TR: Elk Mountains / Maroon Bells Colorado
For those interested in such things....
PS I'm trying to be lazy by copying and pasting this from another posting so hope it works....
I can only afford to fly for a backpacking trip once a year. After being denied a trip to Montana and Glacier National Park due to wildfires, I eventually planned a trip to the Elk Mountains of Colorado for six days and five nights on trail. My first trip ever to CO (besides the DEN airport) was absolutely outstanding!
Highlights:
- Maroon Bells
- Four Passes Loop (google it!- four passes over 12K feet)
- Summited my fist 14er! (Snowmass peak)
- Used hand-lining to catch fish (no pole or rod, but line tied to a water bottle as a reel)
- Great weather!
I flew into Aspen on Saturday night, gathered a few supplies, slept in a shared bunk hostel, and on Sunday morning took the free RFTA bus from town to Aspen Highlands Ski center where I transferred to another free bus which dropped me off at Maroon Lake.
It was peak leaf season and even though I had been warned, I was astonished at thehundreds of people already gathered at the lake to get an iconic Maroon Bells sunrise photo. Such crowds are anathema to me so I didn't try for said photos but rather hiked at a fast pace to gain the backcountry as quickly as possible.
For my route, I used the Four Passes Loop as the backbone but explored many areas and didn't hike a continuous loop but back-tracked, re-tracked, and went off trail in several places.
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To start with, I've reduced 6 days to a three minute video; as always, full-screen is best!(Hope this embed works...does not work in preview)
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And here is more of a traditional photo report:
After ascending West Maroon Pass I stopped here near the junction with the North Fork Trail. Purity Basin seen behind me.
My fist nights camp on the trail above Fravert Basin near a small water fall.
Stopping to mug in Fravert Basin on day 2.
A great view as I ascended towards the Geneva Lake cut-off.
Geneva Lake with Snowmass in the background.
Second camp which was again in Fravert Basin. I didn't intend to go back but upon reaching Geneva lake I realized that I had left my fishing kit at my first nights camp and went all the way back for it. So I went across this basin four times total. It's beautiful so who cares?
Geneva Lake a second time! still awesome! (a friend told me this was photo-shopped). No man, I was there!
A turn around view while ascending towards Trail Rider Pass.
The low saddle on the left is Trail Rider Pass at 12,420 feet
Getting ready to head down to Snowmass lake on day 3.
And here is Snowmass lake at 10,980 feet.
In my excitement at catching this brookie I didn't get a good picture of it. It was about 12 inches long though you can't tell in this photo (video is better). I'm not a fisherman and was experimenting with hand-lining. I found some internet videos demonstrating the technique and was really happy that it worked! I actually had four trout get off my line because I spazzed out and pulled the bait directly out of their mouths without properly setting the hook. I think the lack of angle caused by not having a rod or pole was a factor. I finally figured out that I needed to jerk the line sideways as far as I could when the bait was taken to set the hook. By the fifth time I got it right! I had been loaded up with fancy flies and lures, but as it turned out, the thing they bit on was the cheapest of cheap plastic minnows from Wal-Mart (red head and white body that look like space-sperm) go figure!
The smell of success! Fresh Trout in olive oil! (cooked waaaaaay away from camp).
I had hoped to bag a 14er but hadn't done any real route research. At Snowmass lake that night, Robert showed up. He is a long-time peak-bagger, climber and SAR team member. He was there to bag Snowmass which left him only five more 14ers to have done all 50 something of them in CO. I successfully glommed on to his adventure; though he was initially reluctant to let me join him (not knowing my experience or skill, etc.. and seeing my lack of helmet), he eventually agreed to let me tag along. Turned out to be a highlight of the trip for me!
Here we are pausing for a breather after navigating the heinous scree field necessary to gain this point.
(Photo Courtesy of Robert) This is me about to start the summit massif climb. At first I was proud that Robert let me lead most of the route but eventually realized it was because I didn't have a helmet and there was a lot of loose rock! lol
(Photo courtesy of Robert) Me picking a route across the ridge.
Peak baggers and friends for the day! At the 14,092 foot summit.
Here is Robert getting spooky on the ridge.
And me getting spooky on the summit fin of Snowmass.
Robert descending after me. We chose the more difficult ridge route both out and back. It was awesomely fun!
Here is a turn-around view I liked while ascending towards Buckskin Pass
You can't tell how big this place is from my little camera but this was from just below Buckskin at 12,462 feet
My last nights camp in Minnehaha Gulch.
A nice sunset side view of the 'Bells
Relaxing at Crater Lake so as not to get back to town too early on day 6.
Exploring the aspen groves on the way out.
A view out from the 'Bells towards Maroon Lake
Sleeping Sexton
And finally, my point-n-shoot version of the Maroon Bells photo.
This place was really special and had a very special vibe about it. I had really good weather (only rained about 3 hours total in six days!), but even so, this was a purely fun place to backpack and highly recommended!
Happy Trails!
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Originally Posted by PatmanTN
