Huron Peak Trip Report 09/28/2016

Peak(s):	Huron Peak - 14,006 feet
Date Posted:	09/28/2016
Date Climbed:	07/03/2016
Author:	paul109876

Birthday Summit
Part of my planning for this hike was to post on the Forum to see if anyone else would be hiking Huron on July 3rd. With Cell phone reception being sketchy and the Trail head being well off the beaten path plus I had been hiking alone I wanted others to know as well I would be in the area. But I got a few hits on my post and felt better knowing someone else would at least be around. So I started very early and left Salida around 4:00 a.m. and headed to Winfield. Once I arrived there were around 10 vehicles parked in the area of the Port-O-Potties. I was uncertain about the 4wd road. I drive a 2011 Kia Sorento 6 speed stick with a granny gear, and it has very good clearance and has been great on several of the rougher roads like up to Grays or to the Trail head at Kite lake. But what the heck, it's my Birthday and I'll make a day of it. So I drove about 1/4 mile up the 4wd road and parked and hoofed it the rest of the way to the trail head. Once there, several more vehicles. Trail Head Sign I do have to mention, the last couple of years of starting above tree line (Grays/Torreys, Sherman, Democrat) takes away from the experience. There seems to be an "I earned it feeling" clearing past the trees on the soles of your shoes versus the tires of the SUV. Beginning to clear the trees After clearing the trees the area opens up to green grasses and flowers. In the past I've carried a lot of water, but I finally purchased a Life Straw to carry with me so I was able to greatly reduce the weight of my pack. I do carry a wide mouth 1 liter bottle and drink from it 1st so i can refill it if needed. Along the way I plot a few waypoints on my GPS when I run across a stream so I have options to refill my bottle on the way back. I also started adding up the calories I put in my pack. A lesson learned from a BONK on Democrat. As I made my way to the final pitch clouds were growing all around and you could see some peaks in the midst of darkness. Final pitch This final pitch was pretty much the same as heading up Democrat after leaving the Cameron saddle. At the top looking back Summit!!!! By the time I got to the Summit the clouds were getting pretty thick so I did not hang around long. But the view from there is absolutely beautiful. View from the top I made very good time getting back down and to the SUV just outside Winfield. Back to the main road and once I got to Buena Vista I gave my wife a call. She was frantic!!! It had been storming in Salida and was worried sick. We had both gotten caught in a Thunderstorm once coming down from the summit of Elbert so she knew what it can be like. Long story short I now carry a SPOT so she can follow my tracks and I can send an OK message every now and then. I used it on our latest trip in Late August and it worked out great. Even plotting my tracks as I drove back on I-70 back to Denver. I had a few friends at work that I had shared the link with and they got a kick out of following me on my mini adventures. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Birthday Summit

Part of my planning for this hike was to post on the Forum to see if anyone else would be hiking Huron on July 3rd. With Cell phone reception being sketchy and the Trail head being well off the beaten path plus I had been hiking alone I wanted others to know as well I would be in the area. But I got a few hits on my post and felt better knowing someone else would at least be around.
So I started very early and left Salida around 4:00 a.m. and headed to Winfield. Once I arrived there were around 10 vehicles parked in the area of the Port-O-Potties.

I was uncertain about the 4wd road. I drive a 2011 Kia Sorento 6 speed stick with a granny gear, and it has very good clearance and has been great on several of the rougher roads like up to Grays or to the Trail head at Kite lake.
But what the heck, it's my Birthday and I'll make a day of it. So I drove about 1/4 mile up the 4wd road and parked and hoofed it the rest of the way to the trail head. Once there, several more vehicles.

I do have to mention, the last couple of years of starting above tree line (Grays/Torreys, Sherman, Democrat) takes away from the experience. There seems to be an "I earned it feeling" clearing past the trees on the soles of your shoes versus the tires of the SUV.

After clearing the trees the area opens up to green grasses and flowers.

In the past I've carried a lot of water, but I finally purchased a Life Straw to carry with me so I was able to greatly reduce the weight of my pack. I do carry a wide mouth 1 liter bottle and drink from it 1st so i can refill it if needed. Along the way I plot a few waypoints on my GPS when I run across a stream so I have options to refill my bottle on the way back.

I also started adding up the calories I put in my pack. A lesson learned from a BONK on Democrat.

As I made my way to the final pitch clouds were growing all around and you could see some peaks in the midst of darkness.

This final pitch was pretty much the same as heading up Democrat after leaving the Cameron saddle.

By the time I got to the Summit the clouds were getting pretty thick so I did not hang around long. But the view from there is absolutely beautiful.

I made very good time getting back down and to the SUV just outside Winfield. Back to the main road and once I got to Buena Vista I gave my wife a call. She was frantic!!! It had been storming in Salida and was worried sick.
We had both gotten caught in a Thunderstorm once coming down from the summit of Elbert so she knew what it can be like.
Long story short I now carry a SPOT so she can follow my tracks and I can send an OK message every now and then.
I used it on our latest trip in Late August and it worked out great. Even plotting my tracks as I drove back on I-70 back to Denver.
I had a few friends at work that I had shared the link with and they got a kick out of following me on my mini adventures.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

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