The Team and the Trek

Ken, Rick, and Ty are all recently retired and live in Anthem Ranch a Del Webb community in Broomfield, Colorado. Earlier this spring Ty mentioned that one of the hikes featured in "Classic Hikes of the World - 23 Breathtaking Treks" by Peter Potterfield was right in our backyard - Aspen Colorado. It was too much to resist - an amazing hike so close - we had to do it. Our trip was originally planned to start on July 13 - but the heavy snowfall this winter lead to raging rivers and snow covered passes that early in the year. We rescheduled for August 25 -28. A three night and four day adventure.

On Sunday, August 24 we drove to Aspen had dinner at the Hickory House BBQ and spent the night in Snowmass village.

To see all the photographs of this trip click here.

Ken, Rick, and Ty, Backpack the Maroon Bells Circuit

The Maroon Bells lay outside of Aspen, CO. Our backpack trip started and ended at Maroon Lake Trailhead. The locals refer to the hike as the 4 Pass Loop. It is a 28 mile hike starting at 9,611 ft. and never drops below that elevation. There are 4 passes on the hike all in the 12,400 - 12,500 foot range.

Here is an overview:

4 High Passes:
West Maroon - 12,500
Frigid Air - 12,384
Trail Rider - 12,400
Buckskin - 12,462

Amazing Valleys:
West Maroon Creek
Fravert Basin
Minnehana Gulch
Snowmass Lake

It would be an understatement to say that no amount of blogging or photography can do this trip justice. The spectacular beauty, grandeur, and magnificence of the backcountry in this part of Colorado has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

Day 1 and the Adventure Begins

Ahhhh... Our last "civilized" breakfast for the next four days at the Main Street Cafe in Aspen then off to the trailhead and we were on our way by 9:00 AM.

Day one by design is a relative easy day. We headed out on Maroon Snowmass Trail for a 1.75 mile hike to Crater Lake. One mile past Crater Lake we had our first crossing of West Maroon Creek. The creek was shallow and it was an easy crossing. We continued on the West Maroon Trail to a second crossing of West Maroon Creek - while the water was a bit deeper and faster it was still an easy crossing at this time of the year. We set up our first camp about .5 miles past the second crossing at around 1:15 PM for a day one total of 5.5 miles.

Ty had very specific requirements for our campsite. It had to be sheltered and have a great view. We found that on a hill overlooking a valley and the river and set up camp - or so we thought! While exploring the area Ty stumbled across the "perfect" site - it even had a dinning table.

So, up came the tent stakes and we moved our home. It was a very pleasant and a perfect first day. By late afternoon, it started clouding up and we had some very light hail and rain showers.

Just down the trail from us, we met a group of 5 backpackers who would be following our same itinerary. They had all met each other on Backpackers.com and were from Colorado, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina. As it turned out, we would leapfrog that group over the next 3 days.

Our dinner that night was Southwestern Chicken - comes in a package - just add boiling water and let sit for 13 minutes. Actually, we all agreed it was quite tasty - OK we won't be serving it our next gourmet club dinner - but it was better than we had anticipated. Desert was some sort of berry and cheesecake - it didn't turn out as well as dinner - we ended up drinking our cheesecake.

Early to bed (8:30 PM - nightfall)

Day 2 - This will test us

We were up early (6:30 AM) - Ty is our alarm - he is the only one with a watch and is assigned wake up duty. The temperature in the morning is around 40. Rick is the cook (which means in charge of boiling water) so he is at the stove getting water ready for Coffee and Hot Chocolate. Breakfast is Oat meat - that will be breakfast every day. We break camp and are on the trail at 8:30 AM.

This will be a long and hard day, as we must cross two passes. We ascend West Maroon Pass reaching 12,500 ft.

We then drop down to around 11,000 ft. and then head back up to Frigid Air Pass at 12,384 ft.
This pass is much steeper and more rugged than West Maroon but not as sustained.

