Arapaho Pass Trail

The Arapaho Pass Trail begins by following the southwestern (right) shore of Monarch Lake. (For driving instructions to Monarch Lake, see the beginning of this chapter.) About 1.5 miles from the parking lot end of Monarch Lake, the High Lonesome Trail branches to the right from the Arapaho Pass Trail. Eventually the High Lonesome Trail connects with trails along the Continental Divide to Rollins Pass. The trail was named for the High Lonesome Mine. Along this section of trail are ruins of a late-nineteenth-century cabin near the junction and an abandoned mine 2.8 miles from the junction. Passing through logged areas, the trail descends to the road to Junco Lake, near Meadow Creek Reservoir. (See Caribou Pass Trail.)

Bear left at the High Lonesome junction and follow the Arapaho Pass Trail across a bridge over Arapaho Creek. Just past the bridge, the trail divides. The left-hand branch continues around Monarch Lake by connecting with the Cascade Trail. The Arapaho Pass Trail turns sharply right and, after a series of switchbacks, climbs a steep slope forested by lodgepole pines. Above the switchbacks the trail follows a more moderate grade, paralleling Arapaho Creek. Most of the creek is out of sight behind trees and willows, but now and then side trails lead down to the water. The main trail runs south along the base of a steep ridge.

In occasional open spaces, wet habitat–loving subalpine flowers such as tall chiming bells and monkshood grow thickly. Before long, the lodgepole pines mix with Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir. Gradually pines become less common and spruce and fir more so until the last lodgepole is left behind in a field of boulders. Except in areas opened up by avalanches, the trail passes through a thick spruce-fir forest, which provides the shade and beauty for a pleasant walk up the long valley. Should you desire to climb Mount Achonee, pick one of the avalanche-cleared slopes for the best route to the tundra slopes below the summit.

Just past an avalanche slope about 3.5 miles from the last trail junction, the path climbs away from Arapaho Creek in a series of long switchbacks. It proceeds on a gentle uphill grade for less than 0.5 mile to meet the creek again at a point where a throne-shaped rock has been frost-wedged from the cliff. You might as well rest here; you will rarely find a rock more suitable for sitting.

Past the chair rock, the trail climbs through more switchbacks in forest of increasing density. After crossing various creeks at the mouth of Wheeler Basin, the trail steepens somewhat and wildflowers begin to become more abundant. Then the path meanders through the meadows of Coyote Park. Early in the season the ground is yellow with snow lilies. From Coyote Park a route ascends left into Wheeler Basin. Uphill from Coyote Park, the woods are less thick and the open spaces are multihued with flowers. Switchbacks keep the grade moderate until you reach Caribou Lake at tree line.

Caribou Lake lies in a cirque walled in by cliffs between Arapaho and Caribou Passes. A walk along a narrow trail on the marshy western shore presents superb views across the lake of jagged Apache and Navajo Peaks. Patches of krummholz, willow, and alpine flowers add nice details to the lakeshore in the foreground. Campfires are prohibited here and camping is limited to designated sites.

Clearly visible from the lake is the continuation of the Arapaho Pass Trail, which climbs remarkably in many tight switchbacks up the very steep slope of loose rock below Arapaho Pass. From a distance the rock looks like the last word in sterility. But the actual ascent reveals patches of richly blooming tundra flowers growing in loose gravel seemingly devoid of soil. Especially impressive are perfect spheroid cushions of moss campion and broad-leaved or dwarf fireweed, the latter rarely found this far south in the Rockies. The tenuous hold that these heroic plants maintain on the scree is easily destroyed by a careless step. Cutting through switchbacks is bad anywhere, but it would be especially damaging and unethical on this delicate terrain.

From Arapaho Pass you can descend to the Arapaho Glacier Trail (see the East of the Divide chapter in the Indian Peaks section) or head west up gradual tundra and rock slopes to Lake Dorothy and beyond that to Caribou Pass, the easiest and most enjoyable gate to Arapaho Pass and Caribou Lake. If you can work out the car shuttle, hiking the Caribou Pass Trail to Lake Dorothy, going downhill to Caribou Lake, and exiting via Monarch Lake is by far the best way to travel the magnificent Arapaho Pass Trail.