Indian Peaks Wilderness Loop
| When was the fun: | Aug 8th, 2009 |
| Who went: | Mark & Kathleen |
| Length or hike: | 20+ miles |
| Time on the trail: | 13 hours |
| Distance from Boulder: | 45 min |
| Adventure was near: | Nederland |
We started this adventure at 5:00 am when we left Boulder and drove ~45 minutes to Long Lake Trailhead near Brainard Lake Campground. A little before 6:00 am we started hiking and soon discovered that this part of Indian Peaks is gorgeous. We hiked passed Long Lake and climbed up to Pawnee pass amongst meadows of wildflowers, blue skies, and sunshine.
We went over Pawnee pass and down a steep trail to Pawnee Lake where we stopped to have a snack of chocolate muffins and dried fruit (I think this was breakfast #3 or 1st lunch depending on who you ask). Because the trail was so beautiful we changed our original plan of an out-and-back hike, to the large loop shown on the map below. After leaving Pawnee Lake we followed Cascade Creek and enjoyed its many waterfalls.
Eventually we arrived at Buchanan Trail and headed northeast as we climbed back up to the continental divide. The low area at the start of Buchana Trail was in the trees and not as pretty as the hike had been on up until that point. However, we soon climbed high enough so that we were out of the trees and back into the splendid mix of mountains, alpine meadows, streams, lakes, and trees. We reached the top of Buchanan Pass around noon and had our lunch which consisted of hummus and crackers, apples, and chocolate and peanut butter pretzel sandwiches.
Over the pass the landscape wasn't quite as pretty as the other parts of the trip, and the camera's battery died so no more pictures. The peaks are less dramatic and there are more rocks than flowers. We hiked out to Coney Flats Trailhead and picked up the Beaver Creek Trail. This trail goes through the forest until the final pass to get back to Long Lake Trailhead.
Just before we went over the third and final pass of the day, we heard thunder. After watching the clouds for awhile and looking at the map we decided to stay in the trees and bushwhack our way around the edge of the pass. We eventually got to St. Vrain trail and hiked back to Long Lake Trailhead. We arrived back at the car around 7:15 pm.
