This year, all four of us (Jim, Ted, Brian, and Bob) were able to make the hike. We met at Ted's house in Laramie and then drove down to Leadville Colorado. Leadville is known for many things, among them being an area where gold and silver was mined, as well as being the highest incorporated city in the United States. Currently the Climax mine supplies molybdenum. We spent a night in Leadville and went shopping in many of the shops along main street. Of course, we also checked out the famous Ski Fence, a classic must see for Leadville visitors.

The next morning, we did a short drive to the Pine Creek trail head. We then did a quick hike along Pine Creek to our base camp near Little Johns cabin below Mt Oxford. For years we had been wishing for a camp wench to prepare meals and keep us company during those cold evening nights. And on this trip, our wishes were fulfilled!!! She was a lovely little thing, ready and waiting to please. In light of current events at the time, we christened her Monica. She was shared by all.

The 14ers in Missouri Basin were an extremely easy climb. Brian and Ted got all the way to the top, Jim and Bob partway. On the way down, Bob crashed into a tree and cracked his ribs, which took 8 vexing weeks to heal. The next days day hike was nice and relaxing, although we did have to spend some time in Little Johns cabin to escape one of the afternoon thunderstorms common in The Rockies during the summer months. We hiked out the next day, with lovely Monica in tow (she needed some assistance to get out, poor fragile thing). We got some nice comments about how she looked from people hiking up the trail. She did us proud. We spent another night in Leadville, and then separated at Denver International Airport.

The Collegiate Peaks Wilderness (168,000 acre) was designated by the United States Congress in 1980. It is located between the towns of Leadville and Buena Vista to the east, Aspen to the west, and Crested Butte to the southwest. Most of the area is in the San Isabel and Gunnison National Forests, with a smaller area in the White River National Forest.

The Collegiate Peaks area includes much of the Sawatch Range and has the highest average elevation of any wilderness area in the United States. Five of the area's 14,000-foot (4,300 m) peaks are named for famous universities and colleges, including Mt. Harvard, Mt. Oxford, Mt. Yale, Mt. Princeton and Mt. Columbia. These peaks are the source of the name for the wilderness area, which includes them all but Mt. Princeton. Other fourteeners in the area include La Plata Peak, Mount Belford, Huron Peak, and Missouri Mountain. The Collegiate Peaks also includes several notable 13,000-foot peaks including the Three Apostles, a chain of three mountains. The middle peak of the Three Apostles is also referred to as Ice Mountain.