Snowmass Lake…no… Buckskin Pass

July 15, 2011  Snowmass Lake…no… Buckskin Pass   4.3 + 9.6        Total miles 74.7

Today we started thinking that we were going to see a new area of Snowmass.  We started our day with a blood pumping drive down a ski hill.  Yes, once again we were on one of those “4WD”roads.  With Kathi’s hands firmly placed in her personal steering wheel divots and my feet braced against the floor board we dropped some two miles down what could only be steep enough to call a double black diamond ski hill.  Around these parts they refer to the double black diamond trails as “gonzo abusive” or in kinder language “what was I thinking?”  All is well we survived the trip down.  The hike that we are on today is supposed to lead back to some epic lake sitting at the base of Mount Snowmass. Perfect.  It is a long 8.6 mile hike out there, but has such a small amount of elevation gain that it should be doable. 

The Ranger at Aspen said it is just like hiking at Conundrum Creek with lots of views.   This hike also passes through private land so make sure to close all gates as there will be livestock in the area. Within 2 tenths of a mile we were closing our first gate and tromping through the heavily wooded area only to come upon a herd of horned beef cattle.  Mothers with there 300 pound calves all stopped mid-chomp and stared at us.  Kathi words were, ahh, what do we do?  I said let me handle the lead on this.  With some slow moving and herding ‘emmm boss’ we were able to move the momma’s and babies off of the trail enough for us to pass through.  Of course I did not tell Kathi that chances were pretty good that the Big Boss Bull could quite possibly be in this same fenced in area as us.  Why worry about it, we might not see him and better yet Big Boss Bull might not see us J  I’m sure he is tame as people walk through here all of the time.  Right?

After our third gate we are some 2 miles back into this hike and all I can think about is, why the heck did the Ranger think this was like the Conundrum Creek trail.  This hike is as about as deep in the forest as you can get.  It is perfect blue skies.  Not a cloud to be seen, which is if we could even see enough of the sky to check that out.  My thoughts are wishing that we had done something else today.  Kathi finally put voice to what she was thinking and amazingly it was the same as me.  This is a waste of a beautiful day.  Since the elevation is not going to change much we will be seeing spruce and aspen trunks for about 16 miles. 

We stop and hold a caucus.

            Will this hike open up?

            Do you want to spend the day doing this type of hike?

            What else do you want to do?

            By the time we get back to the Maroon Bells it will be after 9 am, can we still get in?

            If we have to take the bus can we get up and back by 5?

The caucus ends with the decision to quick hike it out and get us some views?  What took us one hour to hike 2 miles, open and close three gates, and chase a herd of cattle off of the trail; it took us 35 minutes to undo.  We were back in the car jiffy quick.  And no, in case you were wondering, no Big Boss Bull chasing us.  I am thankful for that!

Now we get to take the bull by the horns and drive up the ski hill of a road which we came down earlier.  As we drive up I am thinking that the map makers should put some sort of diamond rating system on the 4WD roads around this area.  If they can rank the ski hill runs, they should be able to classify the roads using the same system!

On the drive over to Maroon Bells, I call the Ranger station to ask if we can still get in the park without having to take the bus.  And if not where we might find this bus station?  He said if we had a pass it was good for 5 days and it did not matter when we went through the gate after we possessed a pass.  This is good news for us as we are sure that we will now have time to get up to Buckskin Pass and back down at our leisure without worrying about missing the last bus.  We are still a bit tentative as we drive up to the entry station.  We are worried as the information coming from the Ranger Station is sometimes ‘not correct’.  When we flashed the pass, the guy said we were good!  Yipee!  We feel free!

Snow Corness

Since we are now two hours past what we would normally be traveling up this road we are surprised by all of the road bicyclers.  We played biker dodge all of the way up to the top.  The bikers here take up the whole lane.  There are signs for them to stay single file, but they do not follow that suggestion. (I guess I am guilty of ignoring traffic signs too; driving 55 is my most frequently ignored sign.)  All of these bikers are old enough to be carrying their ARP card.  (I know they are old enough because I received my first invitation to join ARP this year!)  Anyway I am guessing the reason they are riding two by two or three across must be they are checking in with each other to see how much further they must go before they are to the top or where the next oxygen station is located. 

