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Mount Oklahoma

Statistics

  • Date - 10/04/2019
  • Elevation - 13,845'
  • Route - Southeast Slopes
  • Miles - 7.5
  • Elevation Gain - 3,500'
  • ACME Mapper - Link
  • CalTopo - Link
  • Partners - Brian Kooienga

Description

Brian and I are slowly knocking off Colorado's high 100 peaks.  We completed the 14ers relatively quickly and then shifted our interests to rock, snow, and ice climbing.  The past couple of years have us back to peak bagging and working through the list of Centennial Peaks.  This hike allowed us to summit Mount Oklahoma.

We left the Front Range around 5:30 and had a fun time four-wheeling to the upper Halfmoon Creek Trailhead in Brian's new TDR Pro 4Runner.  We started hiking at 7:55 and followed the well-defined trail all the way to North Halfmoon Lakes.  We should have left the trail and cut left around 11,600' to gain access to the southeast slopes of Mount Oklahoma, but the conversation was so compelling we completely missed our turn off and ended up at North Half Moon Lakes.  From the lakes, we traversed south/southwest and eventually made our way to a large shelf around 12,600'.

From the flat shelf, you turn right and slog your way up nasty scree and talus to the upper southeast slopes of Mount Oklahoma.  We spent around 20 minutes on the summit refueling, hydrating, and taking photos.  We dropped back off the summit and worked our way southeast to North Halfmoon Creek before picking up the main trail and hiking back to the trailhead.  It ended up being a 5 hour and 35 minute car-to-car day.

Photos

Brian hiking with Mount Oklahoma in the background.James hiking with Mount Oklahoma in the background.Brian approaching North Halfmoon Lakes.Approaching the flat shelf at 12,600'.James on the southeast slopes.James on the summit of Mount Oklahoma.Brian and Mount ElbertMount MassiveGroup Summit PhotoJames descending the scree.Brian descending the talus.The basin we hiked up.Fall ColorsBrian hiking back to the trailhead.