We had decided to climb Missouri Mountain, which is near Oxford and Belford, which we'd climbed two years prior. We picked an alternate route up to the summit, which we thought would be more pleasant...unfortunately, it turned out to be a very steep slog, with an exciting 4WD lead in and out as well! Thankfully, we summited, so we don't have to do that one again!
A ridgeline south of Huron Peak
Lonny, with slightly angelic lighting
Iowa Peak towering above the valley
The steep grassy hillside 1300 feet high we had to ascend The trail stopped around 12,000 feet, and we had to pick our way up the grassy slopes of the ridgeline - far harder than it looks.
Shari, Lonny, and Brad
A Gentian Flower
Shari and Brian on the trail The trail disappeared shortly after this shot, and we were forced to find our own way up the tundra.
1,300 feet of grassy misery
Lisa, ascending the grassy knoll
Huron in the distance, plus a perspective on the slope of ascent
A Lake Fork valley panorama Click on the image to see the full panorama
Shari, up on the ridge (13,900 feet) that snakes up to the summit
The summit of Missouri, with people visible on it
Brad, Shari, Lonny, Brian, and Lisa on the summit
Summit Panorama Click on the image to see the full panorama
Lisa and Brian on the summit
Lisa, enjoying her high-tech freeze dried ice cream
Mmmm...ice cream!
Looking back on Pt. 13,930 and the descent route (down the the left)
Belford Peak, visible across Missouri Gulch, which drops down over 1,500 feet below Two years prior, we climbed Belford and Oxford (behind Belford, not visible) via Missouri Gulch.
Lonny and Brad descending below some broken cliffs
Our return route through a small scrambling section
Missouri Gulch
A rain squall moves over Huron
Shari and Lisa descending the talus covered slope
Shari, Brad, and Lonny, resting by a cairn
Sunlight illuminates a peak at the end of the valley
The first, and shallowest, stream crossing on the return journey Brad"s Land Cruiser taking it in stride
The second stream crossing had some much deeper spots Thanks to the suggestions from folks on 14ers.com, we knew how to cross the stream and avoid the deep spots like this one.
The Land Cruiser plunges into the second, deeper, stream crossing (1 of 4)
The Land Cruiser plunges into the second, deeper, stream crossing (2 of 4)
The Land Cruiser plunges into the second, deeper, stream crossing (3 of 4)
The Land Cruiser plunges into the second, deeper, stream crossing (4 of 4)