We manage to not hit any bikers and see that in fact most of them make it to the top of the road. Ok, off to the pass.  On the drive over we are still wondering if we should go up Willow Pass or Buckskin Pass.  I had time to read out loud the write up in the book and we are thinking we will hold out making that decision until the last moment.

The decision to ditch out of the wooded trail and trade it for this was a great one! Even while getting out of the car we were greeted by incredible views.  We do a reset on the gps, grab our packs and poles, and get on the trail.  Once again the trail up the Buckskin is not for sissies.  It is up and lots of it.  I think there are only two sections that we get some flat so you can get a rest.

This is really steep

Shortly after taking the junction from Crater Lake to Buckskin/Willow pass we meet a guy who is heavily laden with a huge pack on his back and then all packed up the front to.  We asked him if he had come over the pass.  He said he hiked up to 11,800 and set up camp.  Then at midnight he got up and hiked up to the top to take moonlight panoramic photos of the whole area.  Well, now there is a new sport!  We asked which pass he might recommend.  He said Buckskin was prettier.  Ahh at last we know where we are gong!  Thanks!!

 After about a mile and a half I needed a mole skin time out.  My big toe was thinking about getting a blister. So we sat down in a nice shady spot and Kathi snacked while I retro-fitted some mole skin in a shape of a heart.  The heart shape fits the big toe perfectly when wrapped half on the top, half on the bottom.  While we are sitting there a guy passes us in a good pace up the mountain.  Here we thought we had a late start, but he is behind the clock on us.  Back on with the shoes and off we go.  By the time we catch up with the guy who passes us he is standing at the snow bridge that Kathi and I played Snow Bridge Rock hurl at yesterday.  He is wondering how to cross or if it is safe.  We told him that we crossed yesterday and one should take a more upwardly crossing pattern.  As we are crossing he is telling us that he is hoping to get up to the pass, but can only hike until 2o’clock as he has to meet his wife down at Maroon Lake at 4 o’clock.  He gets ahead of us on the trail and is trying to get in as much hiking as he can in a hurry.  Kathi and I are in no big hurry as the weather looks like it will hold.  We sit down on a large rock and have a half of a lunch.  We watch people coming over the pass and watch to see how they are negotiating the snowfields.  Some go down and around, others just walk through.  . 

We can get glimpses of 2 O’clock man as he heads in and around the switch backs.  We slog it up to where the snow began.  There are patches that are very easy to get through and others involve a bit more planning.  Our eyes are on the left of the snow cornice as we are going to go over the top at the point.  We see some person off on the right side of the pass on some rock cropping.  He is coming down…  We look at each other and wonder if that is 2 O’clock man?  Sure enough we met up with him and he said he made it to the top.  Sat down took a few pictures and now needs to fast foot it back down.  I really don’t think he can make it in two hours; this trail is way too rocky. 

Wonder what the story is with this saddle sitting out just off of the trail.  But we can make up our own story starter.

I have never seen one of these signs before.

How about this for a quick scramble down.

Kathi and I scramble up the left side of the last portion of snow.  We find the side of the mountain has clumps of what will soon be wild flowers holding the dirt on the side.  We use those as stepping stones to take four or five steps, stop and look for the next four or five steps.  This part of the trip is seriously steep.  But stay in the moment and don’t look down, because it would be a fast exit plan.  We make the top of the pass in four hours after we started the second part of our hiking day.  From the top we are getting great views of Snowmass Lake and Snowmass Mountain.  What a great choice of a way to spend a day!  While sitting at the top we can see where 2 O’clock man went down.  That sure looks like a better exit than the one we came up on.  We trekked over to it and hand scrambled down.

On my last note for today the snow bridge had developed a hole that could only be seen by coming down the mountain.  We took a very high trip back over so we were not even close to the hole.  We of course hurled some rocks at the bottom of the snow bridge to knock off the end of it.  We also met a guy who was coming to go up the pass and we directed him away from the hole. While we were telling him, two other guys were filtering water from the creek and said they did not see the hole until it was too late.  They did not fall through but felt the bridge was very uncomfortable and wobbly.  Yikes! 

4 hours up, 3 45 minutes to hike down. 

