arm
Well-known member
just got home from a fun trip to Colorado and Utah
Steve-o and i had high hopes for a Tom Field Willey trip, but logistics were a nightmare, and we didn't have time to train, so we scrambled to put together a trip out west
Elk Range seemed like a reasonable consolation prize when TFW didn't w*rk out ... Capitol Peak, Four Pass Loop and nearby options were high on our wish list
september is a great time of year to play in Colorado ... cool temps, no bugs, less t-storms than mid-summer ... thought aspens might be turning colours but we were a bit early
sept 08 - flew into Denver, grabbed supplies and headed to Leadville, went for beer at Silver Dollar Saloon, steak dinner at Quincy's, and a cheap room in town
sept 09 - drove to Aspen, over Independence Pass ... a Huge snow plow truck rounded a bend, scraping invisible snow off the road, fluffin' em up and pushin' em back ...
most of the summer, public cars aren't allowed to drive Maroon Creek Road between 9am-5pm ... a shuttle bus could bring us to Maroon Lake Trailhead mid-day, but backpacking out five days later we'd have a 9-mile roadwalk back to our rental car ... shuttle busses don't run midweek after labor day
Rangers suggested waiting until 5pm to drive in to the trailhead ... we grabbed burgers and beer at Little Annies in Aspen, then drove in and backpacked in a few easy miles to Crater Lake, starting a 5-night Four Pass Loop backpack ... a porcupine walked through our camp while Stevo was hanging the bear bag
sept 10 - we moved camp up trail a couple miles, hoping to avoid backtracking after climbing Maroon Peak (14,156')
dropped gear then headed up Maroon Peak South Ridge Route, scrambling up a crumbly steep meadow where mountain goats were picnicing on a grassy knoll - two leaders of the goat pack blocked the path and gave us a "ye shall not pass!" stare-down, but they eventually yielded and we made it up to the ridge
ominous clouds were approaching, winds picked up - we figured we'd hit etch-a-sketchy weather up high, so we bailed back to basecamp ... of course, halfway down the path, skies cleared ... when we saw our shadows we thought that might mean six more weeks of summer, or better yet, six more weeks of Colorado
sept 11 - we hiked up along West Maroon Creek to West Maroon Pass, taking in breath-taking views of the "Sound of Music" valley aka Purity Basin on the other side, which we hiked through to reach Frigid Air Pass, with gorgeous views of the Maroon Bells
rock strewn valleys were full of pika and marmot every day
descended into Fravert Basin, switchbacking until we reached the North Fork of Crystal River ... we hiked down past King Falls, a 300?' waterfall, and set up camp near Hasley Basin Pack Trail junction
hunters were camped nearby - we heard their horses neighing through the night, then heard hunters fire a few rounds early in the morning
sept 12 - we moved camp to Snowmass Lake - worst weather day so far, so we were pleasantly surprised to get views as we passed a small tarn on our approach to Trail Rider Pass, and sweeping views of blue-green Snowmass Lake on our way down from the Pass
Snowmass Lake is a popular destination for hikers and fishermen so there were plenty of folks tenting nearby - deer walked through our site while we cooked dinner
skies cleared and a Full Moon rose over Snowmass Lake ... a lady camping nearby was convinced that the moon was full most nights ... we didn't question her logic until she started babbling about how Amazing the clouds were ... moments later she took to the woods, giggling at aspen for no apparent reason
sept 13 - we hiked Snowmass Mountain (14,092') from our camp ... 14er guidebook rates the trail along the lake as class 2 - maybe because the scrub has grown in along the unmarked path, making you feel like you're going through a car wash when the scrub is wet
the guidebook also suggests that Snowmass is one of the finest 14ers because of the pleasant snowfield walk once you top out over the "unpleasant scree slope" leading up from Snowmass Lake
unfortunately most of Snowmass Glacier has melted away, but the rock garden you walk through in its wake is much nicer than the scree slope you need to scramble up to reach it
scrambling along class 3 Snowmass Ridge was fun - once you top out on the ridge, it's a short ridge scramble to the airy summit
the car wash shuffle was a welcome relief to scrambling down Snowmass scree slope on our way back to camp
sept 14 - scenic backpack out over Buckskin Pass, where horseback hunters approached us as hail storms were rolling in - we switchbacked down through Minnehaha Gulch as hail turned to rain showers
over five nights, we'd covered 30+ miles, 13k' elevation gain, including going for Snowmass and Maroon Peak
forecast in Colorado the next few days was grim, so we headed to Utah - figured our hair could go for an oil change, whether it needed it or not, so we found a cheap room near Fruita Colorado
-----
sept 15 - cruised to Utah and checked out Arches National Park for a few hours ... spotted a New Jersey truck towing a snowmobile through the park ... 9+ months of crappy snowmobiling ?
