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

[Ptglhs]

It's on the standard route, just west of the trail, and over the creek, between 11k and 11.2. If you look on the satellite there's a treeless area that is the meadow where you can camp -it's ringed by trees with plenty of camp sites. I counted at least 3 fire rings, and I didn't explore the southern edge of the meadow.

If you don't want to backpack you could do Sherman from the West, Leadville side. If you're just wanting to car camp/acclimate you could do any of the several thousand trails in the Sawatch, near Winfield. I'd look on AllTrails if you want to get more ideas.

[Ptglhs]

PLBs for a July hike on a standard route? ^.^

[Wigniter]

It's on the standard route, just west of the trail, and over the creek, between 11k and 11.2. If you look on the satellite there's a treeless area that is the meadow where you can camp -it's ringed by trees with plenty of camp sites. I counted at least 3 fire rings, and I didn't explore the southern edge of the meadow.

If you don't want to backpack you could do Sherman from the West, Leadville side. If you're just wanting to car camp/acclimate you could do any of the several thousand trails in the Sawatch, near Winfield. I'd look on AllTrails if you want to get more ideas.

Ooooh. Sorry, I thought you meant along the Southwest Ridge route, which is where we would be attempting from, I think. I see the area you're talking about near the standard route.

[Wigniter]

La Plata is nice. You can drive to Leadville for acclimatization - 10K - and a beer.

Also, you should consider your first day at Yale - camping near the trail head. You will see Harvard and Columbia which you will want to do the following year. I've read others suggest Missouri basin as your first 14er. Belford is a stair climber and Missouri can be dangerous/challenging for a first timer.

Do you have a personal location beacon?

So you'd recommend Yale over Belford? At this point I'm kinda leaning towards Huron followed by La Plata so we can camp and stay in the same general area. But if we do decide to drive over to another relatively close area, I had chosen Yale already as an alternative.

We do have a beacon. But honestly, this area appears FAR safer in that respect compared to our last few trips. Up there, we had no trails, didn't see another person for four days, and were probably 3 hours from any type of assistance. This area looks like suburbia by comparison.

[Wigniter]

What size packs are you folks using for a 14er hike? I'm thinking 25-40L would be a good size. I just purchased a Mystery Ranch Scree (32L) to meet a couple of my main needs - day hikes and 1-2 day work trips. I'm hoping that size will be perfect for these summit hikes.

Thoughts?

[gorshkov]

What size packs are you folks using for a 14er hike? I'm thinking 25-40L would be a good size. I just purchased a Mystery Ranch Scree (32L) to meet a couple of my main needs - day hikes and 1-2 day work trips. I'm hoping that size will be perfect for these summit hikes.

Thoughts?

The pack needs to be big enough to carry the things you need. You can find packing lists in various places (https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/what- ... essentials, https://www.14ers.com/gearlist.php). Here's what I carry for most summer-condition day trips. Some people carry less, others carry more.
Topographical map and compass, plus phone with Backcountry Navigator App
Headlamp and extra batteries
Sunscreen and lip balm
Small first aid kit: a couple of bandaids, a small roll of gauze, neosporin, hydrocortisone, extra strength ibuprofen, immodium, moleskin, sometimes an ace bandage
Foil Emergency blanket
Leatherman multi-tool
Waterproof matches and a couple of fire starters
Some food
3 liters of water (a 2L camelbak and a nalgene), plus a couple of water purification tablets just in case.
Duck tape (wrapped around nalgene)

Clothes will be the most personal thing. I generally take the following (including what I wear):
Hiking shoes
2 pr socks
zip-off hiking pants
long-sleeve synthetic t-shirt
lightweight puffy jacket
rain jacket
rain pants
beanie
sunglasses
gloves
runner-type cap with bill

I have a ~8 L running pack that fits almost all of this stuff (with a couple of things strapped to the outside). But before I got that, I just used the same Greatland backpack that I used for carrying books in high school.

