Plan with
Confidence
The Cottonwood Creek Trailhead is generally closed for winter several miles below the start of the Horn Fork Basin Trail.
Though the land manager requests all dogs be leashed, you'll likely see n number of dogs with a ratio of leashed dogs to unleashed 0:n.
Path Type
Point to Point
From the turnoff at the end of Horn Fork Basin, continue up an excellent trail at 12,600 ft. It's only about 1.5 miles to the summit from here. Hike along moderate grades through some small boulder fields before coming to a rock band around 13,100 ft.
From here, things get steep. Switchback on a clear trail composed almost entirely of talus before being spat back out onto the dirt trail. Continue switchbacks until hitting a summit ridge around 14,100 ft. Angle to the right, hiking up some switchbacks, again, until you reach the summit block at around 14,380 ft. From here, it's a fun class 2+ scramble to the summit of the third tallest 14er in all of Colorado, Mt. Harvard, 14,424 ft.
Turn around and follow your ascent trail back down, or continue along the traverse to complete the featured route: Harvard and Columbia in reverse.
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