Missouri Mountain is a long, high ridge which - along with Mt. Belford - helps frame the Misssouri Gulch basin. Gazing at the mountain from the summits of nearby Huron Peak (to the west) or Mt. Belford (to the northeast), one doesn't necessarily notice Missouri as a 14er. But it is! And the view from its summit is one of the best we've seen.
Missouri Mountain is but one of three 14ers that can be approached from the Missouri Gulch basin trail - the others being Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford. If you've read our account of the trail for those mountains, the beginning of what follows will be repetitive to about 11,850 feet. Pictured below on the left is the final approach to the summit.
To get there, turn west
on Clear Creek Canyon Road, 14 miles north of Buena Vista just south of Granite,
off US Highway 24. The road winds around the north side of Clear Creek Resevoir (not
visible from US 24) and into the the canyon. After eight dusty miles of the dirt road
there is a large trailhead parking lot with an east and a west entrance, just across the
road from the Vicksburg
mining camp, now a ghost town.
Since camping is not allowed at the trailhead, A2 headed further west about a quarter of a mile to a small pullout on the south side of the road where we had camped before climbing Belford and Oxford. Unlike, most all of the mountains on these pages, Ehtue climbed Missouri solo, as Klaus was not up for another one this year (1998).
On the morning of September 5, I rose at when it first started getting light and hit the trail at 6:20. From the parking lot, the trail heads down to cross Clear Creek at 9,669 feet in elevation, then up the south side, pretty much straight up a hillside west of Missouri Gulch. After a while you'll notice the Vicksburg cemetary on your left, which consists of one marked and fenced grave - William Huffman, who died in 1884 of pneumonia at the age of one month.
Continuing a bit farther, you will come to a series of eight switchbacks which climb the hill. After the 8th the trail straightens out as you head south, paralleling the gulch to its west, but at a much lessened grade. At about 10,800 feet the trail crosses Missouri Gulch on a three-log bridge which bounces uneasily as you put your weight on it. I crossed at 7:03.
Once on the east side of the gulch, the trail again shoots straight south for a way before coming to another series of switchbacks as the hill gets steeper. There are few trees on this portion of the hill, so you are afforded a beautiful view of the valley from which you have come.
Once you're through the switchbacks, the path again levels out somewhat as you enter a heavily wooded area. Suddenly you arrive at Joe Anderson's mining cabin, circa 1879, at 11,280 feet. (I got there at 7:22.) There's not a lot left of Joe's abode - just four walls and a caved-in roof that now sits on the floor - but, thankfully, there are a couple of logs on the south side of the cabin that are perfect for sitting or leaning against to take a rest.
Just past the remains of Joe's cabin, the trees clear and you enter onto the Missouri Gulch basin. From here, you get your first view of Mt. Belford on your left and Missouri Mountain on the right. The trail leads across the basin to a fork at 11,850 feet where there is a signpost pointing you east (left) for Mt. Belford, or south (straight) for Elkhead Pass at the end of the basin. Continue on toward the pass.
Just after the fork the trail again crosses the gulch, this time on a single log which is considerably more stable than the lower bridge! After strolling along basically flat land a bit farther, you cross the gulch a third time - this time by skipping across some rocks. Thrity minutes later you cross the gulch a fourth and final time at 12,500 feet by merely hopping from one bank to the other. About this time (8:30) the sun finally rose above Mt. Belford to the east and the air warmed up considerably.
Continuing on as you approach closer and closer to Missouri Mountain, you may begin to wonder how you're going to find your way up to the top of the ridge. At around 12,800 feet, look for a dry gulch on your right which is filled with light-colored rock. You've had it pretty easy since you left Anderson's cabin: the trail has gained only 1,500 feet in the last mile and a quarter. Now that's all about to change.
You leave the main trail (which continues south a bit further, then takes a sharp left (east) as it progresses on its way to Elkhead Pass) and begin to pick your way up the gulch, sometime to the right, sometimes to the left, and sometimes in the middle of the rocks. It's steep here, and if you leave the rocks for either side the loose gravel and sand make the going rough.
After you've completed this little gulch, the land again levels out (somewhat!)as you cross some boulders and grassy tundra approaching the side of the mountain which leads to the ridge you'll eventually follow to the summit. The photo at the right shows the access point you are looking for: the trail, such as it is, goes basically straight up the mountain to the saddle pictured here. The ground is, for the most part, loose gravel, so keeping your footing is sometimes difficult.
Once I made the top of the ridge at 10:00 (13,600 feet) I took a well deserved rest before heading southeast up the trail to the first false summit. After what you've just been through, the rest is a piece of cake. The trail guides slightly to the west of the ridge. Follow it to the top of the false summit (13,784 ft.), where you will have a great view of Huron Peak to the west. Then just follow the trail along the ridge over a couple of more bumps to the summit (see photo at the top of the page).
I reached the summit at 10:50 and had it all to myself for only about 10 minutes before someone arrived from the south! He'd missed the cutoff to get to the ridge, had continued on the main trail over Elkhead pass, turned west and scrambled over rocks till he was south of the summit, then went straight up. Not recommended!
The summit itself is large enough for a couple of groups of climbers to sit in areas encircled by piled rocks, but beware of some nasty big black flies and weird black crickets! Don't know why they're here, but the place was filled with them!
Here's a view from the summit looking west and southwest (several pictures pasted together - you may have to scroll to the right to see the whole picture. We are indebted to W. Michel Kiteley, who did a fine job reworking our photos to take out all the lines between pics. Thanks, Mike!) That's Huron Peak on the far right.
After a half hour at the summit, I started my descent the same way I came up, but just before the 13,784 ft. false summit, I noticed a cairn off to the east. Thinking that "this can't be any worse than the way I came up," I headed off in that direction and quickly came to a steep scree area which would take me down to the grassy tundra. I chose it! The scree doesn't last all the way down - there are areas where you have to slow down and navigate through some boulders - but it is much preferable to the other route. Don't even think about going up this way, though.
Once I came out on the tundra, I noticed a path of sorts which leads down to the main trail along a different, more southernly route than coming up the gulch with the light-colored rocks. This path, though longer, is much less steep than the other, but it is faily easy to lose, as it seems to be new and is not that well worn. It is marked here and there with cairns so it is possible to follow. It joins the main trail just at that point where the main trail turns sharply east on it's way to Elkhead Pass. You might want to think about going up the first part on this trail, but, either way, you're going to have that steep, loose gravel part before you hit the saddle.
For a view of the entire Missouri Gulch basin all the way to the first false summit, click here.
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