Last summer I was supposed to take Liam for his first
tent camping trip. For some reason, it never happened. Either I chickened out
or we just ran out of weekends…I don’t remember. He turned 3 in early June and
was definitely ready so this weekend we packed the car and headed to the
Collegiate Peaks south of Leadville, CO. Father-in-law Jim and my dog Milo
joined us on this trip also.
We had to drive the long way around on 50 through Canyon
City because 24 was closed due to the Waldo Canyon fire. The fire was so bad
earlier this week that we almost canceled the trip. We made it to the end of CO390 past Winfield,
CO around mid day. We set up our tents in the trees just down the road from the
Huron Peak and Lake Ann trail heads.
Liam lounging around camp eating lunch |
Taking care of a little business |
The little trekking pole thief running away from "Pop Pop" on Harrison Flats |
Those are not man capris - I rolled his pants up because jumping in water is Liam's favorite sport Three Apostles visible in the background |
A nice view of the Three Apostles from near the trail head |
As I mentioned, this was Liam's first time sleeping in a tent and he was "nut job" excited over it. He likes to run in all the tents at REI so he felt right at home.
This face doesn't really capture the joy but its the only shot I have. Milo really likes the tent too! |
Since this was a weekend of firsts I decided to climb Huron Peak (14,003 ft) for Liam's first 14er on the second day of the trip.
3 yr old Liam = 40 lbs. My back hurts. |
I've been training for the Pikes Peak Ascent so this will count as my training "run" for the day. Huron starts from the same trail head as the Lake Ann trail a few hundred yards from our camp. We got a little bit of a late start because Liam slept like a champ in the tent. I guess all the hiking he did the day before wore him out because not only did he sleep a lot but he also wanted to ride in the pack for most of the 14er hike.
He stole my trekking pole again. This is the mostly flat alpine meadow area just above treeline. You can filter water here if needed and there are great wildflowers mid summer. |
Milo and Liam on the summit - first 14er for both of them |
Liam and me on the summit |
Crap...I still have to carry him back down! We had a quick lunch on the summit then hit the trail again as some clouds will building up to look a little threatening. By the time we made it back to camp we were all pretty wiped out...time to pack up and head home.
Getting there: The trail head is off county road 390 approximately half way between Buena Vista and Leadville, CO. 14ers.com is a great resource for directions: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/trailheads2.php?thparm=sw19
Route: For Lake Ann you will hike straight past the large sign at the trail head and follow the well worn trail toward treeline. There is a ridge that divides Apostle basin (hiker's left) from Lake Ann / Harrison Flats (hiker's right) so make sure you take the right fork at the only signed fork in this trail. Getting to Harrison Flats requires a steep climb up the hill off the right side of the trail as it starts to become more obscure. Don't ask me how to get to Lake Ann because apparently I can't do it. I could see the lake and the trail from Harrison Flats - it looks very nice!
For Huron Peak the trail starts just to the left of the large trail head sign. The hike is approximately 6.75 miles round trip and ~3,500 ft of elevation gain on a non-technical hike-up trail. Once again, 14ers.com is a great resource: http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=huro1&peak=Huron+Peak
Precautions: Plan accordingly to be able to drink plenty of water. These are strenuous hikes and altitude can kick your butt if you are dehydrated. Both hikes have at least one location along the way if you want to filter rather than carry a full supply. Plan to start hikes above treeline early so you can get back in the trees before afternoon thunderstorms roll through. The storms can bring rain/snow/hail/wind/lightning/drastic drops in temp.
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