Back home to pack up so we can move to Estes Park

East Maroon Bells + Up to Willow/Buckskin Pass Junction

July 14, 2011

East  Maroon Bells  + Up to Willow/Buckskin Pass Junction sign 11.1 miles Total 60.8

Another Beautiful Day

As I write this I am sitting outside of our rented condo in Snowmass listening to a free concert down at the center of the city.  Snowmass is filled to the gills with cars.  We managed to find the very last parking spot up at lot 13. That’s right, not only is the condo we are staying at the last one up the hill, so is the parking lot.   I can only imagine how full the town is when all of the skiers are here. 

We arrived home after 7 pm tonight as we went out for supper at perhaps the only off the beaten track eatery that is on a topo map.  Just a little dive of a place that has wonderful hamburgers!!! And truly it is on the Aspen/Snowmass topo map.  (A red fox just ran by and Kathi is hot on its trail trying to snap a picture of it.  Geez what a day.)  In case you are in the Aspen/Snowmass area the directions are:

Woody Creek Tavern:  off of 82 W take very first right hand turn after Brush creek road (Brush Creek road takes you to Snowmass) to Woody Creek Canyon.  Go to the T intersection; turn left drive until you come to the tavern.  The road gets skinny here and there are lots of cars.

We drove up to the Maroon Bells today, and there was no 4 wheeling necessary.  It is $10 a car for a 5 day pass.  Secret is that you have to be in the gate by 9 am or else you will have to take the bus.  We drove through and paid our $10 and drove to the end of the road and found a parking spot.  There were already 10 or so cars in the lot.  I think these were either people who backpacked camped the night or one of the several photographers who lug around their cameras/ mango lenses and heavy tripods.  Maroon lake and Crater Lake can make any picture taker look like a professional photographer, with or without the mango lenses!

Maroon Lake

We snapped about 20 or so pictures and then headed on down the trail for Crater Lake; where we snapped a bunch more.  Then off to the hiking trail to see what this side of the Maroon Bells looks likes.  The Ranger at Aspen told us that the rivers were running high and perhaps we might still be able to cross at a snow bridge at the first river ford.  It is a 3.6 mile hike out to that ford. 

Along the way out to the first major river fording, we had to cross several side run off streams that were coming down the side of the Bells.  Most crossings were rather straight forward and simple to negotiate.  We came to one that we were able to watch a man and lady balance across a section of pine trees that were laying across the rushing water then step into a large willow clump just on the other side, then wiggle their way through the willow and ta da, they were standing on the other side!  We are next.  As Kathi approaches the log all is well.  The next thing I know Kathi’s Olympic début for Balance Beam has gone seriously awry.  She had the dismount skill at the beginning of the balance beam routine and not at the end of the balance beam routine!  When Kathi stepped on the log to the right it moved and dumped her right foot into the rushing stream, then she lost her balance totally and the left foot went in also.  She fell backwards and landed on her butt.  Fortunately the butt landing was not into the water, but rather up on the bank.  She was ok, but no amount of water proofing can keep the water from getting into your boots when you go in up to your knees! 

Kathi after her 'dip in the water'

Kathi on her second try walks across and into the large willow.

Before we left for vacation I had purchased from REI these cute little quick dry towels that fold up really tiny.    You just toss them into some pocket in your backpack and use them if you get “wet”.  Hah, now is the perfect time to test those quick dry towels out!  We were able to use the towels to wick the water out of the inside for Kathi’s boots.  Then like all good hikers we pulled dry socks out of the pack to get Kathi up and hiking again with dry feet! 

We still had to cross that little spot, but were a bit more careful to put the dismount at the end of the balance beam routineJ  

The water is about 15 feet across here and about 4 to five feet deep.  Way too fast and deep to ford.

