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The 'Indian Peaks Wilderness' is a wilderness area in north central Colorado managed by the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest. The wilderness area borders Rocky Mountain National Park to the north, and the James Peak Wilderness to the south, and straddles the Continental Divide. The area receives high visitation due to its proximity to the Denver metropolitan area.

Contents

Geography

Peak names

History

Activities

References

External links

Geography

The area encompasses a stretch of the Front Range. It includes 7 peaks over 13,000 feet in elevation. The highest point is North Arapaho Peak at 13,502 feet. The peaks are all within 100 feet of elevation of each other. A portion of the area, encompassing the headwaters of North Boulder Creek, is closed to the public as it is the City of Boulder watershed.

Peak names

Many of the peaks inside the wilderness area are named after western Native American tribes. The naming scheme was the idea of botany teacher Ellsworth Bethel. By 1914, few of the peaks between Longs Peak and the Arapaho Peaks had names. In the spring of that year Bethel, inspired by the established name of the Arapaho Peaks, settled on 11 tribal names for various summits along the Divide. The United States Board on Geographic Names kept 6 of his names: Apache Peak, Arikaree Peak, Kiowa Peak, Navajo Peak, Ogalalla Peak and Pawnee Peak. He later added Paiute Peak, as his use of the Ute band was denied due to too many other Colorado features sharing that name. Other names, including Shoshoni Peak, Hiamovi Mountain, Satanta Peak and Watanga Mountain were added later.

History

The Indian Peaks were visited by Native Americans for several thousand years. The Arapaho tribe lived and hunted in the area during the summer months, though little evidence remains of their activities.
Mining took place in the 1870's near the Arapaho Peaks. Later, a road was built to Arapaho Pass but never completed. The mining turned up little more than low-grade ore, and the mines were eventually abandoned. Remnants of mining activity is still found along the Arapaho Pass trail.
A plane crash from the 1940's exists on Navajo Peak, not very far from the summit.
The area of the Indian Peaks were included in Eno Mills' original proposed boundaries for Rocky Mountain National Park. They were removed from the proposal after compromising with local and mining interests. Park superintendents tried to annex the Indian Peaks over the years, but the area would not receive protected status until 1978 when Congress designated the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.

Activities

Most visitors hike along the many trails, visiting high passes, lakes and waterfalls enroute. The area also contains many notable mountaineering routes. The busiest area is Brainard Lake, which hosts several trailheads and a campground. Fishing is also found in many of the lakes and streams within the wilderness. In the winter, snowshoeing and cross country skiing are popular.

References

★ ''Rocky Mountain National Park: A History'', C. W. Buchholtz, (University Press of Colorado; 1983) ISBN 0-87081-146-0

★ ''High Country Names'', Louisa Ward Arps and Elinor Eppich Kingery, (Rocky Mountain Nature Association; 1994), pg 115 ISBN 1-55566-133-5

External links

★ US Forest Service - Indian Peaks Wilderness