South + North Arapaho PeakS (Spring)
Date: June 16, 2022 (Thu)Trip Report #: 548Partner: solo
Route: Trail+Scramble (~9.5 miles round trip, 3650 ft gain/loss, 3rd)
Two summits with a fun ridge traverse to the highest point in the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
The 13,502-foot North Arapaho Peak is the highest point in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Getting to the summit entails climbing over South Arapaho Peak and then traversing an exposed 3rd class 0.75-mile ridge connecting the two Arapaho Peaks. En route below the traverse between the peaks is the receding Arapaho Glacier is the largest in the state of Colorado.
So when I had a free day and the weather looked superb, the Arapaho Peaks sounded like a great objective. And indeed they were! I enjoyed the pleasant hike, the sunny cloudless skies, the entertaining high traverse, and the exercise of doing 3650+ feet of elevation gain and getting to a higher altitude, and all the time surrounded by gorgeous mountain views.
My car-to-car time was just over 6 hours, which included a nice break on each summit.
The following page gives some photos from the morning adventure. Enjoy!
Time Stats
Fourth of July Trailhead (0 miles, 10,121 ft): 5:55 am
South Arapaho Peak (4 miles, 13,397 ft): 8:25-8:35 am (10 min break)
North Arapaho Peak (4.7 miles, 13,502 ft): 9:12-9:35 am (23 min break)
Fourth of July Trailhead (9.5 miles, 10,121 ft): 12:15 pm
Boulder (9.5 miles, 5,318 ft): 1:15 pm
Total car-to-car (includes ~30 min summit breaks): 6 hours 20 minutes