We found the hike up to the first river fording to be very rocky.  There were certainly lots of things to look at, but not the jaw dropping flower show that we saw from the other side last year.  Everything seems to be about a month behind schedule with the flowers and snow melting.  We reached the 3.6 mile river ford after 3 hours of hiking.  We found the water high and fast and we found the snow bridges to be less than ideal.   When you are watching water enter the upper end of a snow bridge and rush out the bottom end of the bridge you really wonder how deep is that snow yet???  Will it hold if we walk across it?  If we make it across, will it still hold us in an hour or two when we want to get back?  Crossing does not seem to be a “good idea”.  So we sit down and pull out our topo and study it to find something else to hike in this valley.  We set our sights on Buckskin Pass.  We had passed a spur to that trail way back by Crater Lake.  Before we leave we stand on the rock pile and play a new game called snow bridge rock hurling.  We tossed big ole rocks out onto the edge of the snow bridge to see how easily the snow bridge would break and fall down into the rushing water.  This new game was rather fun to see how far you could hurl a large rock and see if you could get it close enough to the edge of the snow bridge to bust it.  Perhaps this is just a game that seems fun when you are standing and wondering if that snow bridge would hold your weight, and decide not to try and find out J

Crater Lake

The hike back to Crater Lake is down in elevation and then we will have to go up to Buckskin Pass.  And in true fashion whoever built some of these trails decided if they ran the trail up next to a rushing stream you would not have to figure out where to build it.  This means you can forget about switchbacks you just go up, up and more up.  Up is not bad, but it takes about a good 20 minutes of my heart beating at a very fast pace to get use to the idea and get in the zone…  The views are spectacular!  The different colors of the mountain rock make this a special place.  We run into a volunteer ranger who is up on the trail.  We stop and talk and find she has lots of information to offer about the hiking in the area.  She is also a veterinarian and we talk about Hattie and she offers some ideas on books to read.  After a half hour of chatting we head on up to the trail junction where Buckskin Pass and Willow Pass divide.  We can see snow fields that will need to be negotiated up at Buckskin Pass and decide not to go the last 600 feet up.  It is getting late and we do not want to be caught in a thunderstorm up there.  So we sit down to have a lunch. While sitting there we see two people up on the snow fields crossing them to make their way to the pass.  From were we are sitting it looks doable.  Ah well, save it for another day!

We turn for the hike down and begin to create a list of hikes that we would like to do in this area if and more like when we come back.  We wish that we would be staying longer in this area and not traveling to Estes.  But the rooms are already paid for so we best just come back her another day.

The whole day was filled with sun shine and perfect temps.  What a great day!  Except for that part were Kathi took a dip…

Looking up at Buckskin Pass with it's Snow Cornice. Also watching people come down from the pass.

Cathedral Lake and Electric Pass

July 13, 2011  Cathedral Lake and Electric Pass   10.1 miles     Total miles 49.7

3600 feet of elevation gain today

He Climbed Cathedral Mountains, he saw silver clouds below

He saw everything as far as you can see…

Rocky Mountain High , John Denver

When we get out of bed this morning the skies look dark, but weather .com said it will be a mostly sunny day.  While eating breakfast and packing up the dark clouds move away and revel blue skies!  Our drive to the trail head is mostly down a paved road and only a mile up a 4WD road that is rather tame after yesterday’s wild ride.  We are the only car at the trail head and it is 8 am.  The book said if you are planning hiking up Electric pass you should start early and plan on being off of the pass by noon to avoid afternoon thunderstorms.  It is called electric pass as it is struck by lightening more often than any other peak in the area.  This is due to the metal content in the mountain.  Whatever it is, I think being below tree line during any storm is a smart idea!  When we leave from the car we know there will be some snow up by the pass but do not know if it will be passable.

The trail itself pretty much mirrors the rushing cascading waterfalls that tumble down the valley.  We have some good views of the water and stop to enjoy the show as the trail is up, up and more up. The views of this hike include lots of flowers to look at and some good tops of my boots.  This is because I am sucking some wind!  We try to make a turtle proud and travel up the trail at a reasonable speed. We try to keep our heart rates somewhere in the 80% to 85% of maximum heartbeats per minute while going up hill.  We have heart rate monitors on that are set to our age, gender, weight and such.  We have them to monitor our heart rate and make adjustments to our speed so we can be efficient.  Or in terms we all can understand, so we get the best gas mileage J 

Cathedral Lake is the blue lake at the bottom of this basin.

