Arapaho Peak

This past Saturday I had one of those near perfect days of running. I wasn't even sure I was going to go out very long, but as I began trudging up the trail in my snowshoes I slowly began to feel the urge to go higher and higher.

When I got up to treeline (at about 11,300 feet) the conditions were near perfect. There was almost no wind, but The Indian Peaks Wilderness receives so much wind in the winter that the open ridges hold almost no snow. I was actually able to ditch my snowshoes and run on dry ground for most of my time that I was up above the trees.

At first I was just content to have made it up above the trees. I began to wander around a little bit and then I just kept finding myself on top the highest point in the immediate distance. Eventually I was at the base of Arapaho peak and it was still a really calm, warm day. I decided to push higher and ended up on top of South Arapaho Peak. At about 13,400 ft. it's one of the highest peaks in The Indian Peaks and it's the highest elevation I've been to in almost 10 years.

I'm not sure how soon the weather will allow me to get high up like this again, but as soon as it does I'll be heading that way.

Here's some photos from the outing: