Meadow Mountain

Distance: 7.3 miles round trip
Elevation: 8,940 ft - 11,632 ft
Elevation Gain: 2,692 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: On leash
Date Hiked: 20 August 2015
CMC Rating: Easy C
HashTags: #peakbagging #coloradooutdoors #rmnp #tundra, #gearguide

View of St. Vrain Mountain from the slopes of Meadow Mountain

Meadow Mountain, near Allenspark Colorado, is an 11,632 ft peak sandwiched between the Indian Peaks Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park. The trail is a rocky slog that is more fatiguing than the distance and elevation gain would warrant but the views of Long's Peak from the summit are stunning so everyone should make the trip at least once.

Parking lot and trailhead

A typical trail segment, very rocky

View back down the valley

The trail to Meadow Mountain starts at the St. Vrain Trailhead. To get there, take County Road 107 (Ski Hill Road) out of Allenspark for 1.5 miles and then turn right on Forest Service Road 116 for 0.5 miles. Both roads are dirt. FSR 116 is getting eroded and while still passable with a passenger car, some zigzagging is required to find the least objectionable route.

Finally getting above treeline. Looking at an unnamed peak to the south.

Heading to the saddle. That is St. Vrain Mountain in the distance.

Looking up at Meadow Mountain from the saddle

The bulk of the trail is pretty much the same. It travels through Aspen, Spruce, and Limber Pine, making several sharp switch backs further up the valley. At 0.7 miles is the wilderness boundary, and at 1.9 miles is a small stream crossing. At 2.5 miles the trail finally breaks above treeline. The saddle is located at 3.3 miles (11,198 ft/1,844 ft elevation gain). Head to the left to continue on to St. Vrain Mountain or turn right and summit Meadow Mountain.

Heading up to the summit with hazy Indian Peaks in the distance

Approaching the summit

Long's Peak from the summit

The views from the saddle are stunning. St. Vrain Peak lies to the south while to the west is Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. The hike up to the summit is not as difficult as it looks. Fifty percent of it is mostly tundra. The other half is a large talus pile. I had to put my camera away to scramble over some of the larger rocks. There is no preferred way to the summit. Some drift to the right others go straight up.

Weather station

Rock Shelter

On the summit

The summit is big enough to hold a high-school football game. There is a small solar powered weather station and a rock shelter. The latter really comes in handy when the winds start to blow. On this trip, the area was filled with smoke from the western wildfires and the peaks were obscured in haze.

Heading down

Lake Dorothy and Caribou Pass

Distance: 7.4 miles round trip to the Lake Dorothy, 9 miles round trip to Caribou Pass
Elevation: 10, 160 ft - 12,065 ft (Lake Dorothy), 11,800 ft (Caribou Pass)
Elevation Gain: 1,905 ft (net to Lake Dorothy), 2,513 ft (cumulative)
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Dogs: On leash (Indian Peaks Wilderness)
Date Hiked: 18 August, 2014
Tags: #hiking, #coloradooutdoors, #indianpeaks, #gearguide
Nearby Hikes: Glacier Rim, Meadow Mountain, Pawnee Pass, Mt. Audubon

Caribou Lake viewed from the Caribou Pass Trail near Lake Dorothy in the Indian Peaks Wilderness

I have been trying to hike to Lake Dorothy for years, but fire spitting thunderstorms have always turned me away. The Valkyries must have been getting mani-pedies because I finally made it. As an extra bonus, I continued on to the rarely visited Caribou Pass over an occasionally-eroded, heart-palpitating trail.

The views begin right away on the trail to Lake Dorothy.

Passing the 4th of July Mine (11,280 ft)

The trail to Lake Dorothy begins at the 4th of July Trailhead near Nederland CO. This trailhead is so popular, that on weekends you now need to take a bus from the local high school. After driving this road in a 4x4, I can't imagine how a school bus could make it up the rocky, pitted road without its passenger's internal organs being churned into mayonnaise.

Leaving the trees for a near lifeless skree slope. That is Arapaho Pass in the distance. 

Looking south from the skree slope. The area is so attractive, I wish there were trails down into it. 

The route starts up the Arapaho Pass Trail, which switchbacks ever higher up a wildflower encrusted hillside. At 1.2 miles is the turn off to Diamond Lake, another worthy destination. The higher the trail goes the better the views of the ridge and peaks on the other side of the valley. You don't have to wait very long for the scenery to dazzle on this trail.

Arapaho Pass

Lake Dorothy

A 1.7 miles, the trail levels out on a broad shelf you could drag race on and passes the 4th of July Mine and the junction with the Arapaho Glacier Trail before heading out on a mile long traverse on a skree covered hillside devoid of any living thing. No matter, the valley below is filled with stunted Sub-alpine fir, small tarns, and lush greens.

Starting out on the Caribou Pass Trail

Another view of Caribou Lake

The route hits Arapaho Pass (11,906 ft) at 3.2 miles with tantalizing view of Caribou Lake far below. I had no idea as I hastily threw on hat, gloves, and wind shell that I would be examining Caribou Lake from a more airy perch in just a bit. While the Arapaho Pass Trail switchbacks steeply down to the lake, I turned left and headed up another embankment to Lake Dorothy.