We stop occasionally to look at the views, but continue to climb steadily.  At one point about a mile and half in we are passed by some lady and guy.  They are on some Billy goat juice and are cruising up the hill.  I think they must be locals or they had a breakfast of Red Bull.  This trail is serious up!  We get to watch the Billy goat hikers zip up this section of 8 short but very steep switch backs.  These switchbacks make the up we have just gone seem like child’s play!  We turtle on and reach the sign indicating the junction for the Electric pass or turn to Cathedral Lake.  Since we have not seen any snow up to this point we decide to continue on up towards the pass.  We head up to a high basin and are treated with a view of the large open bowl filled with green not white snow.  We are able to see the trail heading up to the saddle.   Perfect this is better than we had hoped!



We think we need to scamper  through this keyhole but would need to go through the snowfield which is just off of the picture on the right side.  The slope of the scree and talus is very steep and slippery.



Picture of Electic Peak.  The pass is just to the left of the snow field at the top.

The switch backs are long and steady, the steps never feel hard, but the gaining of 3600 feet of elevation means the loss of available oxygen in the air.  No amount of cardio conditioning can account for working hard at 13000 feet…  The long sweeping switchbacks are totally above tree line and you get overwhelming views of the immediate area, but also of the Rockies for a hundred miles.  From the saddle of Leahy Mountain we can see hundreds of miles.  It is all of the peaks from the Collegiate Peaks.  We can also see the deep purple of the Maroon Bells and the cap of Capitol Mountain (Yes, the one from yesterday’s adventure).  Capitol Mountain is one of Colorado’s 14er’s and we can see the warren in trail that hikers and climbers take to summit that mountain.  Standing where I am and looking at Capitol Mountain, I have no desire to climb it…  It looks astonishingly steep! 

Lunch at a more reasonable angle.

While standing at the saddle two guys join us.  We are chatting while putting more wind breaking clothes on as it is cold and windy up here.  We are currently standing at 13100 feet and the official pass is 13600.  We have some more climbing to do.  The trail evaporates into a primitive track across loose talus and scree and sometimes totally disappears!  The four of us climb and scramble up to a snowfield and try to find a visual way around the snow field.  The loose scree and angle in which we are positioned on makes for some trip evaluation opportunities.  We are now at 13450 feet up in elevation.  This means we are within 50 feet of the top.  As best as we can tell we have around .2 or possibly .3 miles to go.  No one volunteers to be the first person to lay it on the line.  We sit and weigh the accomplishment of gaining 50 feet with the great views we already have to siding or perhaps tumbling down the loose scree and talus… 

I won’t tell if you don’t tell.  We were 50 feet shy of the official pass.  I think we can count it as achieved…  We turn and carefully find our way back down to a more reasonable angle of repose.  Here we sit and look at the views and have half of a lunch.  From our perch we can spot several groups of people making their way up the long switch backs to get up to the pass.  The basin bowl is so big that the people look like ants.

The skies have gained in cloud coverage, but this must be one of those select Colorado days where the clouds are not gathering up to rain monsoon style.  They are just enough to make the whole scene look like the perfect day!

Cathedral Lake with Cathedral Mountain in the back

We had on down to cathedral lake and find a lovely rock to plunk our selves on to enjoy the day some more plus we need to eat the second half of our lunch.  We are so blessed with a perfect weather day and the views of this hike make it a natural decision to return to this spot again. 

I can see why John Denver and other song and poem writers would have written about these Rocky Mountains and there love for walking in them.  Days like today are good for the soul

Mired in Mud and Muck Or Simply ... Foiled

July 12, 2011 Capitol Creek Trail plus Hay Stack Trail 10 miles Total 39.6 miles


Before I get to the hike for today I will update you on the boot situation. As many of you know we usually take two pairs of boots along on these adventures. Well Kathi’s boots will now have to have a retirement party and be sent off to the exciting adventuresome task of becoming the mowing lawn shoes or something like that. Also yesterday I wore my lighter weight Lowa’s and earned myself a heel blister within the first hour of our hike. Yes, we did stop and dive into the first aid kit to dig out some moleskin, but with my orthotics being so thick they raise my foot too far out of the foot bed and cause rubbing on the heal. So, back to the others boots which were doing a wonderful job of providing great comfort for this year’s trip. Oh yes, and continue to put mole skin on my heel for the rest of the trip. Kathi and I have the luxury of being able to put a fan on our boots every night to dry out the insides of the boots from the perspiration that has built up for the day. FYI if you have GORTEX boots your feet will be protected from outside wet, but the GORTEX also keeps the man made water in…The person at REI should add that to the selling point. 


