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Long Lake Trailhead, IPW
Elevation Gain: 2,400'
Round-trip Length: 9 miles
Climbers: Peter A, & MtnHub
Introduction:
To celebrate my retirement the beginning of July, I planned to take an extended vacation out in CO this year. In the past, I've had to return home right when I was at my physical peak. Now that I don't have job obligations that force me back home sooner, I wanted to stay longer and enjoy the benefits of being well-acclimated.
My wife has lots of family in the Denver area. We usually stop and visit most of them initially, and this gives me a good opportunity to get better acclimated before I head up into the higher elevations for my climbs.
I also have another good climbing friend who now lives in Longmont. Because of his excellent location, Peter's home became a great base camp for me, so he was also one of my first stops. To get my legs warmed up on a moderate climb, I let him decide where our first hike would be. He had been gradually building up his elevation gains over the past few weeks and wanted to reach something close to 13,000' so he chose Pawnee Peak at just under that.
My first experience in the Indian Peaks Wilderness was last year when I did the Arapaho's and I was happy to return and see some more.
The Climb:
We arrive at the Long Lake TH right around 6am. The sun is just about ready to rise over the eastern horizon so headlamps are not needed for this hike. The trail is easy and fairly level at first and we reach the edge of Long Lake quickly. Starting up the gentle trail.
After another mile or so of easy hiking, we see the beautiful Isabelle Lake. This is framed by the rugged Niwot Ridge on our left with Apache and Shoshoni Peaks poking up into the sky straight ahead of us. Lake Isabelle with Apache and Shoshoni Peaks at the far end.
At the eastern shores, the trail ascends sharply up to the right in a series of short switchbacks and some truly outstanding views come into play. The steep section above Lake Isabelle.
The trail remains fairly steep for awhile until you reach a high alpine meadow and the Pass is visible up ahead. Reaching an alpine meadow.
Hikers on the trail below.
Peter stops before another steep section.
The rugged Niwot Ridge to our south.
At Pawnee Pass, the trail to the Peak stops. You can either continue over the Pass and hook up with the Cascade Creek Trail to the west which takes you to Monarch Lake (and eventually Lake Granby), or you can keep ascending another 400' up the rise at hand and top off at Pawnee Peak. This is our destination for the day. At Pawnee Pass; Pawnee Peak stills lies 400' higher.
Looking west to Lake Granby.
Some climbers heading up to the Peak.
After another half hour of climbing, Pawnee Peak is attained. We can see several other climbers coming up from the Pass. Looking back to the Pass, Navajo & Apache
To the north the high ridge continues over to Mt Toll, Paiute Peak, and finally Mt Audubon, with glimpses of Longs and Mt Meeker farther to the north. I'd love to do this loop sometime in the future. Mt Toll & Paiute Peak (Longs & Meeker in the distance)..
Paiute Peak and Mt Audubon share the skyline with Blue Lake nestled below.
We bask on the summit for about 20 minutes and then get an unexpected visit from two other 14ers.com members - Mountain Mike and Kitten! It is great to meet them both in person! We chat for about another half hour with them and they invite us to stop by their log cabin in Jamestown before we return back home in Longmont. They plan to continue around the ridge and hit all the high points - an aggressive day for sure! Mountain Mike & Kitten
Peter, MtnHub, & Kitten
Our return is leisurely and pleasant. The Lake is as gorgeous as it was earlier and we pass by some lovely stands of wildflowers alongside the cascading creek. Returning to Lake Isabelle.
Still some wildflowers in bloom along the creek.
The soothing sounds of cascading waters accompany us during our descent.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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