13er - South Arapaho Peak with Peter Padilla - 9/19/08
Friday 19 September: Peter Padilla & Bobbie Turner climb South Arapaho Peak. Weather: Partly cloudy & partly sunny. Starting temp in the 60's. Experienced a little of everything; overcast, sunshine, snow flurries & light rain.
Drove through Nederland past old town Eldora to the Fourth of July Trailhead. Total hiking time 7hrs 45mins. Max elevation 13,048 ft. just below summit of 13,397 ft. Due to time and weather we elected not to summit. As you can see by the last couple of photos we made a wise decision. There was snow on the mountain from about 9,700 ft and above. Once we passed the Fourth of July Mine and got above treeline we were hiking in snow and having to posthole with some sections being knee deep. Once we hit the saddle overlooking the Glacier to make the final approach the trail disappears and it is a scramble to the top. At this point the route became technical and somewhat dangerous with the snow and wet boulders. We did get over the 13,000 ft mark but realized it was not in our best interest to try to summit. Our descent took about 2.5 hrs and when we got back to Boulder we had a well deserved steak dinner. Although this is not a 14er it did not matter to us as this is one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on. The Indian Peaks Wilderness Area is a protected Wilderness that borders the National Forest and Rocky Mountain National Park. This is some of the most scenic land in all of the U.S. Peter captured some fantastic images that just gives a sampling of the beauty of this area along the Continental Divide.
Read MoreDrove through Nederland past old town Eldora to the Fourth of July Trailhead. Total hiking time 7hrs 45mins. Max elevation 13,048 ft. just below summit of 13,397 ft. Due to time and weather we elected not to summit. As you can see by the last couple of photos we made a wise decision. There was snow on the mountain from about 9,700 ft and above. Once we passed the Fourth of July Mine and got above treeline we were hiking in snow and having to posthole with some sections being knee deep. Once we hit the saddle overlooking the Glacier to make the final approach the trail disappears and it is a scramble to the top. At this point the route became technical and somewhat dangerous with the snow and wet boulders. We did get over the 13,000 ft mark but realized it was not in our best interest to try to summit. Our descent took about 2.5 hrs and when we got back to Boulder we had a well deserved steak dinner. Although this is not a 14er it did not matter to us as this is one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on. The Indian Peaks Wilderness Area is a protected Wilderness that borders the National Forest and Rocky Mountain National Park. This is some of the most scenic land in all of the U.S. Peter captured some fantastic images that just gives a sampling of the beauty of this area along the Continental Divide.