[Wigniter]

Read this about July and snow

viewtopic.php?p=683425#p683425

Interesting. So if we do Huron, and La Plata/Yale - we just need to bring microspikes and that should suffice?

[Wigniter]

You probably won't know until you get there. Further north snow more likely.

I have the below ... better then microspikes and less expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/Leanking-Tractio ... 55C1ZQ6PXE

Cool. I may recommend to my group that everyone get a pair of something similar.

[Wigniter]

The pack needs to be big enough to carry the things you need. You can find packing lists in various places (https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/what- ... essentials, https://www.14ers.com/gearlist.php). Here's what I carry for most summer-condition day trips. Some people carry less, others carry more.
Topographical map and compass, plus phone with Backcountry Navigator App
Headlamp and extra batteries
Sunscreen and lip balm
Small first aid kit: a couple of bandaids, a small roll of gauze, neosporin, hydrocortisone, extra strength ibuprofen, immodium, moleskin, sometimes an ace bandage
Foil Emergency blanket
Leatherman multi-tool
Waterproof matches and a couple of fire starters
Some food
3 liters of water (a 2L camelbak and a nalgene), plus a couple of water purification tablets just in case.
Duck tape (wrapped around nalgene)

Clothes will be the most personal thing. I generally take the following (including what I wear):
Hiking shoes
2 pr socks
zip-off hiking pants
long-sleeve synthetic t-shirt
lightweight puffy jacket
rain jacket
rain pants
beanie
sunglasses
gloves
runner-type cap with bill

I have a ~8 L running pack that fits almost all of this stuff (with a couple of things strapped to the outside). But before I got that, I just used the same Greatland backpack that I used for carrying books in high school.

Thanks for the packing list! Most of that is on my own list minus the rain pants. I also guzzle water like (apparently) no one else. I went through 4L on my last ascent to 12,600 ft. I'm planning to bring 5-6L on this one, haha.

I have an Outdoor Research 18L pack that worked pretty well for our last summit hike but it was packed super tight. I was looking for something large enough to hold an 11x17 clipboard that I take with me through airports when traveling to jobsites, but small enough that I could use it for this hike. The Scree pack seems to be perfect for that, even if a bit on the large side. I also tried the Mystery Ranch Coulee 25, but it seems pretty small, and not much of an upsize from the OR bag.

[Wigniter]

Well, this conversation didn't age well, haha! Looks like Huron isn't accessible yet, so that kills our main attraction. Now we're scrambling to find alternatives.

So far it looks like Yale is 50/50, Belford is maybe an option, Massive might be doable....and there's Quandary.....

But I'm basically looking at the entire Sawatch trying to find 2 peaks with passable trails for flatlanders without snow shoes for back to back days of hiking on July 2-3. I'm reading the same reports as everyone else, and everything looks pretty much 50/50 right now :-/ Anyone have any 14er rabbits they could pull out of a hat that aren't covered in snow?

Question for the experts: When we encounter snow fields - what warning signs are we looking for that would turn us back or forces us to look for alternate routes? I don't know enough about snow at these elevations at this time of year to know exactly how to read the various dangers or problems.

[Trotter]

Question for the experts: When we encounter snow fields - what warning signs are we looking for that would turn us back or forces us to look for alternate routes? I don't know enough about snow at these elevations at this time of year to know exactly how to read the various dangers or problems.

You are looking to avoid snowfields on slopes, where a slip and fall would get you sliding across snow, possibly into rocks or off cliffs. If you are going to cross a snowfield on a slope, you need an ice axe.

Also snowfields on flat ground can possibly be a postholing nightmare. No danger, but extremely tiring. Thats when you need snowshoes.

[Wigniter]

You are looking to avoid snowfields on slopes, where a slip and fall would get you sliding across snow, possibly into rocks or off cliffs. If you are going to cross a snowfield on a slope, you need an ice axe.

Also snowfields on flat ground can possibly be a postholing nightmare. No danger, but extremely tiring. Thats when you need snowshoes.

Got it. That's helpful. We will not have ice axes, so we'll just have to play it safe.