Now for today’s hike it should be titled either of the following titles:

Mired in mud and muck or Foiled…



I will begin by writing the trail access write up exactly as written in our hiking trail book:



“Access to Trail head: Drive 14 miles west of Aspen on highway 82 to Old Snowmass, turn left. Continue 2 miles to the T-intersection. Take the right turn and continue 5 miles until the pavement ends. Follow the dirt road about 3 miles to the trailhead. The last mile is on a 4WD road. If you don’t have a 4WD vehicle, then park in the BLM meadow on the right approximately 2 ¼ miles below the trailhead. The road does continue past the Capitol Lake trailhead and climbs very steeply to the Hell Roaring trailhead. The road is slick when wet.”



We have 4 WD and wanted to take advantage of its power. We had a hard time finding the first turn off of Hwy 82 and had to back track after we missed the road that was not marked as it is on the map. Coming from the direction that we were traveling the road was called Aspen Way. After turning around 5 miles down the road we found the road signed correctly from this direction. I think that someone is playing with the road signs here…



We travel down the road all the way back to the end of the pavement and then proceed along the gravel road until we arrived at the first trailhead. We continue further and are quickly driving up a dirt road that is the width of the truck and a very steep grade. The road is hemmed in by Aspen trees and large boulders. We stop and switch into 4WD lock. We have a choice of 4WD Lock or 4WD Low. We have no idea which is the better choice for this type of terrain. This moment does not seem to be a good time to start reading the car manual.



The road is a heart stopper. I find both of my feet are almost pressed through the floor boards. At one point I tell Kathi that she should go slower… We were only going 5 mph. Kathi was worried that if we went any slower we would not be able to make the grade of the single width dirt track that we were going up. I was worried that any faster and we were going to bounce into a tree or boulder which hemmed us in on either side of the truck. Of the 2 ¼ mile up from the trailhead I only had to hold my breath for the last mile. I think Kathi put new hand grip dents into the steering wheel! I’m sure that National Rental will never notice the new dents on the steering wheel and the new depressions on the passenger front floor board. They did not even notice the car needed and oil change... So much of the last mile I felt we were going up such a steep grade that it was almost vertical and then throw in some mogul like dirt/rock features that you had to drive over made it all the more heart-stopping. As you drove up the mogul, you were not able to see anything that you might be driving into as the vertical was so steep you could not see what was on the other side until you came down. In many cases there was a big puddle of muddy water on the other side with no indication of how deep it was. We just hoped for the best.



I was sure the bottom of the truck was going to get hung up on. I knew that we did not have the necessary tools to be able to be able to free ourselves. I was wondering how long it would be before someone would happen up this road.



Upon arriving at the trailhead parking lot there were three other vehicles up there. It was very comforting to think we had others out on this road. However all I really wanted to do was find a change of underwear!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m starting to think that if we are going to take a 4WD road I should pack extra underwear as an essential item in my backpack.

Capital Peak is the tall one on the left.

We have two trail options to take back to Capital Lake. One goes down to the river and then works it way up the valley and joins together with the other trail. The trail the ranger suggested we take is the upper trail that skirts along the shoulder of the valley avoiding the drop and re-climbing. Both trails eventually met up and head on up to the lake. The skies are very ominous and heavy. The grass is dripping wet and within a half mile we have to stop and put on rain pants as we are getting soaked from the wet grass that is hanging over the trail. We have lots of views but we are trying to fast track it as the trail is easy and flat. Before long we find that the trail becomes single track, uphill and into the trees. At this point we encounter lots of mud and muck. We press on and find ourselves hot and sweaty so we stop to take off our rain pants as the trail is now just muddy and not so close with wet foliage. After getting out of our rainpants and putting them away, we put our packs back on. We do not even take a step before the rain starts. Ok back into the rain pants, add the rain coats and put the rain cover on the packs. It is just a sprinkle but we are not sure when the real rain will begin. In case I have not mentioned it yet, it is officially Monsoon Season here in Colorado.   I just have the ability to make it rain anywhere I go!

This is what crossing a creek should look like.  Nice big rocks you just step across on.

