Pt. 13,486

Jax with the Three Apostles in back.

A few weeks back I took Jax down to the Winfield area and ticked off the “new” LiDAR 13er that sits to the south of Huron Peak. It was a nice day out, and one of the only peaks I’ve hiked up to this point in the summer.

A few years back a group of us scrambled across the Apostles Traverse, hitting West Apostle along the way which happened to be my final 13er in the Sawatch Range (at the time). Fast forward a few years and LiDAR elevation adjustments have added/removed a few dozen peaks to the list of 584, including several additions in the Sawatch and even one in the Gore. For example Ellingwood Ridge is newly ranked, as is an unnamed peak in the Holy Cross Wilderness. Milwaukee Peak in the Sangres on the other hand, is no longer on the ranked list. Whether you’re a peakbagger who would be annoyed by this sort of thing, or excited, the changes have been made official one way or the other.

Another one of Jax cooling off in a snowfield on what was a pretty warm day even at 13,000 ft.

Though my progress on the big list has slowed down quite a bit the past few years (mountain biking is frankly more fun than hiking), I still intend to eventually finish and have 85 more peaks to go. So it was back on down to Winfield and up the all-too-familiar 390 Road to the Huron Trailhead, where Jax and I headed south along the trail to Lake Ann. A few miles in we broke off the main trail and headed east into the woods. Oh off-trail bushwhacking, how I’ve missed you!

On the Huron/13,486 saddle with Huron in back.

After climbing up a few rock-studded gullies and crossing a series of talus fields, it was a relatively easy climb up to the saddle between Huron and Pt. 13,486. From there, the ridge hopping was right at the limit of Jax’s abilities as an 11-year-old, 80 pound dog. But we eventually made it to the top.

Lounging on the summit, looking southwest at the Apostles.

A closer look at some of the more striking peaks in the range.

With clouds building to the west we reversed the route back to the car, admiring many fields of alpine wildflowers along the way. It’s been a great summer for those.

At the Lake Ann trail split on the way out.

Columbines.

And a tailgate beer on the back of the new truck to finish off the day.

A fun, short day out with my favorite hiking buddy. It’s always a blessing to get Jax up on another peak and the way he’s going, he’s still got a few left in him I think.

Cheers.