From the trailhead, walk south along the old roadbed. The Three Apostles will loom over the southern horizon and you'll be able to clearly see them. At about 1.25 miles, the main trail begins to turn SE and is a well-used descent route for hikers coming off Huron. Where the USGS map shows the old townsite of "Hamilton," and the trail turns off for Lake Ann, go about another 1,000 ft. and watch for a trail that breaks off the main and continues south crossing an eastern fork of South Clear Creek that drains the south side of Huron, and then crossing the south fork. This trail that breaks off is well-used and continues south through forest gaining elevation along a ridge on the west side of that south fork of South Clear Creek. The trail delivers you to a flat meadow area with abundant wildflowers at 11,360. West Apostle will be directly south. You should be standing near the foot of a vast rock glacier that comes down from the steep couloirs of Ice Mountain and West Apostle. This meadow is where climbers will break off to the SE for North Apostle and Ice Mountain. A use trail will lead to the basin between North Apostle and Ice Mtn.


Map shows the common "approach" for all three "apostles" plus the routes for each.
Route shown is an approximation. Not intended for use as a GPX track.

Camping

Though this climb is usually done as a dayhike, if you want to pack in a ways, primitive campsites can be found near the Hamilton townsite and further south.

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