Mt. Harvard Trip Report 08/16/2021

Report Type	Mini
Peak(s)	Mt. Harvard - 14,424 feet
Date Posted	08/16/2021
Date Climbed	08/15/2021
Author	twarren8758

Fabulous Day on Harvard
This was my 8th 14er and my favorite. Headed out from Frisco at about 4AM to get a parking spot at then North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead. Got there about 6 AM. The road was a little bumpy but perfectly do-able in my rented Mitsubishi 2WD Outlander. No parking in actual lot so parallel parked. Found the trail to the valley to be a great warm up and very easy. There are creeks all along the trail that provide awesome sounds and views as you go. A couple of miles in is the split to Harvard or Columbia. Took Harvard branch obviously and came out in a valley that is truly breathtaking. As the sun was coming up got great pics of the light hitting the mountains. It was hard to tell which mountain was Harvard but I just stayed on the well marked trail and it became obvious. No real wildlife except for a couple of marmots. Hoping to see some larger critters but was not to be. Great weather - very little smoke which was a relief as last year hiked Bierstadt and was smoked in. The views on this hike were probably the best I have had. Took me 3.5 hours from trailhead to summit. The approach is very easy for the first 4 to 5 miles but gets steep quickly. Nothing that a person in decent shape should worry about. The summit area is very small and was pretty crowded. Took some pics and took off. Be aware that there are some rocks that you need to climb for the last 30 feet. Not sure how people got dogs up there but they did! Took 3 hours to get back down and put my feet in a creek as they were a little sore. Great hike for me. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Fabulous Day on Harvard

This was my 8th 14er and my favorite. Headed out from Frisco at about 4AM to get a parking spot at then North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead. Got there about 6 AM. The road was a little bumpy but perfectly do-able in my rented Mitsubishi 2WD Outlander. No parking in actual lot so parallel parked. Found the trail to the valley to be a great warm up and very easy. There are creeks all along the trail that provide awesome sounds and views as you go. A couple of miles in is the split to Harvard or Columbia. Took Harvard branch obviously and came out in a valley that is truly breathtaking. As the sun was coming up got great pics of the light hitting the mountains. It was hard to tell which mountain was Harvard but I just stayed on the well marked trail and it became obvious. No real wildlife except for a couple of marmots. Hoping to see some larger critters but was not to be. Great weather - very little smoke which was a relief as last year hiked Bierstadt and was smoked in. The views on this hike were probably the best I have had. Took me 3.5 hours from trailhead to summit. The approach is very easy for the first 4 to 5 miles but gets steep quickly. Nothing that a person in decent shape should worry about. The summit area is very small and was pretty crowded. Took some pics and took off. Be aware that there are some rocks that you need to climb for the last 30 feet. Not sure how people got dogs up there but they did! Took 3 hours to get back down and put my feet in a creek as they were a little sore. Great hike for me.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

jibler	shoulda been up there 8/16/2021 10:51am looks like good smoke-free vistas. kicking myself I didn't jump up to the mountains last weekend now!
Laferic	Thanks 8/16/2021 12:24pm Thank you for the report.. next on my list!

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