ASPEN
We
took Tuesday off. We had tackled two
serious hikes over the prior two days, so a recovery day was in order. We also had a long drive ahead of us. We had reservations for that night at the
Silver Queen Campground near Maroon Lake, outside of Aspen. I hadn’t planned a hike in that area, but
wanted to make a return visit to one of the most beautiful places in the Rocky
Mountains. Neither of the Bobs had been
there, either.
Tuesday
dawned sunny but cold. We had breakfast
before breaking camp from the same sites for the second morning in a row. We left the campground and took the scenic
route to the west side of the park. We
drove down through Horseshoe Park, passing more elk herds. Then we drove up Fall River Road. It was a slow drive on a dirt road, but we
were treated to some nice scenery along the way. I’d thought about making the short hike to
Chaos Falls, but the trail was closed for repair. We drove up to Trail Ridge Road, but headed
back east to the Alpine Tundra Nature Walk.
We did that short stroll despite fierce winds and startling cold. The conditions were harsh, but the clear sky
offered great views.
After
that leg stretcher we drove west down the Colorado River valley and on to Grand
Lake. We stopped a couple of times along
the way to check out fall foliage. We
stopped in Winter Park for lunch at a pizza place. Then we drove over Berthoud Pass and on to
I-70. The fall color was outstanding
here along the lower slopes of Grays and Torreys Peaks. We drove on to Frisco, and were treated to
views of more big mountains. These peaks
were covered with a fresh layer of new snow.
However, the views were mucked up a bit due to a hazy sky. Later we found out that the haze was due to
smoke from a huge wildfire in Grand Teton National Park – in northwestern
Wyoming!
The
scenery wasn’t all spectacular. We
passed a bunch of mines along the road to Leadville. We stopped in Leadville briefly so J Bob
could check a couple of gear stores for a rain suit. From there it was on to Twin Lakes and more
outrageous fall foliage. We then drove
up to the Continental Divide at Independence Pass. We did another short leg stretcher there to
take in the views, but the chilly weather kept our visit brief.
From
there we drove down to Aspen, and then up to the Silver Queen Campground. The road to Maroon Lake is only open to
private vehicles at certain times of day, and a fee applies. Most visitors are required to take a shuttle
bus due to limited parking. One way
around that is to make campground reservations in advance. That gives you full access to the area.
The
drive up Maroon Creek Road features outrageous scenery. We were treated to breathtaking views of
Pyramid Peak (14,025’), the Maroon Bells (14,163’), and other big
mountains. The entire area was at the
peak of fall color – there is a reason why the city of Aspen has that
name!
The
Silver Queen is a very small campground nestled in an aspen grove a couple of
miles from Maroon Lake. There are only a
handful of sites, so it was a good thing that I’d made reservations. Setting up camp was a challenge, as we had to
squeeze 3 solo tents onto a single pad.
We eventually figured that out, but there wasn’t any extra room to
spare!
We
drove up to Maroon Lake for sunset.
Maroon Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve seen. It sits at the foot of the Maroon Bells –
Colorado’s most photographed mountains.
And there were plenty of photographers on hand when we arrived. I’d guess there were at least a dozen tripods
set up along the lakeshore. I joined
them, and took lots of photos of the Bells reflected in the calm waters of
Maroon Lake. Fall color on the
surrounding slopes was at its peak, which added to the beauty of the scene.
We
stayed until dark. I started packing up,
and the Bobs had started back to the car when I received a real surprise. A moose strolled out of the woods and into
the water on the far side of the lake.
It was way too far away for a photo, but it was still cool to see. It even made a strange gurgling noise while
it was drinking.
We
returned to camp after dark. J Bob
grilled us chicken over the campfire.
The meal was delicious, and we headed to bed shortly thereafter.
We
got up before dawn the next morning. We
drove back up to Maroon Lake for sunrise.
More photos ensued, and the light was better than it had been the
previous evening. However, there was a
bit of a breeze, so the scene didn’t include any reflections in the water.
We
returned to camp, cooked and ate breakfast, and broke camp. We then drove back to Aspen and continued on
to Somerset, Delta, and Montrose. The
drive started out scenic, but the coal mines around Somerset weren’t
particularly attractive. After Somerset
we temporarily left the mountains behind.
We drove through high-desert before climbing back up into the Rockies at
Ridgeway. We drove on to Ouray – a cute
mountain town nestled among dramatic peaks.
We found a campsite at the Amphitheatre Campground just beyond
town. The Silver Queen Campground was my
favorite car campground of the trip, but The Amphitheatre was a close
second. We took two adjacent sites and
set up camp before having a late lunch.
We
decided to do a short hike to the summit of Twin Peaks that afternoon. The Twin Peaks tower over Ouray, and they
looked like a reasonable goal for a ½ day hike.
I found a trail description on summitpost.com using my phone. We followed the directions to the trailhead,
which is just outside of town.
Unfortunately, the directions led us to the Old Twin Peaks
Trailhead. What we didn’t realize is
that the Old Twin Peaks Trail is closed less than a mile beyond the
trailhead. There was no sign or anything
else indicating this at the trailhead kiosk.
I was a bit pissed when we hiked uphill for 30 minutes only to find out
that we had to turn back. On the upside,
the old trail did take us to an overlook with a nice view of Ouray and the
surrounding mountains.
By
the time we returned to the car, we didn’t really have enough time to find the
correct trailhead and do the hike.
Instead we picked up some groceries in town before heading back to
camp. I was still determined to get some
exercise though. There is a network of
trails surrounding the campground, so I picked up a trail map from the friendly
campground host.
We
ended up doing a short loop hike combing the Upper Cascades and Portland
Trails. It was a nice hike, featuring some
surprisingly large aspens and a few nice views.
We
had fajitas for dinner that night along with a campfire and some beer. We headed to bed early though, as we were
planning to rise early the next morning.
I was determined to get in another good dayhike, and Thursday would be
our last chance. We would be spending
Thursday night at a hotel in Durango before starting our backpacking trip on
Friday.
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