We continue up to another point where we see a trail that heads off to the left and the main trail heads up over the ridge. We stop and pull out the topo, GPS, compass. We study and decide we are supposed to head up over the ridge. We head over the ridge and down the valley toward Capitol Creek where the two trails meet up. We get all the way down to the rushing creek and see really high and fast water. The trail resumes just across the way; all we need to do is cross the “creek”. The ranger said just search up and down the creek by the crossing and you will be able to find a log, rock or something to hop across on…….We spent about a half hour looking for a rock, log or something…nothing! The creek is just too deep and fast.  So we turn back and head back out to the car.



As it starts to sprinkle, the clouds start to move up through the valley.



As we are back tracking we met a cowboy leading two young kids on a trail ride. He said we should have gone the other way… Arrgh! Foiled! At this point I am wondering if we will ever come back this way as that road to the trailhead is a huge motivating factor not to return. Kathi and I make plans while hiking back to the car. One of us will look at the topo map and locate another trail we can hike yet today which is close in proximity to the location we are in now. The other will read the car manual on the topic of 4WD Locked and 4WD LOW. Which one would be the better choice for driving back down this road? ( I’m also wondering if Disney World or Universal Studios should come and study this road for new heart stopping ideas for their next ride invention at their studios…)

I guess the sky is falling, we are up on the shoulder of the valley and the clouds are very low.

At the truck we find a trail that has its trailhead just 2 1/4 miles down the road. It is mostly for mountain biking, but hikers and horse riders can use it also. It would not be our first choice, but seems a logical choice given that we can not get back to Capitol Lake. All we need to do now is drive down the heart stopper road.



We drive down in first gear in 4WDLock. Once again 5 miles per hour seemed way to fast. But I found the drive down way less stressful than the one up. Perhaps it was because I had already installed deep foot depressions so I could get myself in a nice “braced” position for the trip down this double black diamond! I’m sure it also helped Kathi that she had personally formed hand grips on the steering wheel…



Hah, we survive to road, and are now parked at the lower trailhead. The one you should park at if you do not have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. I think they should post here one of those signs about health restrictions for driving on the road above here. Just like they do at Great America or Valley Fair some little warning about heart attack or need for a fresh pair of underwear might be a nice addition. I also ponder on the thought that the road actually would go further back into the valley to a place called Hell Roaring Trailhead.  I'm am quite sure at this point they have it correctly named!



Once down to the new trail head we head on out, only to find the trail so muddy and mucky that hiking up hill was a game of losing a half a step with every step forward. Step, slide back, quick step forward, slide, you get the hang of it. We hike for 1 ¾ miles into the forest of mud and muck before we throw in the white flag. We have had enough of this trail.



The Hay Trail might be fantastic for some, but it is the last trail that I will ever put on the “re-do” list. It is very closed in and mostly for Aspen Tree grove lovers. Well if you like mud and muck it is also a very good choice for a trail.

Hemmed in trail, there is actually a pond in this picture!  Lots of Aspen.

Kathi and I stand in a small clearing and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and turn for the car. The trip back through the mud and muck is just the reverse of the trip up. Our steps are slipping down the hill, but at least this time it is forward progress!



At the end of the day we did log some miles in the wonders of the majestic Rockies, but we really found the day a collection of foils, giving us the opportunities recognized that days like this just make the other days even more SPECIAL!

Rain off in the distance.  We are hiking right next to a herd of Beef cattle.  Fence makes a nice picture.

I am quite curious what Capital Lake actually looks like, but I seriously wonder whether or not I am up for the drive up the four wheel drive road.

It's a Conundrum

July 11, 2011  Conundrum Creek  trail     11.6 miles hiked                                Total miles 29.6

Starting elevation is 8824  Elevation at pond is 10200

If yesterday was all about adventure then today is all about wonder and beauty.  Not much adventure and a day full of dry boots!

You might be wondering if I have the name of the trail correct.  I do.  The name is said to come from a mining tale of there being some source of gold up this creek.  Miners worked the valley creek bed looking for the Mother Load source of flakes of gold that they could pan out of the creek bed.  No mother load was ever located and caused a Conundrum…    On the hike you can see lots of evidence of mining talus, parts of the mining road that miners once used to get to the back valley and even an old log cabin that is slowly melting back into the earth.

