Part 1: as we set
out…
It all started with
a plan, which didn't quite play out the way it was designed but all's well that
ends well, right? May be yes or may be not… So let's not complain about the
plan and get on with the adventure that was …
I have collected my
backpacking gear over the past four years but as of August 31st, 2017 I'd never
had the chance to try it out. When the Labor Day weekend was about to dawn on
us, I figured it was about time I put to use the gear that hadn't really seen
the light of day. Honestly, I didn't have the time given how hectic my work
schedule had been but I decided I am going to give this a try because I'll most
likely not get another chance at it at least this year as the weather was soon
going to go from nice and warm to chilly and harsh. And next year, who knows
what the immigration rules of this country hold in store …
Given the crunch of
time, we could leave only after I was done teaching mid-afternoon on Friday.
And we had to be back by Monday night. So given this, we had the bad luck of
getting stuck in the holiday traffic all headed out to who knows where. We set
out at 3 pm, took CO 93 out of Boulder and then got on to I 70 merging with the
slow moving traffic. Our destination, Aspen was far far away it seemed like. At
the Georgetown gas station I bought myself a double chocolate muffin, the
closest thing I could get to a birthday cake for the wilderness! With that
safely shoved into the bear canister along with all our other food supplies,
off we sped toward Aspen. No matter how hard we tried to get there before
sunset, that was not in the cards. By the time we got to the overnight parking
lot for Maroon Bells, each and every slot was taken. The overflow parking lot
was full as well. The unkind lady at the parking lot asked us if we couldn't
read the signs just outside town which clearly said that the parking lot was
full. According to her, we shouldn't have made the 8 mile trip from town since
it was all full. It didn't matter to her when we told her that we'd found many
a camping site vacant even when signs posted outside said that sites were full.
She just responded with a condescending smile that said "You are full of
shit."
Anyway, with no
option in sight, we turned back to the town and pondered our options. There was
a ski parking lot at the edge of town where we could park our car overnight but
we couldn't park ourselves overnight over there and we didn't know how we could
cover the 8 miles from that lot to the trailhead. Just as we rolled in to the
ski parking lot, we ran into a couple of hikers who were gearing up to head
out. When we asked them how they were planning to get to the trailhead, they
replied, "We'll try our luck and hitch-hike." Hmmm, I wondered.
Growing up in India with stories of 'Never hitch a ride with a stranger' that
seemed a bit dangerous to be doing at 8.30 pm at night. But then my hiking
partner wonders aloud, "Should we do the same?" I am in two minds -
we have two options: hunker down in our car, hope no one notices us sleeping in
the parking lot and catch the shuttle at 8 am next morning or hitch hike. If we
choose the former, we will lose valuable time as we were supposed to cover
about 3 miles this evening. And if we factor in that delay then we will most
likely not make it back by Monday night. So only option 2 is actually an
option. Okay, so we are hitch hiking (for the very first freaking time in our
lives in a country that's increasingly becoming hostile to non-white
'outsiders' …)
But luck does have a
way of smiling upon me at the strangest of times. It hadn't even been more than
10 minutes that we'd been walking along the road that a car stopped along when
I waved my thumb. There was a young lady in the drivers seat. She rolled down
the window on the passengers side and asked us where we were headed. To the
Maroon Bells trailhead, we replied in unison. She said she was only headed 2
miles in but she could drop us until her stopping point. We agreed and hopped
in. Then we got to talking and she asked us about what we were up to. When she
found out that we were planning to backpack, she told us that just yesterday
her brother had hitch hiked for the very first time in his life when he was out
on a backpacking trip and a kind stranger had given him a ride. So, she decided
that she was going to pay it forward and drop us to our destination at the
trailhead! Now that is what I call a stroke of luck! And as it turned out we
were her very first hitch hikers!!!
Day 1 hiking begins…
So it was at around 9.30 pm that we found ourselves starting our 27 mile long,
four day backpacking trip circumnavigating the Maroon bells. After a quick use
of the restroom at the trailhead, we got out our sandwiches to munch on as we
began our hike under moonlight and our headlamps. Late dinner under the
moonlight, that's how adventures begin I think…. Because no sooner had I
finished half the sandwich, I heard a rumble in my stomach and then came the
cramps. The next moment I am on the ground clutching my stomach and trying not
to scream. Apparently, the mushroom sandwich had some sketchy mushrooms. The
cramps passed and I picked myself up and walked on… wondering to myself if the
day could get worse. After 3-4 rounds of stomach clutching, the tide finally
turned as I relieved my upset stomach behind a bush.
Lesson learnt: No
more mushroom sandwiches on a backpacking trip.
