Planning Our First 14er(s): What do you recommend?

[Eli Boardman]

On an unrelated note, when a route says "RT Length" does that mean "route length" or "round trip length"?

RT = round trip

[Wigniter]

You can also do two 14ers from the camp around Winfield, Huron and La Plata via Southwest Ridge. Don't know how big crowds you should expect there for the 4th of July though.

Yeah, if you want to get two this is a good idea (though La Plata is a little tougher than Huron - though not out of the question by any means for first timers). Also note that even if Winfield itself is crowded for the holiday, there are tons of camping spots along the road between Vicksburg and Winfield. Again if my 4th of July 2015 experience is any guide you should have no problem finding something.

We have a girl in our group that has basically zero camping experience, and said she will only go with us if we can find a campsite with restrooms and showers. Are there any good tent camping areas with those facilities? Winfield looks (maybe?) just to be some type of roadside camping with no facilities at all. We've been trying to get this girl to go on our trips for a few years, and she's always shut us down. But this year she's actually interested, so I'm going to try to accommodate her to an extent. She's run a marathon and several halfs, so she's in better shape than most, and will do fine on the actual hiking part. She's just worried about the camping portion.

[huffy13]

I noticed you have had a few other suggestions for a first 14er trip other than the DeCaliBron loop...I will second those that suggest other trips. Huron, Sherman, Quandary, or the Grays/Torreys combo as far better first time 14er excursions. I even felt like Mt. Yale was a much easier and prettier option for first timers. The DeCaliBron is just not as scenic and the descent of Bross is such a chossy mess that it may demoralize you enough to make for a miserable trip. It's not long, just arduous and a little bland, by mountain hike standards anyway. If you don't mind driving a few extra hours to the SW part of the state, I also recommend Handies....absolutely gorgeous and not too difficult....if you have a good clearance, 4WD vehicle, Uncompahgre from Nellie Creek is amazing and I really feel like it's not too difficult.

[Ptglhs]

We have a girl in our group that has basically zero camping experience, and said she will only go with us if we can find a campsite with restrooms and showers. Are there any good tent camping areas with those facilities? Winfield looks (maybe?) just to be some type of roadside camping with no facilities at all. We've been trying to get this girl to go on our trips for a few years, and she's always shut us down. But this year she's actually interested, so I'm going to try to accommodate her to an extent. She's run a marathon and several halfs, so she's in better shape than most, and will do fine on the actual hiking part. She's just worried about the camping portion.

Is telling this person "just suck it up" an alternative? There really aren't any 14er THs that have those amenities. You can stay at a car glampground cmoser to your TH than Denver and then drive there the next morning. Or you could sink the money into a solar shower, stand, walls, and a pop up toilet. (NOT recommending that solution). I'm not sure why they need a shower for a 1 day event but to each their own. Mad props to this person for their distance running abilities though.

[Wigniter]

Is telling this person "just suck it up" an alternative? There really aren't any 14er THs that have those amenities. You can stay at a car glampground cmoser to your TH than Denver and then drive there the next morning. Or you could sink the money into a solar shower, stand, walls, and a pop up toilet. (NOT recommending that solution). I'm not sure why they need a shower for a 1 day event but to each their own. Mad props to this person for their distance running abilities though.

Hah! Telling her to deal with it would essentially mean she's 100% not going. And actually, that's fine if that's the reality of the situation. She's married to one of the guys that went with us for the first time last trip we did (and he loved it). Now he wants his wife to share in the adventure, but she's been reluctant. So if there's something within good driving distance from a TH that has amenities, we would consider it for her sake.

The rest of our group is very much ok with roughing it (as much as car camping can be rough). As I mentioned, they all backpacked into a base camp at 10,200 ft with no trails and only snowmelt streams for water sources, so car camping will be like a resort by comparison.

I guess this leads me to a bigger question: What's the camping like along that road around Winfield? Are there established campsites? Flat ground? Water sources? Latrines or any kind of restroom facilities at all?

[huffy13]

We have a girl in our group that has basically zero camping experience, and said she will only go with us if we can find a campsite with restrooms and showers. Are there any good tent camping areas with those facilities? Winfield looks (maybe?) just to be some type of roadside camping with no facilities at all. We've been trying to get this girl to go on our trips for a few years, and she's always shut us down. But this year she's actually interested, so I'm going to try to accommodate her to an extent. She's run a marathon and several halfs, so she's in better shape than most, and will do fine on the actual hiking part. She's just worried about the camping portion.

Is telling this person "just suck it up" an alternative? There really aren't any 14er THs that have those amenities. You can stay at a car glampground cmoser to your TH than Denver and then drive there the next morning. Or you could sink the money into a solar shower, stand, walls, and a pop up toilet. (NOT recommending that solution). I'm not sure why they need a shower for a 1 day event but to each their own. Mad props to this person for their distance running abilities though.

