This is another popular 10.5 mile out and back hike but I was craving something spicier so I opted to take the Halo Ridge which turns it into a 15.7 mile loop, equipped with some fun scrambles and route finding. I got up to the Notch Mountain Shelter just in time to see some grey clouds heading my way. So, with that on my mind, I decided to skip hiking out to the Notch Mountain summit. As is tradition, I decided to send it.
Not too far along on Halo Ridge, some thunder began to arrive. What a fantastic time to be on a long exposed ridge above treeline. Another hiker was coming CCW along the ridge and we traded numbers to make sure we each made it safely off the mountain. This hiker, Amanda, and I wound up becoming great friends who love hiking, climbing, and skiing all the sketchy things and even caravanned down to Baja at the end of 2022. Back to the hike. It began to drizzle so all of the rocks grew slippery which made the rock hopping a bit more technical than usual. When I got to another climb over a mini-peak, even more thunder rolled in so I decided to hole up in between some boulders and wait it out. I concluded that my fastest route off the mountain was to go over the 14,000 foot summit first and then down instead of backtracking around 5 miles of the exposed Halo Ridge. When the thunder claps dispersed and I heard none for 15 minutes, I made for the final push!
The summit was amazing, the rain and thunder held off, and of course I enjoyed a summit beer. The descent was steep and filled with wildflowers, bees, and a few marmots. The setting sun illuminated the cloudy skies and I had to hustle to make it back to my car before dark. The true dark where you would need a headlamp. This became a trend for me for the majority of the Colorado 14ers, which is the opposite of the usual 14er crowd that starts at 4am with headlamps.
BONUS Colorado Content
After checking off this 14er I found a campsite with some cell service so I decided to stay for three days as I worked remotely and enjoy the fresh air above 10,000ft.
Mountain Biking Buffalo Mountain
Soon after arriving back in Colorado, I went for a bike ride that was also thrown off course by some afternoon thunderstorms. Luckily, I found a rock to hide under with my bike to stay completely dry while a few others rode by, soaked to the bone, and gave jealous looks.