Mount of the Holy Cross and Upcoming Hikes

Here's the grabber:

Explore Fitness hikers crush Mount of the Holy Cross in record time! Information on the Princeton hike at the bottom of this post.

Mount of the Holy Cross



Despite leaving Denver at 12pm on a Saturday, we still managed to find traffic on the way to our campsite, Half Moon Campground adjacent to the Holy Cross Wilderness area. Despite the delay, we made it with little drama on an interesting 4WD trail with evidence of a series of controlled burns about.

Our luck continued as we occupied two recently vacated campsites and found no notice regarding an expected fire ban. Grilled Kebabs courtesy of Britta and Zanna and a few Coors Lights courtesy of Clay and Brett later, we crashed early in anticipation.

Sunday alarm went off at 4am and we departed promptly at 5:10am (only 10minutes after the scheduled time, not bad for a group of nine).

Up to Half Moon Pass in the dark and some beautiful views in the early morning alpenglow


After descending into a valley and crossing a small stream, we headed back up the ~4k feet to the top.


Rugged Terrain


A few breaks



The top



Summited about 9am, back to the campsite at 1:30pm, a mere 4.5hrs faster than the 14ers.com trip report predicted. Domination.


Group shot


See you on Longs Peak August 18th.

Nate

Update on the upcoming Mount Princeton hike:


The Princeton hike has been delayed to the weekend of the 24th. We will be departing on Friday the 24th at 2pm.


Participants will have the option to stay in a hotel, camp or stay in a private cabin in shared spaces. Costs will vary depending on your lodging choice and the length of your stay.


Everyone should plan on staying Friday the 24th and hiking on the 25th.


Lodging is currently available at Mt. Princeton Hot Spring Resort, or at a myriad of mid-range hotels in Salida or Buena Vista.

Mt Princeton rents cabins that sleep ten.

The National Forests have enough camping spots for 20,000+.

A friend of Explore has limited availability at a private cabin nearby.

PLEASE RSVP to explorefitnessdenver@gmail.com WITH:

• If you're planning on participating
• What sort of lodging interests you
• If you have a 4WD vehicle and you're willing to drive.

Here's a link to the rout description:

http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=prin1&peak=Mt.+Princeton

There are two options to get to the top and we can accommodate different levels of hikers.

Gonna be SICK.

Nate 

Get High! Explore 14ers!

Welcome Explorers!

So far this summer we've bagged two 14k ft mountains (Gray's and Torrey's Peaks). Now, it's time to head farther afield and continue to challenge ourselves.

  Yup. Two in one day.

Here are the coming planned hikes:

July 22nd: Mount of the Holy Cross




This iconic 14er is near Vail and about 2.5hrs from Denver. Plan on getting up really early, or join me on camping the night before at the Halfmoon campground (recommended).

This is a challenging hike that should take 10-12hours and cover 4,723 vertical feet. It's worth it. Holy Cross is on every peak chaser's bucket list in Colorado, and a few brave souls attempt the ski descent of the cross couloir every year. Scary.

Our route will be the North Ridge and is rated as an intermediate climb with limited exposure and scrambling.

All the information you need from 14ers.com
http://www.14ers.com/photos/peakmain.php?peak=Mt.+of+the+Holy+Cross

August 4th and 5th: Mt Princeton OVERNIGHT


Climb this massive member of the Collegiate Peaks from the comfort of either a private cabin in nearby Maysville or the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs resort.



This hike is beautiful and puts you up on the enormous Mt. Princeton summit with views for hundreds of miles. Finish with a soak in the tub at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.

http://www.mtprinceton.com/

The hike itself is challenging but not extreme. Six miles and 3,377 vertical feet make this doable in about six hours for most, which should leave us plenty of time to enjoy a meal in Buena Vista before heading back to Denver on Sunday.

All the information you need at:
http://www.14ers.com/photos/peakmain.php?peak=Mt.+Princeton

RSVP for details. Lodging expenses will depend on how large our group is, but should be around $100.

August 18th and 19th: Longs Peak OVERNIGHT Camping


The big daddy. Oh yeah. Long's Peak is a major accomplishment for those who are up for a challenge. We will camp at the Long's Peak Trailhead campsite Saturday the 18th and hit the trail around 3:30am in order to be off the peak before any potential lighting.


Be prepared for this hike. 16 miles, 4,845 feet vertical, and quite a bit of rocky traveling make this our most challenging peak of the summer. This peak is located in Rocky Mountain National Park, and off-limit to dogs. Get there and do it, and you'll know you've accomplished something.

All you need to know at:
http://www.14ers.com/photos/peakmain.php?peak=Longs+Peak

RSVP for more details.

I look forward to exploring these amazing peaks with you this summer!

Nate Lawrence