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