Mount Belford & Mount Oxford, Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Twin Lakes, Colorado
A few years ago, Mike and I had done a backpacking trip in the Pine Creek drainage that runs just south of Mount Belford and Mount Oxford and ever since then, I have wanted to come back to summit the two peaks. With leaves at their peak fall colors, we thought it would a great time to go on a long, fall hike. We set out from the trailhead in the dark and began the hike. The hike quickly started gaining elevation, and we found ourselves on quite a few switchbacks. Switchbacks would be the theme of the day. As we approached tree line, we were able to turn our headlamps off and appreciate the leaves we weren’t able to see in the dark. The morning was very calm, which we knew to enjoy as we were expecting wind to pick upas we started up the ridge.
When we came to the split in the trail, we stayed left and began ascending the ridge of Mount Belford. Switchback after switchback, we quickly gained elevation. The wind did pick up, but we found ourselves at the top sooner than we expected.
Looking east, we could see Mount Oxford, the other peak we were planning to summit that day. We continued hiking along the ridge and began descending towards the saddle with Mount Oxford. After losing 600-700 ft of elevation, we began ascending again. There was a nice wind break at the top of Mount Oxford and we took a leisurely lunch break there.
Once we started getting cold, we decided to start moving again and started hiking back the the way we came. As we gained the ridge that would take us back to the summit of Belford, we decided to take the longer, but less steep way down. Our knees appreciated this decision. We took the trail down to Elkhead Pass and then turned north and found ourselves in the basin below Missouri Mountain. We talked about if we wanted to summit that one too, but ultimately decided against it as Mike was breaking in a brand new pair of shoes. I really enjoyed all of the colors in this basin, with the orange and red hues of the willows that contrasted with the snow on the north side of Missouri. As we continued lower, we found beautiful views of yellow aspens both around us and across the drainage.
It was a beautiful day for a fall hike where we only saw a handful of people. I can’t wait for our next hike in the Collegiate Range!
Total stats: 11.6 miles, 5600 ft of elevation gain
