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| no partners | | We had an AirBNB reserved a good while back in Glenwood Springs to meet up with Colorado sister to do some Maroon looping. The whole area there caught fire and also now, sister couldn't connect via I-70.
Noel made a quick decision to get a new 1st night place to stay. Little did she know that the town of Marble is a great entrance to the Bells, adds some 4wd funning, avoids Aspen people, covid shuttles, and $30 a day in parking after paying for the bug bus.
We figured out that sis could shave a ton of time off her detoured drive by taking Independence Pass. Night nurses drive at night and in the morning at our stay in Marble, after some sister lateness, I rechecked the navigations only to find her route roads somehow no longer connected. I was bewildered until I found out that the big rigs that couldn't take the 70, were also trying but failing to shoot over the pass. It was completely closed down due to cabs and their trailers accordioning on rocky cliff sides.
She showed up just shortly after and hadn't even know about the shutdown, she had just made it through.
We started the adventure with Dana letting me drive the Lead King Loop (counterclockwise) over to the Geneva trailhead. We hiked up to the lake and had camp 1.
The next day we hiked up and over Trail Rider Pass and down to Snowmass Lake.
Seriously don't bother camping here. Somewhere along the way, we've all come to the same compartmentalized understanding that backpackers are somehow supposed to be nicer to the world than dayhikers, dayhikers better than Jeepers, Jeepers much better than non-Jeep SUV's, who are better than Razors (which are just chainsaws with strap-on, [let me finish] seats if there's enough room between all the speakers, which are probably still better than unicycle riders, etc. (This is where if I could draw, I'd draw hunters riding chainsaws through the forest shouting over to each other, "Where are all the animals at?" *optional unimpressed stepkids strapped to the back learning new swear words from the speakers just sandwiching them in.)
All that just to say that this is not the case at Snowmass. If you do camp at here, you will either have to move above ground toilet paper to setup your tent or move it where you setup your stove. (This is where if I could draw, there would be backpackers next to a Snowmass sign with an arrow to big white mountain that at first glance you can't tell is just a looming wadded up mound of white paper.)
It also kinda maybe looks like the forest service thought that just clear-cutting more trees around the lake would shy away private-squats but maybe it's just encouraging arm-linked mud-huddles.
*Bonus points to the guys drying their clothes over the No Camping Here sign at the lake outlet while directly next to it setting up their tent and fire.
Meanwhile... We were getting tired of people passes and passes with people so we went down river. Noel went to paint, Dana went to fish, and I offtrailed down to them from camp to the lower lakes. This was much more my style and probably had the most fun in the thick woods, trying to follow the outflow in and out of the gorge, down to the Snowmass Creek confluence, then out to the flats. Saw some tracks but not the bear. Dana did pretty well on the fishing and we decided this was her most fun so we cooked up her catch and changed the loop plan.
Now we were going to princess and the pea ourselves one more night at the lake, avoid the Aspen folk at Maroon/Crater Lake and avoid 3 more passes (fyi, chatter reports hard to find water near West Maroon Pass and through Frigid Air Pass) and backtrack Trail Rider, then hike down the cutoff down to North Fork and camp our last night at the same place our last night was supposed to be if we had done the full loop, at Hasley Basin junction camp.
We all enjoyed fewer ups (although the cutoff trail is more of a slide sometimes) more fish, painting, and down-creek explore time in the valley. The hike down the North Fork was great towards the end. There was lots of shade and better camp spots.
We made it back to the vehicle and finished the King loop, parted ways, and Noel and I went to stay in Rico.
My loops keep getting smaller but also getting funner.
If only there were shovel mount options on backpacks like roofracks .
*Maybe there should be a Covid observation notes added to the wildflowers and autumn on trip reports. We saw 1 group of people backpacking with masks on. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;
May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;
Armchair Crisis Design |
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