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| Backpack | 25.80 Miles |
6,300 AEG |
| | Backpack | 25.80 Miles | 1 Day 4 Hrs | | |
| 6,300 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | The centerpoint of my week of road tripping was intended to be a backpacking trip. I had some longer ideas mapped out in the Uintas or Weminuche, but at the last minute I had the idea to do the Four Passes loop while permits aren't required. Since I was coming from the Carbondale side, I decided the Geneva Lake TH would be the most convenient access point. So, I headed through Marble early in the day, and got to the sign that said "Spicy" to the right and "Very Spicy" to the left.
Thinking the focus was not supposed to be on testing out my 4x4 skills, I chose regular "Spicy", which I figured also lets me see the "ghost" town of Crystal. Everything was on track until I passed through town, and saw the second warning sign about road quality and how it requires short wheelbase and an experienced driver, but I figured, it's only a mile right? Well, I think that mile to Lead King Basin might be the "Very Spicy" part, because I made it a half mile, with at least one obstacle that I thought could possibly have fatal consequences if executed poorly, and decided I don't want to be back in a place like that and find my vehicle won't start for some reason. I then decided to try and get to the West Maroon TH up by Schofield Pass, but I found the road to be impassable due to a large, inconveniently placed snow drift.
So, I had to scramble and come up with a backup plan; I had read about Avalanche Lake earlier, and could be at that TH within a half hour or so, so off I went.
Tuesday - ~9 miles
Two other vehicles at the TH. I liked my odds of finding a campsite. Nice easy walking, though a bit warm when the sun was out. There was a warning at the TH about a bridge being out at 2.5 miles, which is the crossing of Hell Roaring Creek. It's not the hardest creek crossing by a long shot, but I suppose they want to warn the day hikers. At around 4 miles the trail crosses an interesting washed out area covered with pink dirt, which presents the only minor route finding challenge of the trip.
~5 miles, Duley Park, which is a giant open meadow surrounded by nice mixed conifer on one side and aspen on the other. Pretty place. Deadfall gets a lot more frequent after Duley Park.
After this I saw (presumably) the owners of one of the vehicles heading the other way. At around 7 miles I saw another hiker headed down who told me she had seen a bear with three cubs on the Capitol Creek trail. So, both cars were now accounted for, so I'd probably have the canyon all by myself tonight!
I was thinking I'd kinda like to lug the pack for a shorter distance, and just as I was debating whether to set up at a decent campsite I found or go a little further, I heard thunder, so I decided to get my tent set up and hunker down. I think this was around 2pm... Took a little nap, woke up and didn't hear rain, so I decided to see if I could day hike up to the lake. Just after I started off, the rain started picking up, more steady than before, so I waited under a giant spruce tree for awhile and decided to hold off and do the day hike in the morning. It turned out to be a pretty boring afternoon, without the rain stopping until 5pm or so, and socked in with clouds until it got dark; but I was actually kinda glad I wasn't at the treeline like I would've been on four passes.
Wednesday ~17 miles
Set an alarm for pretty early, 5am I think, but I actually woke up a little ahead of it when the birds started chirping at twilight. Quick coffee and breakfast, then I packed up my gear so I'd be ready to go, and headed up the trail. Before too long I was at the Capitol Creek trail junction, and I decided to head up to the Capitol/Avalanche pass first, since I wanted to check it out, and I'd be less willing to do it later. This was a pretty enjoyable stretch, with a couple of alpine meadows and finally the treeline. At the pass, Capitol Lake is right below, and Capitol Peak looms directly above. I believe Snowmass Mountain could be seen on the way up to the pass as well. Best part, didn't see anybody else up there (unless you count the marmots).
After taking in the view, headed back down to Avalanche Creek trail, and headed up to the lake. Just past the Capitol Creek trail there are some campsites that almost made me regret not walking in the rain to get there. The lake itself is also pretty, being below treeline it's not like most of the alpine lakes you see in Colorado, and since the air was perfectly still, I got a lovely reflection of the mountains on the surface.
Went back down to get my pack, filtered water, then headed back down. Shortly thereafter I ran into two small parties headed up to the lake. I had been getting the sense that I might not be able to stay dry on the hike out, and about 3 miles from the car, I felt rain drops. By about 2.5 miles, all hell broke loose and it was a heavy, cold downpour and every flat spot on the trail was filled with water. It's amazing how quickly and frequently Colorado changes between hot and dry, and cold and wet. The rain let up about a mile from the car. I've never been so glad to take off my shoes...
This was a fun one, and I don't think it gets as much attention from the tourists like the four passes loop. One could probably make this part of a six passes loop using West Snowmass, Capitol Creek, and Silver Creek. |
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