Horn Peak (13,450) by Brian Schultz Saturday June 29, 2013
Roundtrip mileage: 9.3 miles from Horn Creek trailhead
Elevation gain: 4,350'+
Start to finish: 7 hours 15 minutes
The poor weather forecast had me cutting my itinerary down to one peak today, a better forecast would've included Little Horn Peak and Fluted Peak. I drove from Westcliffe to the Horn Creek trailhead, the same easy to reach trailhead that I used for Colony Baldy three years ago, and began at 5:55 AM. I was quickly joined by two others who were also climbing Horn Peak, David, a retired pastor from St Louis, Missouri making his second attempt on the peak, and Cody, from Michigan, soon to graduate from the Sangre de Cristo Seminary in Westcliffe where David was teaching a course.
Cody had never climbed a Colorado peak before and his attire of blue jeans and a cotton jacket reminded me of my similar apparel many years ago. He wore sneakers too but most interesting was a .44 Magnum strapped to his waist. He said he wasn't taking any chances with a bear encounter.
We quickly reached the Rainbow trail and turned right (north). When we reached the Horn Peak trail I parted company with them because they intended to stop for a long break. I found the Horn Peak trail to be quite good but it's steep and gains lots of elevation over its rocky course. I caught a nice view of Horn before reaching the open area above treeline at 8:15. The trail faded out there but it's just a straightforward long ridge run to the summit.
I arrived on the summit at 10:00 and stayed for 25 minutes. The weather was holding nicely and I enjoyed the views (photo 1, photo 2) and the antics of a chipmunk attempting to chew on my trekking poles. I met another climber on my descent who I at first mistook for David because he called out my name. Wendell was a local from Westcliffe who'd obviously chatted a bit with David before passing him by. He mentioned having climbed Horn Peak many times but we kept our conversation short as clouds were now rolling in quickly.
It was no surprise to hear thunder rumbling around 11:30 and I soon came upon David hiking alone up the ridge. He said Cody had stopped below, done in by the altitude, and would wait for his return. I scooted down the ridge and talked to Cody for a few minutes before hurrying on to get lower. It began hailing at 12:00 and rained for twenty minutes but that was the extent of it before I got back to the truck at 1:10. The speedy Wendell soon showed up and said that he and David both made the summit. On the drive out, dark clouds above the Sangre peaks threatened to unleash a storm, making the decision to climb only one peak today a prudent one.
