Peak of the week No. 2: Mount Belford (14,205 feet)
Elevation rank: 18th of 54
Location: Sawatch Range
Directions: Take U.S. Highway 24 west to Buena Vista. Go 14.5 miles north on 24 and turn left on Chaffee County Road 390. Go about 7.5 miles to the Missouri Gulch trailhead on the left.
CFI — Colorado Fourteeners Initiative: A nonprofit (www.14ers.org) dedicated to the preservation of the peaks and their trails
Mount Belford is named after the state’s first congressman, James Belford. The peak’s rusty summit block reminded local miners of the representative’s red hair.
Located in the northern Sawatch Range, this mountain is a hidden gem. Its summit can be seen from only a few locations on paved roads. Even then, only those with a knowledge of the topography can pick out Belford.
The hike up Mount Belford begins in the ghost town of Vicksburg, one of the many former mining towns in the area. Though the Clear Creek valley was mined heavily in the late 1800s, Missouri Gulch has few scars, as nearly all of the mining occurred farther up the valley.
A dozen restored buildings and the ruins of a cabin near treeline hint at the community of 500 that once populated this mining town.
If you have energy left after hiking, cross the road to the north and stroll through the historic site.
Entry into this pristine gulch doesn’t come cheaply, as you’ll quickly discover — which might be the reason that miners stayed away. After crossing Clear Creek on a footbridge and passing the tombstone of a one-month-old who died in Vicksburg in 1884, the trail climbs a section known as “The Switchbacks.”
“The Switchbacks” will put your training regimen to the test as you unrelentingly gain elevation in your approach to Missouri Gulch. After reaching the basin, you will get a short reprieve on a less-steep trail that parallels the tumbling creek that flows from Missouri Gulch. Watch for side paths that lead to overlooks of the falls.
Treeline offers perfect views of what remains. For many years, a trail ran directly up Belford’s north ridge and Buena Vista football coaches were known to march their teams up that trail during preseason training.
Since then, however, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative has added 38 stairs of switchbacks (one stair is the combination of one right and one left switchback) on the ridge.
If you prefer a trail that gets down to business, this one is for you. There are few fourteener trails that take such a direct approach to a summit.
The summit is unique, with an unmistakable orange segment of rock sticking out from an otherwise rounded ridge.
Many fourteeners surround Belford, so take a map or GPS to help identify neighboring peaks.
Josh Friesema is a Colorado native who’s scaled each of the state’s 14,000-foot peaks. He’s been a member of Teller County Search and Rescue since 2003 and you can read about his high-country adventures at hikingintherockies.com.