Winfield does have vault toilets, but no showers. But you can find a motel in nearby towns instead of camping, it just makes for a slightly longer drive to the TH. But if you do want to camp and have amenities, I have stayed at Chalk Creek campgrounds in Nathrop, not a bad drive from there to the Sawatch peaks, Mueller State Park when we hiked Pikes Peak from Crags Campground and we've stayed at Elevenmile Reservoir State Park, and stayed at Heart of the Rockies Campground near Poncha Springs....all these have shower, bathroom and laundry facilities.

[peter303]

Mueller State campground near the Pikes Peak Craigs trailhead has pay showers.
This trail is somewhat harder than Quandry, Huron, or Democrat. The forest part is steep. There is rock scrambling the final half mile.
The Pikes Peak auto race is June 30, 2019 and crosses the hiking trail twice.
Every camping spot July 4 week might already been reserved.

[nunns]

I noticed you have had a few other suggestions for a first 14er trip other than the DeCaliBron loop...I will second those that suggest other trips. Huron, Sherman, Quandary, or the Grays/Torreys combo as far better first time 14er excursions. I even felt like Mt. Yale was a much easier and prettier option for first timers. The DeCaliBron is just not as scenic and the descent of Bross is such a chossy mess that it may demoralize you enough to make for a miserable trip. It's not long, just arduous and a little bland, by mountain hike standards anyway. If you don't mind driving a few extra hours to the SW part of the state, I also recommend Handies....absolutely gorgeous and not too difficult....if you have a good clearance, 4WD vehicle, Uncompahgre from Nellie Creek is amazing and I really feel like it's not too difficult.

+1 for all of the above.

Sean Nunn

[Wigniter]

I noticed you have had a few other suggestions for a first 14er trip other than the DeCaliBron loop...I will second those that suggest other trips. Huron, Sherman, Quandary, or the Grays/Torreys combo as far better first time 14er excursions. I even felt like Mt. Yale was a much easier and prettier option for first timers. The DeCaliBron is just not as scenic and the descent of Bross is such a chossy mess that it may demoralize you enough to make for a miserable trip. It's not long, just arduous and a little bland, by mountain hike standards anyway. If you don't mind driving a few extra hours to the SW part of the state, I also recommend Handies....absolutely gorgeous and not too difficult....if you have a good clearance, 4WD vehicle, Uncompahgre from Nellie Creek is amazing and I really feel like it's not too difficult.

Thanks! I'll look into these options as well.

Much of our destination(s) will depend on accessibility / travel plans since we're flying to Denver first then renting cars to get the rest of the way - hence the 3-4 hours from Denver inquiry.

[Wigniter]

Winfield does have vault toilets, but no showers. But you can find a motel in nearby towns instead of camping, it just makes for a slightly longer drive to the TH. But if you do want to camp and have amenities, I have stayed at Chalk Creek campgrounds in Nathrop, not a bad drive from there to the Sawatch peaks, Mueller State Park when we hiked Pikes Peak from Crags Campground and we've stayed at Elevenmile Reservoir State Park, and stayed at Heart of the Rockies Campground near Poncha Springs....all these have shower, bathroom and laundry facilities.

So after more research this weekend, I believe we have several options for camping, but none are ideal. That's ok. We'll figure something out.

Best case scenarios may include camping across the creek from Winfield. Vault toilets available, and water apparently abundant from the creek.
Second choice would be to pay the premium (and find reservations early) for established camping around Leadville or other like Chalk Creek. Availability is dwindling fast, and the cost for the trip would increase a bit.
Lastly, we could look at cramming into one of the state park campgrounds, but that will be crowded I'm sure, and there are no guarantees that we could find spots.

Do people leave their camps setup while they summit, or do most people pack everything up while they are gone? If its feasible, I'd like to leave our tents setup while we attempt Huron and maybe La Plata the next day.

[glenmiz]

I've done both without any problems (from humans). If you're hiking during the summer, be aware that bears and other animals can create havoc so be sure to hang your food and smellables away from camp high enough that it won't attract them.

[Ptglhs]

Do people leave their camps setup while they summit, or do most people pack everything up while they are gone? If its feasible, I'd like to leave our tents setup while we attempt Huron and maybe La Plata the next day.

I wouldn't leave my camp setup next to a road. I feel it's too easy for someone to take something they want, put it in their car, and drive off. I do leave my camp setup in the backcountry; it's just less tempting to steal when you have to lug your left out 3-5 miles (imo).

It's also nice to break camp prior to the hike; you get moving, warm up a bit, can stretch some, and when you're done and tired you don't have to do it then! Breaking down camp after 8-10 miles and 4k' of gain is kinda demoralizing.