Uncompaghre Peak: Colorado 14er | Hike Guide & What to Eat

Uncompaghre, wow what a peak. It's as striking of a mountain as any in the area and is certainly worth the hike up. Very easy class 2 trail to follow with one section in a chute that maybe could be considered class 3; it's a short scramble.
County road 20 out of Lake City, Colorado is easy enough to access with a 2 wheel drive vehicle but once you get to the cut off where you head north on county road 23 everything changes. You MUST have a high clearance 4x4 vehicle; think 4runner, jeep, etc. and even then you'll find the trail to be tough. The road doesn't have to be this rough, it's almost like they want to be that bad and rutted out. If you don't have something that can make it up you can rent a quad in Lake City. You've been warned.
The trail is beautiful. Beautiful valley, beautiful stream, beautiful mountain, beautiful views. I would do this hike again tomorrow if I could; I enjoyed it that much.
I would recommend camping at the trail head to get an early start but there are very few flat spots so it'll be a tough night. Stars were excellent though, if it's a clear night you should camp with your fly off to see the stars. Deer walked through camp that evening and don't seemed phased by human presence.