About 8 miles up Clear Creek Road (?) from Colorado State Highway 24, you will find the trailheads for Mount Belford / Mount Oxford and Missouri Mountain near the "town" of Vicksburg.
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The trail for Missouri Mountain coincides with the trail for Mount Belford / Mount Oxford for the first 2.4 miles or so. This picture shows just beyond that point. |
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A little further up Missouri Gulch you can begin to see where the trail heads so as to access the ridge. |
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The highpoint at the left end of that long ridge is our goal - Missouri Mountain. |
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Once on the ridge, you've got a great view of the southwestern side of Mount Belford with the head of Missouri Gulch laid out below. |
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It's a long traverse over to the summit. |
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It sure doesn't look that steep from the valley floor! |
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There's really only one challenging part along the trail near the summit. |
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The final pitch to the top. |
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Looking back along the ridge - almost to the summit. |
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That's me on the summit along with the crowds. |
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Looking back along the long ridge traverse I came to get here. |
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And looking down on Missouri Gulch from the summit. |
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I'm pretty sure that's Mount Hope and Quail Mountain mid-photo, with Mount Elbert looming in the background. |
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Mount Belford |
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I think that's Mount Harvard left-center mid-photo. |
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That's Huron Peak - the tall one on the left - just to the west. |
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Another great shot of Huron Peak. |
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Ice Mountain a little further southwest. |
| Along on this hike with me: no one. |
