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

[tsand]

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.

Lots of good camping on the road to Huron. Most people leave their tents up. Good idea not to leave food in the tent though.

[peter303]

I notice you mention a rental car in one of your posts.
One factor in 14ers is quality of access road to the trailhead head- three levels:
1) paved road all the way
2) graded gravel road OK for sedans
3) high clearance road with big rocks or deep gullies suitable only high clearance and 4WD.
Sometimes two trailheads are specified, one if for high clearance and another if you cannot. Sometimes the high clearance part is seasonal. early spring right after meltoff can be worse. Check the trailhead status on the 14ers website.

Huron has about 8 miles of graded gravel road and 2 miles of high clearance. People with less capable vehicles camp before the high clearance part and hike the extra 4 miles. That almost doubles the hiking mileage with a fairly easy flat portion.
Grays has a notorious 7 mile high clearance part. I lost a sedan muffler on that road once. Other people have lost cat converters and oil pans.

Many people ignore the fine print in their rental contracts and drive high clearance roads.
Some rentals allow high clearance use.
I havent heard of people getting in trouble unless there is damages. I dont know how many companies have GPS trackers on their vehicles these days. The only time I was examined for off road in many many tentals was in Iceland where Hertz hoisted the sedan to look at the underbody. Iceland is notorious for offroad temptation.

[Wildmed]

Lots of good info here. I hiked both Huron and the DeCaLiBron last summer. I would definitely recommend Huron; it's a gorgeous hike. The views of the 3 apostles make for an amazing scene at the top and the tarns you walk by are awesome. The DeCaLiBron is rocky and rough--especially the descent on Bross. Nothing to look at except the top and much more crowded than Huron was. The views weren't noteworthy from the top either.

As for showers, leave the glamper at home and have fun w/o her. The road to the Huron 2wd trailhead felt long to me and I certainly wouldn't want to do the 4WD portion in the dark. I'd really want you to camp there and not elsewhere or do the motel thing based on what you've told us.

I recommend renting a jeep or a 4wd pickup and camping as close to the 4wd trailhead of Huron as possible. It's absolutely beautiful back there. I went with a durango R/T and took one look at the 4wd road and decided not to risk tearing off all my plastic--even with 9" of ground clearance. We camped close to the 2wd trailhead and hiked up the next morning. When I saw how nice the 4wd camping sites were--some right off the creek with fly fishing going on--I was really jealous. I can't wait to go back. This was my favorite road in CO so far.

[hellmanm]

It's been mentioned a couple of times, but the Lulu Gulch route is definitely the way to go if you decide on Huron. I did it twice last year -- the first was solo (4th of July and had the whole route to myself), with a car camp just past Winfield. The second was on September 3 (Labor Day I think) with someone who had never climbed a 14er. We stayed in Leadville at an AirBnB, and again had no traffic on the route. It's all routine walking, with the exception of 2 areas: some loose-ish dirt up to the ridge (no big deal, just annoying), and the descent off of Browns (class 2 talus-hopping with pretty much no exposure).

[Wigniter]

Lots of good info here. I hiked both Huron and the DeCaLiBron last summer. I would definitely recommend Huron; it's a gorgeous hike. The views of the 3 apostles make for an amazing scene at the top and the tarns you walk by are awesome. The DeCaLiBron is rocky and rough--especially the descent on Bross. Nothing to look at except the top and much more crowded than Huron was. The views weren't noteworthy from the top either.

As for showers, leave the glamper at home and have fun w/o her. The road to the Huron 2wd trailhead felt long to me and I certainly wouldn't want to do the 4WD portion in the dark. I'd really want you to camp there and not elsewhere or do the motel thing based on what you've told us.

I recommend renting a jeep or a 4wd pickup and camping as close to the 4wd trailhead of Huron as possible. It's absolutely beautiful back there. I went with a durango R/T and took one look at the 4wd road and decided not to risk tearing off all my plastic--even with 9" of ground clearance. We camped close to the 2wd trailhead and hiked up the next morning. When I saw how nice the 4wd camping sites were--some right off the creek with fly fishing going on--I was really jealous. I can't wait to go back. This was my favorite road in CO so far.

Interesting. I was curious if camping at the Winfield campsites would be crowded or just not a nice place. Good to know you can camp close to the 2wd TH. Are there any vault toilets or anything around there?

The route write-up for Lulu Gulch (https://www.14ers.com/route.php?route=h ... Huron+Peak) advises not to take the 4wd road past the 2wd TH because there is no parking above. I wonder how people parked to camp, then?

As for 4wd - there don't appear to be any good options for guaranteeing a good rental from the Denver airport. Looks like we'll be parking at the upper 2wd TH (if parking is available), and hopefully camping around there. We'll just have to bite the bullet, get up early, and hike the extra few miles.

[Wigniter]

It's been mentioned a couple of times, but the Lulu Gulch route is definitely the way to go if you decide on Huron. I did it twice last year -- the first was solo (4th of July and had the whole route to myself), with a car camp just past Winfield. The second was on September 3 (Labor Day I think) with someone who had never climbed a 14er. We stayed in Leadville at an AirBnB, and again had no traffic on the route. It's all routine walking, with the exception of 2 areas: some loose-ish dirt up to the ridge (no big deal, just annoying), and the descent off of Browns (class 2 talus-hopping with pretty much no exposure).

Great info - thanks!!! What TH did you starting hiking at?

I'm till debating between several other surrounding peaks as either a warm-up hike (maybe Quandary), or if we do Huron one first, then try another one if we feel up for it. Maybe La Plata or Belford...