grabbed dinner at Moab Brewery - you can't beat a dead horse (back to life)
scored a tensite at Horsethief Campground, over near Dead Horse Point State Park ... gathering firewood nearby is illegal, so we didn't stoke a campfire
sept 16 - grabbed breakfast and firewood in Moab ... felt like we drank decaf coffee by mistake, then figured they served us some Utah 3.2% coffee
saw a couple dogs in a truck, clearly weir'ded out when they learned that Utah drive-thru liquor stores only had 3.2% beer
hiked out to Delicate Arch, then headed over to Canyonlands National Park ... thought about hiking Syncline Trail, looping down through canyon ravines, but Rangers recommended Lathrop Trail over to a canyon, so we'd have fairer warning of forecast bad weather approaching
hiked across the 2.5 mile desert plain to Lathrop's canyon rim, then decided not to descend into the canyons, with spirit-crushing ominous clouds approaching
landscape near the canyon rim was surreal ... felt like we were on a sci-fi movie set ... desert vegetation and layers of multi-coloured rock with distant canyon scenery and a big sky backdrop was very cool
lightning bolts began hammering distant lands, approaching us from the direction we'd hiked in from ... we started back toward the trailhead, speeding up the closer the lightning got ... passed a few impervious locals who claimed, "you can't out-run lightning" ... made it back to our car before lightning reached us, watching locals meander back as lightning struck nearby
headed back to Horsethief basecamp and stoked a campfire once the rain stopped
-----
sept 17 - cruised back towards Denver through Castle Valley, looking for Cow Dog, through scenic Cisco Utah, stopping at Hot Tomato Cafe in Fruita
met up with local friends at a free block party in Denver, hosted by a local brewery at Vine Street Pub - Dave Johnston, banjo player from Yonder Mountain String Band, and Drew Emmitt, mandolinist from Leftover Salmon, ripped out fun bluegrass sets on a stage set up on the street
our friend Gerry got a soundboard patch to record the show and posted it on live music archive ... great site for free live music !
http://www.archive.org/details/VineStreetAllStars2011-09-17
we were looking to hike nearby the next day, so grabbed a cheap room near Idaho Springs
grabbed breakfast then headed up Mount Evans Auto Road, which was open up to Summit Lake around 12k' ... hiked up an easy rock field to Mount Evans summit (14,264') where we spotted a rare snow pika
met up with Gerry to pub crawl in Boulder the next day - BackCountry Pizza & Tap House, Mountain Sun Pub, Avery Brewing Company ... all had excellent brews on tap
stayed with Gerry and Pumpkin then flew home sept 20 - we missed a chance to go for Capitol Peak, but we'll be back - awesome trip !
posted a few pics on webshots
http://community.webshots.com/user/armhike
Steve-o and i had high hopes for a Tom Field Willey trip, but logistics were a nightmare, and we didn't have time to train, so we scrambled to put together a trip out west
Elk Range seemed like a reasonable consolation prize when TFW didn't w*rk out ... Capitol Peak, Four Pass Loop and nearby options were high on our wish list
september is a great time of year to play in Colorado ... cool temps, no bugs, less t-storms than mid-summer ... thought aspens might be turning colours but we were a bit early
sept 08 - flew into Denver, grabbed supplies and headed to Leadville, went for beer at Silver Dollar Saloon, steak dinner at Quincy's, and a cheap room in town
sept 09 - drove to Aspen, over Independence Pass ... a Huge snow plow truck rounded a bend, scraping invisible snow off the road, fluffin' em up and pushin' em back ...
most of the summer, public cars aren't allowed to drive Maroon Creek Road between 9am-5pm ... a shuttle bus could bring us to Maroon Lake Trailhead mid-day, but backpacking out five days later we'd have a 9-mile roadwalk back to our rental car ... shuttle busses don't run midweek after labor day
Rangers suggested waiting until 5pm to drive in to the trailhead ... we grabbed burgers and beer at Little Annies in Aspen, then drove in and backpacked in a few easy miles to Crater Lake, starting a 5-night Four Pass Loop backpack ... a porcupine walked through our camp while Stevo was hanging the bear bag
sept 10 - we moved camp up trail a couple miles, hoping to avoid backtracking after climbing Maroon Peak (14,156')
dropped gear then headed up Maroon Peak South Ridge Route, scrambling up a crumbly steep meadow where mountain goats were picnicing on a grassy knoll - two leaders of the goat pack blocked the path and gave us a "ye shall not pass!" stare-down, but they eventually yielded and we made it up to the ridge
ominous clouds were approaching, winds picked up - we figured we'd hit etch-a-sketchy weather up high, so we bailed back to basecamp ... of course, halfway down the path, skies cleared ... when we saw our shadows we thought that might mean six more weeks of summer, or better yet, six more weeks of Colorado
sept 11 - we hiked up along West Maroon Creek to West Maroon Pass, taking in breath-taking views of the "Sound of Music" valley aka Purity Basin on the other side, which we hiked through to reach Frigid Air Pass, with gorgeous views of the Maroon Bells
rock strewn valleys were full of pika and marmot every day
