Humboldt Peak (14,064) by Brian Schultz Tuesday July 9, 1996
I had a nice soak in the spa at the Westcliffe Inn last night and decent pizza at Suzy's Bar and Cafe. A group of musicians set up chairs and started playing, highlighting the evening after a successful hike on Culebra. This morning I drove the road to South Colony Lakes and it was worse than I imagined. It took me an hour and a half to get to the parking area on this awful excuse of a road. For those who keep their 4x4 in pristine condition, reconsider taking it up here. At the very least the paint will be scratched from branches. And count on scraping the underside often- at a few areas I wondered whether it was possible to negotiate the rocks at all. It will turn a few hairs gray if you don't like this kind of driving.
Fortunately, the route to Humboldt is on a good trail and the morning was bright and clear. On the way up to the saddle you get the most stupendous views of the two Crestones. I looked in awe and said to myself, "no way!" There was no possibility that I would ever do them and I resigned myself to this fact as I headed up to the saddle. A solo hiker was waiting there for his group to come back down from the summit; he was only along for the fishing and wanted to get back to the lakes but hiked up here for the views. The push to the top involved some boulder hopping but it was easy and the four guys he was waiting for passed me by. I reached the summit and had it to myself. Staying briefly because the clouds were building up, I scampered back to the saddle and once below it, took a break.
The clouds passed by harmlessly and I kicked back to take in the Crestones again. I could hear voices across the way on the Needle but even with binoculars couldn't spot anyone. After I had my fill I descended to the lake and another hiker there was scouting the route for a following morning hike. The rest of the way down was uneventful and again I relived the nightmare of driving back down the road.
I stayed in Poncha Springs at the Poncha Lodge and upon arrival, the proprietor hollered for his wife to come and look at the guy from Minnesota. They both remembered me from last year- she felt so sorry for me with the terrible sunburn then.
Another easy hike. Just wish the road was better!