
Starting along the Missouri Gulch Trail.


Switchbacks along the Missouri Gulch Trail.

More switchbacks through the forest.

Mount Belford's north ridge comes into view.


Emerging above treeline.

View back down Missouri Gulch.

Mount Belford visible top left. Missouri Mountain top right somewhere.

Junction, left leads to Belford/Oxford, right to Missouri.

View back toward a mudslide that wrecked the trail. Just keep to the creek for a bit and you'll relocate the trail, assuming it's not fixed soon.

Ascending the Missouri Mountain Trail.

View back down Missouri Gulch.

Missouri Mountain ahead.

Still ascending through beautiful meadows.

Close-up of the conga-line to the base of Missouri Mountain.

Junction. Right leads up to Missouri Mountain, left is where I'll be coming from later after descending from Elkhead Pass.

Another shot back as I near the base of Missouri Mountain.

Ascending the Missouri Mountain Trail. The trail makes one big switchback, ultimately leading to the grassy section of the ridge in the center of this photo.

View toward Mount Belford (top left) and Elkhead Pass (right of center).

Missouri Mountain Trail ascends first through tundra, then gets rocky.

Light Class 2, still a trail.

View back into Missouri Gulch. Mount Belford visible top center.

Almost at the ridge along the Missouri Mountain Trail. Once on the ridge, the trail heads left.

Along the ridge, continuing to Missouri Mountain.

View back down the ridge.

Mostly easy trail to the summit along the ridgeline.

View back down the ridge. Missouri Gulch visible on the right, where I came up from.

Class 2 steep and loose section along the trail, the crux of the Missouri Mountain hike.

Missouri Mountain, view back along the ridgeline.

Missouri Mountain, view south toward Iowa Peak (right) and Emerald Peak (right of center). The route I'll be taking heads along the ridge to Emerald Peak, then drops down to the two little tarns on the left before ascending to Elkhead Pass (out of frame on the left).

Close-up toward Iowa Peak (right) and Emerald Peak (left of center).

View back toward Missouri Mountain.

Iowa Peak ahead, light Class 2.

Iowa Peak, view back toward Missouri Mountain.

Iowa Peak, view toward Emerald Peak.

At the base of Emerald Peak. I decided to head to the ridge on the left rather than use one of a few social trail leading up its north face directly to the summit.

Class 2 to gain the rigde.

Emerald Peak, view north. Iowa and Missouri left, Belford right of center.

Emerald Peak view south.

Emerald Peak view west toward Huron Peak.

Emerald Peak view east toward Mount Harvard.

Close-up of the route to come. I descended to the grassy terrain in the center, located a social trail down the humpy terrain and continued to the tarn in the center of the photo. Past there I headed to Elkhead Pass, center. Mount Belford visible top center, Missouri Mountain far left.

View back up toward Emerald Peak.

Along a social trail (that only lasted a short time) down to a small and colorful tarn (right). Tundra walking led to the larger tarn in the center. Elkhead Pass visible center above it.

View back down the humpy spur ridge aided by a social trail. Emerald Peak visible top right.

At the larger tarn, Elkhead Pass left of center.

Gorgeous tarn, view back toward Emerald Peak.

Another shot toward Emerald Peak before reaching the trail that would take me to Elkhead Pass.

Along the trail leading to Elkhead Pass.

View back along the trail, Mount Harvard far left, Emerald Peak far right.

Ascending to Elkhead Pass.

View back down the trail, Emerald and Iowa Peaks visible up top.

On the opposite side of Elkhead Pass, descending back into Missouri Gulch.

Close-up toward the Missouri Mountain Trail, which you can see winding up the center of this photo to the ridge above. I joined with the trail and headed back the way I came.
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