From the Frigid Air we descended about 1,600 ft. into Fravert Basin - What is most striking is the display of wild flowers - hard to describe.



On the saddle between the two passes, we meet "Mississippi". He has driven to Colorado to drop his wife off at the Democratic convention in Denver. He is hiking the "Circuit" alone. Like the Backpackers.com group we leap frog with him over the next couple of days.

We decide to hike a couple of more miles and cross The North Fork of the Chrystal River.

Despite our Topo Maps and GPS, we miss the turn to the river. This is not really our fault. There is a horse camp in the area and they have created many trails - more traveled than the one we need to follow. "Mississippi" also misses the turn - he bushwhacks and luckily, after crossing the river finds the trail on the other side. (We report this situation to the Ranger station when we check out from the hike.) However, after a short diversion we find the correct trail and cross the river. At this crossing, we need to change into our Teva's and water shoes, as the river is too high to cross in our hiking boots.

We make camp in a clearing on the riverbank at around 4:00 PM and have traveled a long and hard 8 miles.

We fix dinner - and drink desert and are in bed again around 8:30 PM.

Ty takes off his boots and realizes the "pain" he has been feeling is a good-sized blister. A delicate procedure involving Moleskin and duct tape is performed and we hope for the best over the next two days of hiking.


At around midnight (just a guess), we are treated to major thunder and lightning storms. They seem to last several hours. It was really something listening to the thunder role through the valleys. The tent does not leak!

Day 3 - Another Challenging day

Today will not be quite as long as Day 2 but is still a challenging day. We are camped at around 10,200 ft. and will ascend our third pass - Trail Rider Pass at 12,400 ft. After a stormy night, we wake to clear skies and what promises to be a beautiful day. We have our usual breakfast (Oatmeal) and hit the trail at 9:00 PM.

We have about a 1.5 mile solid up hill clime to Trail Rider. This is a very steep and challenging climb but at the top, the effort is rewarded with a magnificent view of Snowmass Lake 2 miles down below us.



We head down and decide to press on past the lake to Snowmass Creek Crossing. We have hiked about 7 miles today and our camp elevation is around 10,400 ft.

Like day 1 & 2 the weather has been perfect - Hiking temperatures have probably been in the high 60's and low 70's with just enough clouds to periodically give us a break from the sun - which can be intense at these altitudes.

Ty sets up the tent, Ken goes to the river and fills our water bottles using his First Need filter (that has been his primary chore), I crank up my little backpacking stove and begin boiling water for our final dehydrated dinner, and we are in the tent by 8:30 PM.


Not far from our camp, the beavers have dammed the river and formed a good-sized beaver pond. We also have a waterfall a couple of hundred yards from our tent - makes for great
sleeping (aside from the rock Ken slept on.)

Day 4 - A Pleasant Surprise

We are up at 6:30 AM - it is colder this morning - probably around 30 degrees but not a cloud in the sky. We are anxious to begin our final ascent and hike out. We break camp at 7:40 AM and head for Buckskin Pass - #4 and then the long trek down from 12,462 ft. to our starting elevation of 9,600 ft.

We pass the beaver pond and then hike through the pines to a steep but gentle slope. We make long steady uphill switchbacks all the way to the top of the pass. The hike to the top of Buckskin pass turns out to be our favorite - it is a pleasant surprise. Again, it is a perfect day for hiking and we are each soaking up all the magnificent views knowing that this wonderful adventure is soon ending.

On the way down from Buckskin we run into many hikers who are taking day hikes from the Maroon Bells trailhead to the top of the pass - it is Thursday and for many the beginning of a long Labor Day weekend.

2,751 ft. of continuous downhill is hard on everyone's feet and knees. We are glad to be back at the trailhead but thrilled with the success of our wonderful trek through some spectacular backcountry.


We head to Aspen and the Main Street Cafe for a beer and burger.

PS - the duct tape worked.