Humboldt Peak

For those who don't own a 4 wheel drive vehicle, the approach hike from the Wet Mountain Valley to Humboldt Peak is an exhausting ordeal in itself...which I found out a week ago. In hindsight, I should have made this hike a two day outing, taking one day to hike to the South Colony Lakes and then camp overnight, and then obtain the summit of Humboldt the next day. Instead, I hiked up to South Colony Lakes, and made the mistake of following a trail which branches to the right of the 4WD road. This trail is easy to follow until it reaches an expansive area of brush. From the brush, you have to bushwhack in order to obtain the trail which leads up to the Humboldt-Creston saddle. The day was starting to get late, and I didn't want to spend another hour getting past the brush, so I turned around and made the long trip back to the car. If I had to redo that hike, I would have continued to follow the 4WD road, which would have been longer, but would also avoid any bushwhacking. After finally reaching the car, I drove north through Westcliffe. Shortly after, I blew a tire, likely due to the very rough gravel road I drove on to get to the Humboldt trailhead.