After about a mile
and half we reached Crater Lake. There are about 9 campsites in that area and
obviously each and everyone of them was taken. But I figured we could try our
luck, so we checked out each one. They were all off the beaten path, so we added
about a mile of hiking to our trip I think. With no campsite in sight, we hiked
on as we could only camp in designated sites near Crater lake. As I made my way
in the darkness, I found a pair of eyes at my eye level looking at me among the
trees. I, as expected, freaked out! But the cool cucumber that I have for a
hiking partner assured me it's likely a moose and that we should just carry on
with business as usual. The eyes followed us until we were out of sight. After
we were out of sight of the lake, we began the hunt for a dispersed campsite
and found one soon enough. It was now past midnight and we had a long long long
day of hiking ahead of us. So we quickly set up our tent and called it a night,
an eventful night I'd say…
Part 2: Day 2
adventure - Crater Lake - West Maroon Pass - Frigid Air Pass - Campsite#2
Day 2 started as any
other day out camping with the sound of birds around the crack of dawn and then
the sounds of footsteps of hikers who managed to get an early start! Still
short on sleep but high on energy we packed up our tent, prepared our breakfast:
peanut butter jelly sandwiches and garam garam
(hot hot) chai from Girnar. We ate the sandwiches as we hiked to save time. We
were probably the slowest hikers that day, as slowly and steadily almost
everyone passed us by except one group which had an almost identical pace as
ours! That day involved about 13 miles of hiking and two 12,500 ft passes… So,
keeping steady pace that we could maintain throughout was more important. But
we also had to get to our camping site soon if we wanted to grab a good spot…
that was not going to be on the cards given our pace so we made peace with it
and enjoyed the scenery instead :P And the scenery was lovely!
The forest before the climb for West maroon pass began
After crossing a
forested patch, the ascent to west maroon pass begins. In the forested patch,
we came across a hiker who was doing the loop anti-clockwise and he was almost
at the end. He gave us some really good advice about where to find a site,
where to get water, etc. I love how people are just willing to share tips with
random strangers! We crossed one stream but then up and up we went. For me that
climb was grueling… Not having done any heavy duty workouts all summer and
having been at sea level all summer, I was beginning to feel the burn early on.
But I persevered on. And the summit finally appeared on the horizon! It was a
steady slog especially with the 33 pound backpack but it was not too bad I'd
say.. Fairly manageable for someone in decent shape.
The view from the summit of west maroon pass
After a quick break on the
top where we ran into a lot of our fellow hikers who'd zoomed past us, we began
our descent on the other side. We often ran across hikers who were only doing
the Maroon bells - Crested Butte trails. And then there were those who were
running the 27 mile loop in a day (or a few hours actually). Half way down we
stopped to have lunch: theplas and saag-paneer
from Tasty Bites! After that grueling climb, the lunch tasted good! We also had
some Emergen-C for recovery and to rehydrate.
The downhill from west maroon pass
Up and up, it literally was...
The steep climb to Frigid Air pass
Then it was non-stop
to Frigid air pass. That was another long climb and when I thought we'd neared
the summit, I heaved a sigh of relief only to realize that the summit was not
the one we were heading to… Our summit was steep and full of scree. With a full
backpack, it was a bit treacherous but not too bad. The group that had a
similar pace hiked alongside as we both scrambled to the summit of frigid air
pass. That summit was sweet because I was pulling at the last vestiges of my
strength. So, my effusive display of happiness was understandable :P
Happy me on the summit of the Frigid Air Pass
Then it was all
downhill… We ran across a couple of hunters on horseback carrying a deer
mounted on the horse. But other than that it was just us since everyone else
had left us far far behind. At about 5 pm, we reached a stream and decided that
camping here made the best sense. We were still a couple of miles short of our
goal but the spot seemed good and we needed to set up our tent in daylight and
finish cooking dinner and filtering water from the stream. After dinner, we
even managed to dip our tired feet in the stream! We had a couple of other
groups camping nearby and one group that came much later surprisingly, so we
weren't the slowest of all :P After dinner comprising instant rice and lentil
soup, we wrapped up, placed our bear canister far far away and called it a
night. Things were almost going as planned…
Dinner!
Tired feet ...
Part 3: Day 3 -
Geneva Lake - Trailrider Pass - Snowmass Lake
Day 3 began with the
same breakfast earlier that we had while we hiked. The first part was mostly
downhill and there was a beautiful waterfall on the way.
Waterfall
We again ran across
a couple of hikers who gave us good advice about what lay ahead. They were
going the opposite way. As they said, very soon we came across a stream and
this time there was no way but to walk through the water. Just before me, the
person who crossed had removed their shoes and held them in their hand. As luck
would have it, the shoes tumbled into the water! So I dwcided- let's throw our
shoes across the stream and then wade through the water. As expected, nothing
bad happened! Our shoes safely landed on the other side and then we waded
through freezing cold water which felt good to my tired feet. We also refilled
our water at the stream.
Then began the
steady slog uphill. This one was long but not too steep. We could already see
the leaves turning! We passed through Geneva lake from where you can actually
access a dirt road in case you want to quit the loop and just go home! Nope,
not doing that… So, on and on we went…
The uphill!