descended into Fravert Basin, switchbacking until we reached the North Fork of Crystal River ... we hiked down past King Falls, a 300?' waterfall, and set up camp near Hasley Basin Pack Trail junction
hunters were camped nearby - we heard their horses neighing through the night, then heard hunters fire a few rounds early in the morning
sept 12 - we moved camp to Snowmass Lake - worst weather day so far, so we were pleasantly surprised to get views as we passed a small tarn on our approach to Trail Rider Pass, and sweeping views of blue-green Snowmass Lake on our way down from the Pass
Snowmass Lake is a popular destination for hikers and fishermen so there were plenty of folks tenting nearby - deer walked through our site while we cooked dinner
skies cleared and a Full Moon rose over Snowmass Lake ... a lady camping nearby was convinced that the moon was full most nights ... we didn't question her logic until she started babbling about how Amazing the clouds were ... moments later she took to the woods, giggling at aspen for no apparent reason
sept 13 - we hiked Snowmass Mountain (14,092') from our camp ... 14er guidebook rates the trail along the lake as class 2 - maybe because the scrub has grown in along the unmarked path, making you feel like you're going through a car wash when the scrub is wet
the guidebook also suggests that Snowmass is one of the finest 14ers because of the pleasant snowfield walk once you top out over the "unpleasant scree slope" leading up from Snowmass Lake
unfortunately most of Snowmass Glacier has melted away, but the rock garden you walk through in its wake is much nicer than the scree slope you need to scramble up to reach it
scrambling along class 3 Snowmass Ridge was fun - once you top out on the ridge, it's a short ridge scramble to the airy summit
the car wash shuffle was a welcome relief to scrambling down Snowmass scree slope on our way back to camp
sept 14 - scenic backpack out over Buckskin Pass, where horseback hunters approached us as hail storms were rolling in - we switchbacked down through Minnehaha Gulch as hail turned to rain showers
over five nights, we'd covered 30+ miles, 13k' elevation gain, including going for Snowmass and Maroon Peak
forecast in Colorado the next few days was grim, so we headed to Utah - figured our hair could go for an oil change, whether it needed it or not, so we found a cheap room near Fruita Colorado
-----
sept 15 - cruised to Utah and checked out Arches National Park for a few hours ... spotted a New Jersey truck towing a snowmobile through the park ... 9+ months of crappy snowmobiling ?
grabbed dinner at Moab Brewery - you can't beat a dead horse (back to life)
scored a tensite at Horsethief Campground, over near Dead Horse Point State Park ... gathering firewood nearby is illegal, so we didn't stoke a campfire
sept 16 - grabbed breakfast and firewood in Moab ... felt like we drank decaf coffee by mistake, then figured they served us some Utah 3.2% coffee
saw a couple dogs in a truck, clearly weir'ded out when they learned that Utah drive-thru liquor stores only had 3.2% beer
hiked out to Delicate Arch, then headed over to Canyonlands National Park ... thought about hiking Syncline Trail, looping down through canyon ravines, but Rangers recommended Lathrop Trail over to a canyon, so we'd have fairer warning of forecast bad weather approaching
hiked across the 2.5 mile desert plain to Lathrop's canyon rim, then decided not to descend into the canyons, with spirit-crushing ominous clouds approaching
landscape near the canyon rim was surreal ... felt like we were on a sci-fi movie set ... desert vegetation and layers of multi-coloured rock with distant canyon scenery and a big sky backdrop was very cool
lightning bolts began hammering distant lands, approaching us from the direction we'd hiked in from ... we started back toward the trailhead, speeding up the closer the lightning got ... passed a few impervious locals who claimed, "you can't out-run lightning" ... made it back to our car before lightning reached us, watching locals meander back as lightning struck nearby
headed back to Horsethief basecamp and stoked a campfire once the rain stopped
-----
sept 17 - cruised back towards Denver through Castle Valley, looking for Cow Dog, through scenic Cisco Utah, stopping at Hot Tomato Cafe in Fruita
met up with local friends at a free block party in Denver, hosted by a local brewery at Vine Street Pub - Dave Johnston, banjo player from Yonder Mountain String Band, and Drew Emmitt, mandolinist from Leftover Salmon, ripped out fun bluegrass sets on a stage set up on the street
our friend Gerry got a soundboard patch to record the show and posted it on live music archive ... great site for free live music !
http://www.archive.org/details/VineStreetAllStars2011-09-17
we were looking to hike nearby the next day, so grabbed a cheap room near Idaho Springs
grabbed breakfast then headed up Mount Evans Auto Road, which was open up to Summit Lake around 12k' ... hiked up an easy rock field to Mount Evans summit (14,264') where we spotted a rare snow pika
met up with Gerry to pub crawl in Boulder the next day - BackCountry Pizza & Tap House, Mountain Sun Pub, Avery Brewing Company ... all had excellent brews on tap
stayed with Gerry and Pumpkin then flew home sept 20 - we missed a chance to go for Capitol Peak, but we'll be back - awesome trip !
posted a few pics on webshots
http://community.webshots.com/user/armhike
