Missouri Mountain

From the Missouri Gulch Trailhead on SR390, cross the bridge that is just after the informational signs. The trail will take you through dense forest complete with aspen and pine trees. The trail becomes steep enough where even top runners will be reduced to a hike.

There is a stream and an avalanche chute near 10,800ft, about mile 1.1. Cross a crude bridge made of plenty of large, fallen trees and continue to rise. Colorado Fourteeners Initiative has done extensive work on this area including restoring the trail, installing steps, and mitigating erosion. Thank them if you see them!

There are remains of an old cabin near 11,000ft. Not long after this the trail forks. Ultimately, this is a loop. To get directly to Missouri, take the fork on the right. You’ll enter a talus field and a steep few switchbacks. Just beneath the crest of the ridge the trail tends to hold snow for much of the season. There is typically a bootpacked trench for this 100ft or so.

The ridge itself is about .7 miles long and of of the longest runnable sections of trail over 14,000ft that we know of. The trail has a gentle upward slope and is quite buffered most of the way to the peak. Return back the way you came. Note that immediately beyond the summit, the terrain becomes subject to cliffs and loose rock.