to follow, and we all thought this part was pretty fun. Thanks to our Texas friends for helping us find the way! We made it to the summit at 10 and it was worth the long hike up! The view was amazing in all directions, and we were happy that there was a lot more snow left up on the mountains than there was two years ago. We stopped to take pictures with our signs that Craig had woodburned before we left. We got one with all three of us, and then Craig asked Jeffrey to take one of just us two. And he pulled out another sign that I didn't know about :-) And yes, I said "yes" :-) He couldn't have picked a better place to do it. This is the most beautiful 14er I've hiked, and therefore, the most beautiful place I've ever been. AND it was his first 14er, so he deserves some major props! And kudos to Jeff for taking such great pictures of it all! After the excitement, we stuck around to chat and take some more pictures. There were probably 15-20 people on the summit plus a few pups. We slowly made our way down - the trail is well-marked and easy to follow. Thanks CFI for all of your efforts! We could already tell it was going to be a long hike down. Getting to the tree line was alright. Getting from the tree line back to camp was pretty long and not that fun, but we made it. We had just run out of water and someone at the creek was nice enough to pump us some more- if you happen to read this, thank you!! That was much a huge help and much better than waiting 30 minutes for our water purifying tablets to work. I don't want to sit here and whine about the rest of the trip, so I'll keep it short: It was really hard and we were sort of miserable. The way down (and then up and then down again) was much harder than the way up. We got passed by almost everyone we saw and had to stop for lots of breaks. But, we made it back to the car in one piece and went back to Breckenridge to have some pizza and celebrate :-) All in all, it was by far the most difficult 14er I've done, but also the most beautiful and definitely the most memorable! Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Mt of the Holy Cross - North Ridge

Left trailhead: 4:00 PM (Sunday)
Top of pass: 5:30 PM
Campsite: 7:00 PM
Left camp: 6:00 AM (Monday)
Summit: 10:00 AM
Back to trailhead: 6:00 PM

The hikers: Me (Michelle), my brother (Jeff, left), and my boyfriend (Craig, right).

Jeff and I came to CO two summers ago to hike our first 14ers (Quandary, Grays, and Torreys) and we were instantly hooked, so we'd been planning this trip ever since then. This was the fourth 14er for Jeff and I and Craig's first. We did a lot of research before we left and decided to hike Holy Cross first because 1) we knew it was long and might be difficult for us (which turned out to be an understatement) and 2) it looked like the most beautiful hike and we wanted to be sure to get it in early in our trip in case the weather didn't work out.

We started out on Sunday afternoon from Breckenridge and got to the trailhead by 4pm. The road to the trailhead had a couple spots with bigger ruts, but it seemed like it'd be accessible in any type of vehicle.

At the trailhead we made our first friends of the trip, the "family from Texas" as we referred to them. I hope you guys find this - hi!

We hiked up through the forest, stopping to take lots of pictures. Every time we stopped to take a picture, we were instantly covered in mosquitoes so we were glad to have plenty of bug spray on hand.

We got to the top of half moon pass at 5:30 and were greeted by a cute little chipmunk.

We headed down the steep trail and passed by some hikers who let us know to be careful because the way down to the campsite was steep. They were right - it was steep, but nothing too bad. We ran into them right around the time we got some of the best views of the peak.

We reached the campsite and crossed the creek to find a place to sleep for the night. We were all nervous about all of our gear falling in the creek while we crossed, so we all opted to just take our shoes off and wade across. Cold, but it made it easy to cross.

The family from Texas let us know that campsite 4 looked nice, so we set up camp there. They were right! We had a nice flat rock to eat our sandwiches on and a great view of the peak at sunset.

We got up the next morning around 5 and set off by 6. The hike up through the trees was beautiful and we had some wonderful views of the sun rising above the mountains.

While we had hoped for the trail to not be too crowded (and it wasn't), we were thankful that there were other climbers that day. We enjoyed talking to the family from Texas and the crew from Beau Jo's on the way up! Meeting other hikers along the way is probably one of my favorite parts of climbing.

