Monday, April 17, 2023
View of Continental Divide from Sugarloaf Mountain above, Sugarloaf is located about ten miles west from Boulder, accessed by a drive up Bolder Canyon and Sugarloaf Road, then turning onto a dirt road that goes up to Switzerland Trail, where there is parking available. I was staying at my friends Sue and Jim’s house, which is about a 10 minute walk from the trailhead. I did two hikes to the top, one on Sunday with Sue and Jim, along with two four-legged friends, Jinx and Todo. On Monday I did the hike solo. Both hikes had beautiful blue skies, though the hike with Sue and Jim also had colder temps and a strong wind, which made our stay at the top on the short side. I enjoyed and took advantage of the better weather Tuesday to spend about 30 minutes on top. The views were exceptional, with the continental divide visible as it runs along a ridge of mountains to the west through Indian Peaks Wilderness and north into Rocky Mountain National Park. The high peaks in the area are South Arapaho, North Arapaho, Mount Audubon, and Longs Peak. In the photo above, Audubon is on the extreme left and Longs Peak on the right. I have hiked all except North Arapaho in the past when I was living in Boulder. Hiking in this area is fantastic! I used to use Audubon as a training run for Pike’s Peak Ascent (half marathon) in the 1991-1996.
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