Caribou Pass (11,851') is located 3.4 miles from Junco Lake Trailhead along the Caribou Lake rim between the Arapaho Creek and Meadow Creek drainages. It spans broad, sloping meadows just below a precipitous drop into the basin with exceptional views. The trail continues over the pass to Lake Dorothy and Arapaho Pass on the Continental Divide.

The Caribou Pass Trail clears treeline just over a mile past the Columbine Lake Trail split

A cirque is defined as a bowl-shaped depression with steep sides that forms at the head of a valley or glacier

Caribou Pass typifies the Continental Divide throughout much of Colorado in that east side drops precipitously while the west slopes gently down

The .75 mile stretch between Caribou Pass and Lake Dorothy runs along a narrow path etched high into the valley wall that may be impassable with lingering snow

Though Caribou Pass stands between two major drainages, both flow west; the actual Continental Divide - seen here - is located just east of the pass and separates Arapaho Creek (drains west) from North Fork Middle Boulder Creek (drains east)

Columbine Lake is an equidistant hike from the Junco Lake Trailhead; it fills a wide, shallow basin under Mount Neva (12,814') and flows west into Meadow Creek Reservoir

Oxygen percentage is the same at high elevation and sea level (21%); the problem for people is that there are simply fewer molecules of everything at high elevation, including oxygen

Over 130 miles of trail cross the Indian Peaks Wilderness, with about 35% of land mass above treeline

Meadow Creek is aptly named for expansive meadows that extend almost all the way from its source at Columbine Lake to the Meadow Creek Reservoir

Lake Dorothy fills a large cirque under Mount Neva and is approximately 100' deep