Mount Judge and Hicks Mountain

Hicks Mountain

Overview

Mount Judge and Hicks Mountain are great for all-season hiking, and winter snowshoeing. This was my first time to these mountains, though I have climbed nearby peaks before. I hope you enjoy this trip report and find it helpful in planning your next adventure in the hills.

Directions/Trailhead Information

The Mount Judge and Hicks Mountain Trailhead approximate location is—latitude 39.67392°, longitude -105.44474°. There is a roadside pullout on the north side of Squaw Pass Rd. This is a large pullout that should be able to accommodate a few dozen vehicles. There are no restrooms at this trailhead. From the Denver area make your way along I-70 W to exit 252 onto Evergreen Pkwy near Evergreen. Head south following Evergreen Pkwy for 3.2 miles reaching the intersection with Squaw Pass Rd, take this road heading west for approximately 6.3 miles to the trailhead.

Typical terrain

The Climb

Today’s objective was to ascend Mount Judge and follow the connecting ridge to Hicks Mountain. I had not been able to find any good trip reports describing the combination of these two mountains, so today was an exploration climb where I was able to combine the two peaks in a loop. I started my climb just before 11 AM and finished just after 2 PM.

The start of the climb begins by crossing to the south side of Squaw Pass Rd., after about 30 meters you will see an old road (GAIA map calls this Hicks Mtn. Overlook Trail) heading off to the right of the main road. This parallels private property that has been marked, so stay on the road. You can do this loop in any order, but I chose to climb Mount Judge first then Hicks Mountain second. I did this so the way out would be a stroll down the road rather than a knee crusher coming down the mountain. Once I felt I was far enough away from the “No Trespassing” signs I started ascending the northeast ridge.

Staying on the crest of the ridgeline was quite difficult as the ridge is fairly broad; the forest is very dense; the terrain was steep. I would confirm my location with my GPS every now and then, but basically made my own route up the mountain. There was a fair amount of downed timber so there was a lot of zig-zagging around the timber as well as the large rock outcroppings. It took me a little under an hour to make the summit getting the bulk of the elevation gain in for the day. I even found a summit registry, which are rare finds in Colorado. You won’t know you’re on the summit other than confirmation from a GPS as the area is broad and forested. There aren’t any mountain views from the summit, just trees.

Nick on the summit of Hicks Mountain

After departing the summit of Mount Judge it’s a maze of downed trees that will take some time to navigate through. Its hard to tell if you are on the crest of this ridge much like the ascent of Mount Judge. It took me about an hour to get from Mount Jude to Hicks Mountain. There were a few large rock outcroppings that you will need to carefully navigate around or over, but for the most part this is a nice walk through the woods. Every now and then I would see rock cairns, but they were only really evident around the hump in the ridge at contour 10,080 (see picture on the GAIA link). The forest opens up on the final push up Hicks Mountain and there is a nice summit area with partial views of the surrounding area, but you will be unable to see any of the large nearby mountains.

To complete the loop back to the trailhead I descended from the summit to the north to connect to the Hicks Mtn. Overlook Trail. This trail/road is easily noticeable on the descent. Once on the trail it is a basic hike back to the trailhead. On the way I spotted an old car in the trees along with a few other rusted out items. I saw no other people on the route all day, and no indication anyone had been up either mountains this year.

Parting Notes

This is a great hike, which was relatively short at just over 5 miles, though it felt like 7-8 miles. There is a lot of high stepping over downed timber and zig-zagging around rock formations. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the hike in part because I did a full gym workout in the morning before heading up. This was a last-minute decision, but sometimes you have to go when the conditions are their best. I did have cell service on the summit of both mountains. I’m looking into a climb of the nearby Santa Fe Mountain, this would be a longer hike which would be good after getting a few short ones in over the past few weeks. Until next time, cheers!

Date: January 10, 2019

Trailhead Elevation: 9,220 feet

Mount Judge: 10,276 feet

Hicks Mountain: 10,082 feet

Total Elevation Gain: 1,371 feet

Class: 2

Distance: 5.21 miles

Moving Time: 3 hr 0 min

Stopped Time: 0 hr 20 min

Climbing Partner: Solo

GAIA GPS Link: Mount Judge ad Hicks Mountain (2019-01-10)