South Arapahoe Peak was the first of our “ambitious” hikes of the summer. Sure Ouzel was a wintry and arduous ordeal, but neither the overall mileage nor max elevation was much to get excited over. South Arapahoe was our first 13er of the year. At under 10 miles and 3k feet of climbing, it would serve as a solid foundation for bigger hikes later in the summer, especially since you end up spending an appreciable amount of time over 12k feet.

On top of all of the aforementioned dry logistics, this is a really well-rounded day trip. It’s in the middle of nowhere and is best approached in an SUV (a good excuse to drive Xterrible). The alpine meadows on the way up the mountain are full of wildflowers, marmots, and pika. There are weird mining ruins about halfway up the hike: cool if you’re into history. Lately, I’ve been really fascinated by trying to puzzle out the various vestiges of industry, half reclaimed by nature, that are hidden in the mountains around Colorado… The northern side of the Arapahoes (the side that you’re not ascending) are glaciated: cool if you like looking at snow! And finally, the home stretch of the climb is a pretty solid rock scramble: a steep talus, with some exposure (which you can readily avoid just by getting back from the edge) and stunning views of the valleys below, to include glacial lakes, alpine meadows, and pine forests.

*Note that this post has been backdated to reflect when the hike actually occurred.