As I see it, we have two main options.
1. Attempt Quandary first, then move to the Sawatch Range the next day.
2. Go straight to the Winfield area and attempt Huron first, followed by La Plata or Belford one of the other two remaining days.

A lot of it depends on how we perform on Attempt #1. I can see some merit to a "warm-up" or "acclimation" hike. I can also see merit in attempting the best mountain first, while you're the strongest.

Though call!

[hellmanm]

I started right before the "4WD Road" Sign where the road starts to leave a clearing and head into some trees. That clearing has some room for camping if you wanted to sleep by the TH. My GPS app measured close to .5 miles to the Lulu turnoff -- if you think you've missed it at .3 miles it may be just ahead!

As for your options, I'd say the one thing to add into your consideration would be the day of the week. Quandary on a weekend will be packed, but Lulu Gulch won't be. If you do Huron, I recommend the loop in order to avoid talus-hopping twice plus the loose-ish dirt descent. It will wear you out more than Quandary, but those decisions could depend on how everyone is adjusting to the altitude and what their fitness levels are.

One semi-related note: hydrate, and eat well. Drink more water than you normally would before/during ascent to altitude. Keeping your sodium and potassium levels up will matter too, as you'll be sweating them out as you hike (things like banana chips are good snacks, and some complex carbs the night before will give you long-term energy). Eating protein (like jerky) to help recovery between hikes will help your muscles as well.

[Wigniter]

I started right before the "4WD Road" Sign where the road starts to leave a clearing and head into some trees. That clearing has some room for camping if you wanted to sleep by the TH. My GPS app measured close to .5 miles to the Lulu turnoff -- if you think you've missed it at .3 miles it may be just ahead!

As for your options, I'd say the one thing to add into your consideration would be the day of the week. Quandary on a weekend will be packed, but Lulu Gulch won't be. If you do Huron, I recommend the loop in order to avoid talus-hopping twice plus the loose-ish dirt descent. It will wear you out more than Quandary, but those decisions could depend on how everyone is adjusting to the altitude and what their fitness levels are.

One semi-related note: hydrate, and eat well. Drink more water than you normally would before/during ascent to altitude. Keeping your sodium and potassium levels up will matter too, as you'll be sweating them out as you hike (things like banana chips are good snacks, and some complex carbs the night before will give you long-term energy). Eating protein (like jerky) to help recovery between hikes will help your muscles as well.

That's kinda why I'm considering doing Quandary first, on 4th of July (Thursday), then hopping over to Huron to attempt the Lulu Gulch either the next day, or give us a day of rest before attempting Huron on Saturday. I really appreciate the info!!!

Another thought is to setup camp around Winfield or further up the trail and plan to stay there for 3 days to attempt Huron and another nearby peak if we have the energy. This option is likely since we can likely keep our tents setup the whole time.

[Wigniter]

So, we have decided on our basic trip outline.

Day 1: Day hike / acclimate (Maroon Lake)
Day 2: Day hike / acclimate (????)
Day 3: Huron summit hike
Day 4: La Plata or Belford summit hike

So, now I'm looking for recommendations on day hikes that would be cool near our Winfield camping area. I'm pretty much set on going up to the Maroon Bells / Maroon Lake area for at least one of those days, but I need a second day hike.

Any other cool spots to explore around Winfield/Buena Vista/Leadville? Could even be a cool road to drive up or other such exploration. It doesn't necessarily have to be a long day hike, although we do we want to get our blood moving in those first two days.

[Ptglhs]

I would move it day 3 and day 4. May I suggest that your second day of acclimatization be to hike up and backpack at about 11,000 feet on La Plata? There's a wonderful area that's flat and Broad and near water. It's in the trees and it has some of the best camping I've ever seen for any Backcountry 14er. You could camp there on Day 2, Summit on day 3, La Plata is actually a fair bit of effort, then come down spend night 3 in a hotel and then hike Huron on day 4.

[dwoodward13]

So, we have decided on our basic trip outline.

Day 1: Day hike / acclimate (Maroon Lake)
Day 2: Day hike / acclimate (????)
Day 3: Huron summit hike
Day 4: La Plata or Belford summit hike

So, now I'm looking for recommendations on day hikes that would be cool near our Winfield camping area. I'm pretty much set on going up to the Maroon Bells / Maroon Lake area for at least one of those days, but I need a second day hike.

Any other cool spots to explore around Winfield/Buena Vista/Leadville? Could even be a cool road to drive up or other such exploration. It doesn't necessarily have to be a long day hike, although we do we want to get our blood moving in those first two days.

Lake Ann or a hike to the base of the Three Apostles would be nice. Both leave from the same TH as Huron.

[Wigniter]

I would move it day 3 and day 4. May I suggest that your second day of acclimatization be to hike up and backpack at about 11,000 feet on La Plata? There's a wonderful area that's flat and Broad and near water. It's in the trees and it has some of the best camping I've ever seen for any Backcountry 14er. You could camp there on Day 2, Summit on day 3, La Plata is actually a fair bit of effort, then come down spend night 3 in a hotel and then hike Huron on day 4.

I'll consider that, but my group was actually hoping to do everything from a car base camp and avoid backpacking on this trip. We've done some backpacking into base camp followed by a summit day on our last few trips and wanted to try it without the backpacking portion and see how that goes. I also have someone going on this trip that isn't fully equipped for backpacking, so he'd have to buy some gear for it.

I will look into it, though. Because it sounds awesome!

Where is the area you're describing? Is it along the Southwest route somewhere, I guess? And below the treeline somewhere...?