{"id":1172,"date":"2013-07-23T06:22:37","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T23:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/checkconnect.net\/blog\/?p=1172"},"modified":"2015-08-31T00:37:25","modified_gmt":"2015-08-30T17:37:25","slug":"james-peak-via-st-marys-glacier-trailhead-13312-ft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/checkconnect.net\/blog\/james-peak-via-st-marys-glacier-trailhead-13312-ft\/","title":{"rendered":"James Peak via St. Mary’s Glacier Trailhead: 13,312 ft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Distance: 8.60\u00a0miles (out and back; spurs, exploring)\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Elevation Gain:\u00a03,203 ft<\/strong>\u00a0(total) 2,922\u00a0ft\u00a0<\/strong>(net)\u00a0<\/strong>
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Max Elevation:\u00a013,312 ft \u00a0<\/strong>Min. Elevation: 10,390 ft
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\"James<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.\u201d Barry Finlay, “Kilimanjaro and Beyond”
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While we visited St. Mary’s Glacier<\/a> in early Spring, it was surrounded and covered in many feet of \u00a0snow and difficult to distinguish. Plus, the harsh weather with bone chilling wind and snow forced a decision against a summit attempt of James Peak. With summer upon us and a bluebird sky and pristine weather report for this Sunday, we awoke early and made for the summit of James Peak.<\/p>\n

We arrived relatively early and got a nice parking space (which costs $5 for the day) and then began the hike up to St. Mary’s Lake, which starts at around 10,400 ft. When we were here in April the path up to the lake and glacier was completely covered in snow. \u00a0This time the once snow laden trail was replaced with heavy amounts of boulder and debris. \u00a0The first three-quarters of a mile of the trail hovers around a 20% grade. We dodged loose rocks and climbed steadily until we reached a plateau at the lake and base of the Glacier.<\/p>\n

At the lake, we saw a half dozen or more tents set up and a very different picture than in April. \u00a0The lake was a deep and bold blue, and the once bright white slopes above the lake were now emerald. There were no signs of the avalanches on the verdant hillside that greeted us. \u00a0We trekked around the lake and on towards the glacier through the lush greenery. \u00a0Below is a panorama of St. Mary’s Glacier.<\/p>\n

Once we neared the glacier base we could see a small stream flowing from the bottom of the glacier and feeding the lake below. \u00a0It was surprising to see some people actually swimming in icy water. \u00a0Walking up the steep glacier treats a climber to some of the steepest grades on this hike, which average around 24%. \u00a0The glacier meanders up for almost a mile and then disappears, and the incline mellows out. Below are some images of our hike up the glacier.<\/p>\n

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\"Beginning<\/a>
Beginning of the hike up the glacier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"IMG_3460\"<\/a> \"IMG_3461\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At this point we were solidly in the alpine environment. Once the snow and ice vanished, the wildflowers, butterflies, and critters came out. \u00a0This part of the hike is in the James Peak Wilderness which comprises part of the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests. \u00a0The trail then slowly climbs up and away from the glacier and forms a small ridge where the Continental Divide first comes into view. \u00a0We saw numerous flowers along the path and couldn’t help but stop and take a few pictures. Eventually, we hit an old jeeping trail. \u00a0It’s at this point that the trail more or less vanishes, and we had to improvise and look for the cairns which were very useful for this hike. \u00a0Pretty quickly we were back on the trail, and we took this panorama below.<\/p>\n

\"Vast<\/a>
Vast alpine plateau, looking south.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pretty quickly after getting back on the trail we found ourselves looking at the large Lake Lomond as well as three smaller lakes surrounding it: Ohman, Steuart, and Reynold’s Lakes. \u00a0Lake Caroline is further behind them but is not visible from the ridge. \u00a0Above this set of four alpine lakes is another body of water called Ice Lake. \u00a0It was apparent why it received this name, since even during mid-July it was mostly covered in ice. \u00a0It was a spectacular view with Mount Bancroft just above these alpine lakes. \u00a0Below are some pictures of the lakes as we climbed towards the summit.<\/p>\n