Before the summit of
trail rider pass, comes another small beautiful lake. But given that we were
running behind time and we had to get to our next campsite at Snowmass lake
early in order to find a good campsite, we didn't hang out at the lake. As we
started uphill, we came across an injured hiker. He'd hurt his knee and was
trying to see if someone could call a ranger. Everyone passing that spot at
that point in time was likely going to take another day to get to a trailhead.
We offered him medical supplies and hoped that someone else would come along.
Their best bet were runners who did the trail in one day… Hiking can be a
dangerous sport :(
But we did hang out
at the summit. And this is what we did - celebrated my birthday! It was the
most beautiful sight, as we reached the summit and glanced down to get a view
of Snowmass lake. I couldn't believe I was getting to spend my birthday at such
a beautiful spot with the people I love! After enjoying the cake, we began the
descent. The descent seemed long but easy. The lake views from top were gorgeous.
Snowmass Lake topview
A closer look at Snowmass lake
And then came the
campsites! It was packed! But we managed to snag a good campsite. The Walkie
Talkie we were carrying came in handy, as we could split up to locate a spot.
We quickly set up our tent around 4 pm and then headed out to the lake to have
a late lunch. We'd been munching on trail mix, cliff bars and didn't stop for
lunch as getting to the campsite early was important. So, now we leisurely
enjoyed our lunch: theplas and chole
from Tasty Bites! Yup, all our lunches and dinners consisted of Indian food!!!
After lounging around for a long long while and taking in the view, we filled
up our water and headed back to the tent.
Lunch by Snowmass lake
The clear lake up close
Lake view
There we prepped for
dinner: rice and lentil soup and packed up for the day. One thing to mention is
that since the campsite was so crowded, it was way difficult to find a spot to
answer nature's call. You had to be careful not to step into anyone's you-know-what.
But most people had followed the rules and buried their shit.
It had been a long
day and I'd expected to just fall asleep. But that was not meant to be. Given
that the campsites were crowded, of course there was noise! And I didn't manage
to get a good night's sleep. We woke up at 3 am to see if we could catch the Milky
Way but the moonlight was so bright that it was impossible. The view of the
lake under the moon and the starts was breathtaking nonetheless… Snowmass Lake,
I hear by name you 'Lake of Shining Waters.'
Part 4: Day 4 -
Snowmass lake - Buckskin Pass - Maroon Bells trailhead
We woke up very
early to catch the sunrise which took its own sweet time to rise. After about
30 minutes of waiting, the first rays finally hit the mountains and that was a
sight to see…
Catching the sunrise at Snowmass lake...
After spending quite
a bit of time enjoying the view and taking lots of photos, we headed back to
the tent to make breakfast, pack up and head out. Surprisingly, not a lot of
people had even woken up by the time we started out around 7 am. But then we knew
they'd probably pass us by given the breakneck speed at which they hike. So, we
plodded on and hoped that we'd catch the shuttle before 5 pm to get to the
parking lot. Otherwise we'd be hitchhiking again :P
Initially it was
mostly flat terrain and we had a few stream crossings and some beautiful lakes
with fish!
But then began the
never ending ascent thorough the forest. Up and up we went once again to our
final pass in the loop - Buckskin pass
Surprisingly, the
pass came quickly and I was on the top before I even realized it! Just before
we reached the summit, we could see Snowmass lake way far back… We'd come a
long long way that day. The summit was windy and cold so we didn't hang out
much at the top.
And then began the
grueling downhill. 4 long miles of it. In a valley of flowers, we stopped to
grab a quick lunch: theplas and potatoes
from Tasty Bites. And then we ran downhill to make it on time for the shuttle.
The downhill was not kind on my knees, so I slowed down my pace while my hiking
partner ran ahead to catch the shuttle and get the car in case I didn't make it
on time. So, I spent most of the downhill on my own contemplating how I'd
managed to get near the end of my longest backpacking trip ever... The view was
not bad either :P
But as I approached
Crater lake, my patience was beginning to wear out and so were my knees. I
wasn't sure how long my knees would hold up but hold up they did and
magnificently! And I reached the crossing where one would turn to Crater Lake.
I, of course, soldiered on towards the Maroon Bells trailhead. It was now
uphill and a lot of hikers who'd just been up to crater lake passed me by. I
trudged along slow and steady expecting to miss the shuttle anyway. My hiking
partner was close to the trailhead since I'd just heard him on the Walkie
Talkie. So, it was all good.
Surprisingly, as I
hiked uphill, my knees began to recover. So, when the downhill on the final
stretch began my knees were A-Okay. So, there I was running again and passing
by all the Crater Lake hikers :)
When I neared a
signboard which signaled that I was almost there, I think I almost burst into
tears of happiness. I never manage to take selfies but here I am, smiling away
:)
Pretty soon Maroon
lake came in sight and I knew I was going to catch the shuttle after all!
Maroon lake was crowded with tourists … I just took a quick photo to remind
myself that I did actually make it back! And then hurried away to the shuttle…
I circumnavigated that mountain far far away!
And that was how I
completed the Four Pass Loop in the Maroon Bells Snowmass wilderness! Phew…