The trail after the treeline does start to get pretty steep and it was slow-going for us, mostly because of me. I had to take lots of breaks to catch my breath. Luckily, the surroundings were spectacular.

The final pitch to the summit involved lots of climbing on all fours over big boulders. Not really a defined trail to follow, and we all thought this part was pretty fun. Thanks to our Texas friends for helping us find the way!

We made it to the summit at 10 and it was worth the long hike up! The view was amazing in all directions, and we were happy that there was a lot more snow left up on the mountains than there was two years ago.

We stopped to take pictures with our signs that Craig had woodburned before we left. We got one with all three of us, and then Craig asked Jeffrey to take one of just us two.

And he pulled out another sign that I didn't know about :-)

And yes, I said "yes" :-)

He couldn't have picked a better place to do it. This is the most beautiful 14er I've hiked, and therefore, the most beautiful place I've ever been. AND it was his first 14er, so he deserves some major props! And kudos to Jeff for taking such great pictures of it all!

After the excitement, we stuck around to chat and take some more pictures. There were probably 15-20 people on the summit plus a few pups.

We slowly made our way down - the trail is well-marked and easy to follow. Thanks CFI for all of your efforts!

We could already tell it was going to be a long hike down. Getting to the tree line was alright. Getting from the tree line back to camp was pretty long and not that fun, but we made it. We had just run out of water and someone at the creek was nice enough to pump us some more- if you happen to read this, thank you!! That was much a huge help and much better than waiting 30 minutes for our water purifying tablets to work.

I don't want to sit here and whine about the rest of the trip, so I'll keep it short: It was really hard and we were sort of miserable. The way down (and then up and then down again) was much harder than the way up. We got passed by almost everyone we saw and had to stop for lots of breaks. But, we made it back to the car in one piece and went back to Breckenridge to have some pizza and celebrate :-)

All in all, it was by far the most difficult 14er I've done, but also the most beautiful and definitely the most memorable!

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

happyhiker55	Congratulations! 8/7/2014 1:40am Both for completing such an amazing hike, and for getting engaged!
Wish I lived in CO	Your Boyfriend (Now Fiancee) is a Keeper 8/7/2014 9:13pm And I thought I was just reading a story about a nice scenic mountain hike and then BOOM out of nowhere the picture with the sign your boyfriend made! What a nice surprise, what a nice trip report, and what a nice time you guys all had! Congratulations to you all three on the hike, and to you both on your engagement - hike many more 14ers in your future!
panda518	Congrats 8/7/2014 10:38pm I just did this hike a couple weeks ago and enjoyed reading your version! Well done. Looked like a beautiful day. Congrats on the engagement, I'd say there would be no better place!!
MtnHub	Wow!.. 8/8/2014 2:21am as if just getting to the summit wasn't exciting enough! Congratulations for getting the summit and getting engaged! Special day indeed!
barbiesue53	Sweet report 8/10/2014 3:07pm First of all....congratulations on your engagement and summit, but second....WOW!!! What an awesome mtn for your proposal! Love the pics!!
SpringsJeff	14er Proposal 8/12/2014 2:16am I proposed to my wife on our first 14er, Mt. Elbert. I jokingly tell people I was suffering from oxygen deprivation. It's now 12 years and 30+ 14er's later. Wish you the best.
Rambler	Awesome! 8/13/2014 12:12am My wife and I did that hike 2 years ago, your pics bring back memories of a great time. And an engagement to boot? Well played Craig! Sounds like an awesome day on a beautiful mountain.
HikingMan	Congratulations! 8/15/2014 9:18pm On the engagement and reaching the summit...Classy move by your guy!
yrastorza	Great Report 9/19/2014 12:28pm Thanks for sharing. Really nice photo's and good summary. Congrats.

Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.

Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.

14ers.com

Social

Mobile App