The road to the trail head is very easy to travel until the last half mile.  This half mile the road is just wide enough for one car.  Hilly, twisty and curvy, I am not sure how one would possibly pass another car that was trying to leave the trailhead.  God most certainly helped with traffic control as we did not have to try to figure out how to maneuver any passing cars during this half mile when arriving and leaving.  I think had we rented the Ford 150 the wheels of the truck would have been off of the road on both sides…  At least with the Dakota truck we had at least four inches on both sides of the vehicle to maneuver J

We find some parking but we are glad that it is Monday as I am thinking that this place must have been hopping during the weekend.  At the trailhead we see an unusual sign.  Upon further reading I see this trail is a total pack in and pack out trail.  And I mean TOTAL.  They even provide you with collection and pack out supplies and as an added plus, directions to pack out your poo…  I guess with all of the visitors and people spending more than one night here, they feel the conditions are too difficult to have the short summer weather compost what ever people would be leaving behindJ

As we start hiking we are walking right along the rushing creek.  Since the valley is still melting out, the creek is running fast and high.  The water is clear and has a blue tint to it.  Forget about carrying on a conversation while hiking close to the creek as the water is moving so fast that the noise blocks out all conversation.  We walk about the first mile and a half saying very little, just enjoying the views of hiking and watching the rushing creek. 

As the trail moves further back into the valley it moves further away from the creek making it easier to talk.  We are both amazed at how dry the trail is after yesterday’s adventures.  We enjoy the flowers and views of the surrounding mountain range.  The valley is steep and there is evidence of many avalanches that wipe out all of the trees, making the views spectacular!  Ok, before I go any further I will explain that we are in no danger of being part of an avalanche.  During the winter when the Aspen/ Snowmass area received some 600 inches of snow, the snow just piles up. Since the walls of these mountains are at such a steep angle the snow just releases itself and avalanches itself off of the mountainside down to the creek taking any trees right along with it.  This opens up the trail for some spectacular views up and down the valley.  So it is like going from a little forest to a beautiful meadow filled with flowers. We saw wide geraniums, columbine, Iris, Blue bells, purple bells, and purple crown vetch. Yellow aspen sun flowers and a bunch more that I do not know the names of. 

We also spotted two doe and one bounding buck in velvet.  We heard pikas but did not see any.  We also heard the bird that I love to hear in the mountain.  I do not know the name, but I think it sounds like the bird is singing into a tin can…

It took us 3 hours and 5 minutes to hike all the way back to the Silver Dollar ponds.  We would have really liked hiking up to the hot springs to take in the scene, but the trail was flooded and the last river crossing was well let’s say challenging  or maybe extremely dangerous…  Imagine fording across a creek which is running fast.  The depth would be somewhere around waist high, and to help you go across someone has strung a black rope across so you can sort of hang on with your hands and hope for the best…

We didn’t need that type of adventure just to see a pool of sulfur water at a constant temp of 102 degrees.  Well, maybe since clothing is optional, it might have been interesting, but not if it meant crossing while trying to hang on for dear life.  We certainly did not bring any climbing harness and I did not hear that any one was gong to belay us across the creek.  We had already had a creek crossing that was on a tree the size of a toothpick.  So we sat down at the ponds and had a wonderful peanut butter and jelly lunch.  The skies were the best that we have had since arriving.  Temps were in the 70’s.  We actually sat down on a rock and took in the beauty for a half hour.

The trip back we talked about how this trail might have been what Oh Be Joyful might have been like if we had not been walking with our heads down…  We just really found this hike to be a special hike.  It was just right in every way.  Today’s hike offered views galore, flowers, trees, smells, sounds and history.  All the ingredients of a perfect day!

Got back to the car at around 2:48 and drove into Aspen. (In case you are wondering the truck continues to bing it’s change oil warning every time you turn it on.  I wonder how many times we will start this truck before we can ignore the distracting bing?)  We walked around downtown Aspen and decided we did not make enough money to be walking around down town Aspen…

But since Aspen is a Star studded town at least I tried to see if I could recognize anyone… No such luck.

What a hike, beauty, history, environmental science…A hike of natural balance !