The traditional trailhead for climbing Missouri is from the townsite of Vicksburg (also the trailhead for Mount Belford and Mount Oxford). To get to Vickburg from Denver, there are a couple options; first, take I-70 west through Summit County to Exit 195 (the Copper Mountain exit), and drive CO 91 over Fremont Pass and into Leadville. From Leadville, continue on CO91/US 24 about 19 miles south to Chaffee County 390 (the turnoff for the Clear Creek Reservoir). The Vicksburg townsite/trailhead is about 7.8 miles west along the well-maintained dirt road. Just about any car ought to be able to make it, and washboards are the only problem on the road.

The other option is to drive US 285 southwest out of Denver, and take it ~120 miles to Johnson's Village (take care not to speed around Bailey, Fairplay, and Jefferson - they seriously speedtrap in these little towns!) and then swing north on US 24 for 2 miles to Buena Vista. From BV, Chaffee County 390 is about 15 miles north. Turn west and it's 7.8 miles to Vicksburg. Either of these routes will take between 2.5~3.5 hours from Denver, depending on traffic and your inclination to drive the speed limit.

On this day, I arrived at the trailhead right about 6:00, having pulled out of Denver at 3:15am and driving the Leadville option. The morning was cool (42 degrees) but clear, and the weather promised clear skies and temps in the 60's. Despite the morning chill, I took off from the trailhead wearing just shorts, t-shirt and vest, knowing that the climbing would start almost immediately, so I'd warm up fast!

The trail descends a few dozen yards from the parking lot, and crosses Clear Creak on an excellent footbridge. From there, it's only a few hundred yards before the trail starts to climb up the side of the valley, and steepens through a number of switchbacks. After about a mile, the trail levels out and crosses Missouri Gulch on a narrow set of logs - on cool morning, be careful of frost on this crossing - a wet foot is a bad way to continue the day! The trail continues climbing gradually into Elkhead Basin. Once you pass an old cabin site, you've pretty much entered the lower part of Elkhead Basin, and shortly after you'll be able to see Missouri Mountain at the far end of the basin - the summit is the rightmost (western) bump along the ridgeline. To the east is the bulk of Mount Belford, and the trail leading up the NW shoulder is plain to see. To the west is a series of summits all in the low to mid 13,000' range.

To get to the correct exit from the basin for Missouri, continue south along the trail. There is a fork in the trail in the basin at which you should bear right (left will take you up Belford). Luckily, this fork is well-signed, so it's hard to miss. The trail continues up into Elkhead Basin, climbing gradually until you've passed Mt, Belford on your left, and the prominent-looking Point 13,784 to your right. Missouri will loom ever larger in front of you. There is a prominent run-off gulley on the right that intersects the trail at this point, but this is NOT the trail. Continue a few yards further south, and find the actual trail that breaks off to the right. If you find yourself taking a sharp left turn and switchbacking up the moraine, you've gone just a little too far.

The exact trail is worth finding here. In years past, the general route was to climb up the grassy gully to the right and attain the ridgeline at a saddle point at 13,600'. Many 'trails' were cut in this effort, as the gulley is gravelly and scree-filled in many places. In 2001 the Colorado Fourteener Initiative folks created a new, standard summer route from Elkhead Basin to the saddle. After a few gentle switchbacks, the trail traverses upwards and north under Point 13,784, into a boulder-field. A few cairns mark the trail, and it's fairly easy to follow. Once you're under Point 13,784, the trail switchbacks to the south, and does an ascending traverse across the main large gulley. A couple more small switchbacks, and you're on the top of the ridge! This newly cut trail was definitely a welcome relief from the tedious scree that I remembered encountering here six years ago.

From the saddle, the summit of Missouri is just under a mile away, but you're not quite done climbing yet. Keep following the obvious trail around the right side of the ridge as it climbs a couple hundred feet before leveling out for a gently rolling walk for the last half-mile or so. There is one point, about 200 yards from the summit, where you will have one minor Class II+ maneuver to get down a small gulley that the trail coincides with. But there are plenty of handholds and solid footing, so it's not much to worry about at all.

It was right about 9:35 when I made the summit. There was a group of 6 already up there, along with 5 dogs, which made things cozy on the small summit. The views from the top of Missouri are really something ... Belford and Oxford nearby to the northeast, and the pyramid-shaped Huron Peak immediately to the west. To the north Mt. Elbert and Massive were obvious, and to the south the rest of the Sawatch were lined up into the distance. Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Princeton were all easily visibly, and Antero disappeared into the midmorning haze. Even the Elks could be spotted far off to the west. I chatted with my summit companions for a little bit, swapping 14er stories. After about 20 minutes, a few more folks had arrived, so I decided it was a good time to head down. The weather wasn't a factor at all - just a few puffy, disorganized clouds, nothing that would threaten rain for hours at least. So I took my time picking my way back along the ridgeline and down to Elkhead Basin, then enjoyed the stroll all the way back to the trailhead, which I hit right at 12:30, making for a 6-hour round trip for the 10.5 mile trek, gaining about 4,600' of elevation. Not bad at all!