Missouri Mountain

• Date of hike: July 3, 2020

• Location: Missouri Gulch Trailhead – Near Leadville or Buena Vista, Colorado 

• Rough Mileage/Vert: 11 miles round trip (out and back) & 4,400ft gain 

• Our time: About 6 hours round trip

We have another first for you this week: our first 14’er of 2020!

Last year on the 4th of July, we bagged Mts. Belford and Oxford, getting us to the halfway point in the Sawatch range. These two peaks share a few miles of trail with Missouri Mountain, so you can hike one, two, or all three, and you’ve also got the option to backpack in a few miles in order to spread the hike into two days. We opted to snag a roadside campsite before the hike so that we could enjoy the evening post-hike in our hammocks instead of I-70 traffic.  

David’s sister Rachel joined us and we started the hike around 7am. The beginning is steep enough to make you repeat to yourself, “this is really steep”; the middle pops you out into a gorgeous basin (currently with early blooms of wildflowers); and the final climb checks the boxes for what you’d expect of a last mile before the summit. There’s a crux during the final climb with a little exposure and not a lot of traction, but it’s over pretty quickly. And just like that, you’re on the scraggly little summit. 

You’re bound to do some slipping, sliding, and glute clenching as you head down, as to be expected in the gravelly bits near the top, so get ready for a leg burning descent. Once we were on steadier ground, it was fun to break into a jog and pretend to send it like Killian Jornet. Overall, the hike down didn’t feel as excessively long as some other hikes, maybe because the terrain varies enough to keep things interesting. 

If you head home through Leadville, we recommend a stop at High Mountain Pies, or City on a Hill Coffee for the morning after you camp. Leadville is one of Elizabeth’s favorite towns, we’d love to hear what yours is!