Chief Mountain, Papoose Mountain(the lump), and Squaw Peak, are three of the lesser peaks in the Indian Peaks Wilderness(IPW). All three are tree covered, however Chief and Squaw have rocky outcrops at their tops.
Here is a map of all three!
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| View from the side of Chief Mountain. |
This last Sunday, I went on another group snowshoe with the Colorado Mountain Club(CMC), it was an unusual day for weather. At 7:30, when we left the Denver area, the sun was rising, and there were some clouds in the sky, when we arrived at the trailhead it was grey, halfway up the trail the wind picked up, and it began to snow. The trail started on road, then veered off into a foot and a half of snow, it was packed down-- there were few skiers up ahead of us. The Chief Mountain trail headed up onto the side of the peak, and through a few clearings. Once we cleared tree line, the wind became relentless, stinging my face with snow crystals. I removed my snowshoes, and followed the snow-slicked rocky trail to the summit of the peak.
The final scramble was slippery, but fun. The wind nearly swept me from atop the summit, and it had begun to snow.
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| View from the Summit of Chief Mountain! |
We hiked back down the trail and up and over the "lump" known as Papoose, and down the back side which was FANTASTIC powder! Then we hiked up the road to the summit of Squaw Peak and back to the car. All in all, a good first foray into the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
We hiked back down the trail and up and over the "lump" known as Papoose, and down the back side which was FANTASTIC powder! Then we hiked up the road to the summit of Squaw Peak and back to the car. All in all, a good first foray into the Indian Peaks Wilderness. 
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