Indian Peaks Loop September 10, 2010

This was a really beautiful and challenging loop I ran with good friend Matt Watts in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area of Colorado.  We started at the Long Lake parking lot, ran to the Mitchel Lake parking lot, and northwest up the Beaver Creek Trail to the Buchanan Pass Trail.  The Buchanan Pass Trail travels west over the Continental Divide and we took it down to the aptly named Cascade Creek Trail, which heads southeast back up towards the Divide and the Pawnee Pass Trail.  This trail took us eastward on an awesome climb to the cross back over the Divide at Pawnee Pass, elevation 12,550 feet.  From the pass we had wonderful views of Grand Lake to the west and the high plains to the east.  The trail then dropped down to Lake Isabelle where it then connected with the Long Lake Trail, which took us back to our vehicles.  Ten hours, twenty-seven miles, and eight-thousand feet of elevation gain!  I had a wonderful time and hope to do more runs in this area in the future.