A narrow, built-up portion of the trail

A wide section of the trail

Lake Dorothy, like all mountain tarns, in nestled at the base of several peaks. The area around it is strewn with jagged rocks interspersed with grasses, which by late August had already switched their polish to a rusty brown. I know of at least two groups of "boys" who like to hike to the lake carrying their ruby slippers. What they do with them once they get there I don't want to know about!

A view of  Caribou Pass from half-way across

Coming to a nail-biting segment

Our group did not linger long at the lake however, however but returned to the main trail, which climbed upwards briefly and then began a slow decent to Caribou Pass. This trail is an eroded cut edged into a sheer cliff face. At times it was wide enough for a horse and buggy and at other times was nothing but a luge run of sand, rocks, eye popping drop offs. Fortunately, there were only a few bad segments and I never passed out from holding my breath. I would not recommend this trail to small children or anyone sensitive to exposure. If you want to partake of the oxygen stealing views below, you can always head out and turn around when things get too narley. I am sure conditions on the shelf vary from year to year.

Approaching Caribou Pass

Caribou Pass overlooks Lake Granby and the Continental Divide and was wide and welcoming and scoured nearly flat by continuous gale-force winds. One of us lost a hat over the 2000 foot drop and the rest received a free micro-abrasion treatment. Why should the Valkyries get all the pampering?

Arapaho Glacier Trail (Rainbow Lakes side)

Distance: 9 miles round trip
Elevation: 9,958 ft - 12,346 ft
Elevation Gain: 2,170 ft (cumulative)
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Dogs: On leash (Indian Peaks Wilderness)
Date Hiked: 10 August 2014

Looking into the City of Boulder Watershed from the Arapaho Glacier Trail

The Arapaho Glacier Trail in the Indian Peak Wilderness is a tundra superhighway that stretches from the 4th of July Trailhead in the south to the Rainbow Lakes Trailhead in the north.  Since the one way distance is 7.8 miles just from the 4th of July mine (two miles up), most people hike from one end or the other and double back.

Parking area and bathroom

Trails are well marked. I measured the trail split at 0.3 miles.

On this trip, we started from the Rainbow Lakes side, which is less crowded and affords eye-popping views of the City of Boulder Watershed, a private area of peaks and lakes that are postcard perfect. Don't be tempted to head that way, however. Set one foot across the well-marked boundary and a screaming horde of guard Marmots will gnaw your feet off at the ankles and turn you over to winter's inevitable embrace.

The first two miles are in the trees on a pleasant trail. Some parts are rockier than others.

Indian Paintbrush

The road to Rainbow Lakes starts from Highway 72 just north of Nederland. Seven miles northward is a sign for the University of Colorado Mountain Research Station on the right. Turn left here onto Forest Service Road 298. It is 5 miles down a road dirt road to the large parking area. I would recommend a high-clearance 2WD at a minimum and a 4x4 if you have one. The road is pitted, eroded, and very rocky in places. It takes much longer to reach the trailhead than you would think.

Treeline at 2.5 miles. Mt. Albion is just visible.

Harebell

The first two and a half miles of the route are in the trees.  Ironically, I was pleased with the dryness of the area and the subtle scent of pine needles baking in the sun after slogging through wet and humid Heart Lake a few days prior. I say ironic because we got caught in one of the wettest storms I have been in in years. Hail, torrential rains, and enough water on the trail to totally saturate my "water proof" boots.  Normally, this segment is quite pleasant.

Tundra and watershed view

After two miles, the trail leaves the trees and heads steadily upwards across a bare tundra hillside. At the first switchback at 2.8 miles, the trail overlooks the City of Boulder Watershed. This area is clearly marked on the National Geographic Map as a no-go zone so it has always been terra incognita. At least looking down into it has removed some of the mystery.

The clouds should have been our first clue

Harebell was covering the tundra in great swaths

From this vantage, the trail winds around the hillside to the east before turning sharply west again. At 4.4 miles is a saddle. Our turn around point was a spot just off the trail where views of the southern Indian Peaks dominate. Unfortunately, on this trip we only stayed 10 minutes before a distant rumble had us packing up and heading down.

On the saddle

Ptarmigan showing off its superb camouflage. This mother had several chicks with it. I could hardly see any of them and just pointed my camera in the general direction of where I thought they were.

Half way to treeline, the sky began to spit hail from a storm that had built early in the day over the Watershed. Thunder began to vibrate the air and we quickened our step to get down as quickly as possible. Despite all the gear, we were quite wet by the time we reached the trees and then had the pleasure of walking two miles on a trail slick with pea-sized hail and streaming water. Ankle-deep puddles were forming on any flat segment and the dirt was eroding around rocks as the torrent rushed downwards. The temperature dropped to below 40 degrees and a heavy mist descended. Even though I had both a stocking cap and gloves with me, they did little to keep out the cold after becoming saturated from the rain and mist. Had anyone one of us had an accident that prevented us from generating heat through movement, we would have had a serious case of hypothermia on our hands. This is just one more example of how the wilderness can torment those who are unprepared. For the most part, we are fat and dumb primates oblivious to nature's killing power as we hide behind our heated walls and espresso machines.

Off the trail now at our lunch spot. We are looking south, deeper into the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

I really would like to return to this trail on a nicer day. While the clouds and mist added to the photographic appeal of the area, it was a warning to stay in bed. 2014 has been such a short season that many of us have pushed the limits to enjoy the high country before winter grips it again.