Mt of the Holy Cross (14,005) by Brian Schultz Friday July 31, 1998
The road up to Halfmoon trailhead was slow and rough- lots of washboard sections and potholes. I rattled the whole way and when I reached the end I found a nice spot under some trees to park. I talked to a few hikers who were worn out and dehydrated from their day on the peak. They suggested bringing lots of water. I made dinner and loaded up my pack before it got dark. I settled in the truck to sleep but it stormed the whole night and I woke up every hour as the rain poured. Finally at 4:00 it let up and I rolled back to sleep, hoping it would hold. It did.
I left at 6:00. The weather was clearing by the time I signed in and according to the register others were well on their way ahead of me. A terrific sunrise blazed the sky behind me as I headed up the trail to Half Moon Pass. The first glimpse of Holy Cross is seen at the top of the pass and then it's nearly 1,000 feet in elevation loss down to the creek and a challenge to hop the rocks of the creek without getting wet feet. I saw many camping spots as I hiked up to timberline on a still good trail. The next goal is the north ridge- the summit finally felt within reach when I got there. I stayed on it until just past the north face of Holy Cross and at this point I met the first of the early hikers on their way down. It's boulder hopping on talus all the way to the summit and when I got there at 10:30, three others were on top. Two left right away but Martin, a solo hiker from Dallas, stayed a while to visit.
The views from the summit are impressive. Pyramid and Capitol were two peaks I enjoyed seeing after climbing them ten days ago. Martin intended to day hike Capitol the next morning and I tried to discourage him from doing it without backpacking. After he left I had the summit to myself and I stayed until 11:15, not wanting to leave my last fourteener of this trip. The dark clouds building up prompted me to leave though, and as I made my way down others were heading up. Instead of following the crest of the north ridge I made a line down the middle of it, careful to keep a bearing on the trees I emerged from on the way up.
Lots of people were still going up as the skies turned dark and just before I reached the trees I passed the two men who had just left the summit when I got there. Either they were really slow or I took quite the shortcut. I put my raincoat on just before it began raining and hailing. I felt safer in the trees and wondered if the other hikers were turning around. The rain quit shortly but threatened again when I crossed the creek. As I regained the elevation to Half Moon Pass I stopped to take a photo of the storm throwing lightning bolts on the peaks to my left. It was neat to watch the activity while dry and relatively safe. To my surprise and his, Martin came up behind me- he was flabbergasted at my being ahead of him. It really was a good shortcut!
We hiked out together and avoided getting soaked, reaching the parking area at 2:55. A long but rewarding day. My body felt fine but I was ready to go home after two weeks in Colorado. This trip turned out to be my only one to Colorado in 1998 but it was quite a success story for me- eleven new peaks! The three class 4 climbs in a row were especially satisfying.
Total hiking time- 8 hours 55 minutes (including 45 minutes on the summit)