\"Allyson<\/a>
Allyson trying to get a better look at the five alpine lakes visible on the James Peak trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\n\"2013-07-21<\/a>\"2013-07-21<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ice<\/a>
Ice Lake is visible in the top right of the picture below Mount Bancroft.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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After pausing to take in the breathtaking views of the lakes, we made a hard push for the summit of James Peak. \u00a0As with most peaks the actual summit is quite elusive. We would see what we thought was the summit only to realize it was just a ridge as we approached it. The path was littered with dozens of varieties of alpine wildflowers, many of which you can view on our Flowers of our Hikes<\/a> page. \u00a0It was exquisite scenery with prominent views to the south and west of the rocky mountains.<\/p>\n

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After roughly a mile from our view of the lakes we came to a ridge that overlooked the east face of James Peak. \u00a0From this vantage point we could see James Lake and Little Echo Lake 2,000 ft below us. \u00a0It was awe inspiring and also slightly scary to look down the cliff face which dropped rapidly from 13,080 ft where we were standing to 11,200 ft where the lakes reside. \u00a0Looking north we could see many of the mountains of the front range, and the view seemed quite limitless. \u00a0Below is an image of James Peak Lake with Little Echo Lake just behind it; if you look at the bottom center of the image and find the ‘v’ in the ridge you can look almost straight down the mountain.<\/p>\n

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\"James<\/a>
James Peak Lake (front) and Little Echo Lake (back)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At this point, looking at James Peak Lake we only had around 210 vertical feet to climb, but it started to feel like hiking for a minute was extremely hard and we wanted to take breaks. \u00a0After sitting down for a minute to catch our breath we pushed up to the summit. \u00a0It was amazing. \u00a0We could see 360 degrees around us for what seemed like endless space. \u00a0The mountain ranges in front of us layered together in various shades of blue and purple. \u00a0We could see Winter Park and Mary Jane to the north-west, Mount Bancroft was staring right at us from the west, Grays and Torreys to the west behind Bancroft, and Mount Bierstadt and Evans just south-west of them. \u00a0It was very peaceful on the top with only about six other hikers up there with us. \u00a0 Below are some of the pictures from the summit.<\/p>\n

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\"Meged<\/a>
Looking north-west from the summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Allyson<\/a>\"Looking<\/a>\"Both<\/a>\"Winter<\/a><\/p>\n

We spent about 30 minutes on the summit and then decided to head back down. Once we started our descent we noticed that there were many other hikers coming up to the summit, so we were glad to have gotten an early start. \u00a0Going down was quicker than coming up, but by no means easy. \u00a0The steep grades (averaging 17% for the entire hike) were compounded by the loose rock along the path, and we had to be very careful with our footing.<\/p>\n

Relatively quickly we found ourselves on the open tundra again, and we made our way back to the jeep trail. \u00a0Along the way we found a few small creeks running down the from snow melt on James Peak. \u00a0There were some beautiful flowers alongside the creeks, and it was a wonderful sight. \u00a0Here are two pictures of one of the creeks.<\/p>\n

\"2013-07-21<\/a> \"2013-07-21<\/a><\/p>\n

After crossing numerous creeks, we found the jeep trail and even saw some jeeps and four wheelers out exploring. \u00a0We made our way back to St. Mary’s Glacier on the path and looked at the beautiful scenery one last time. \u00a0Once back to the glacier we realized just how steep it is. \u00a0We had to go very slowly to prevent from slipping and sliding down the glacier. (Though we did see some people carrying their sleds, skis and snowboards up…) \u00a0Even in mid-summer it would have been helpful to have had micro-cleats. \u00a0But despite the slippery and steep nature of the descent we made it down without injury and were back at St. Mary’s Lake.<\/p>\n

From the lake it was just a short hike down to the parking lot. \u00a0However, it was quite a different scene going down from the lake than it was going up. \u00a0There were throngs of people wearing work out clothes, swimsuits, and shorts and t-shirts heading up to the lake for picnics and just to hang out. \u00a0We were very glad at this point we had gotten to the parking lot early, since once the lot is full there is no where to park. After navigating our way around the ascending horde we were back at our car and very happy with our accomplishment and experience. \u00a0Cheers!<\/p>\n