Maroon Bells Loop Hike Day 3

July 28th, 2008

I think I slept 10-hours, which was exactly what I needed.  The air of this new day was fresh, and thankfully, I was feeling like a million bucks - no headache!  I finally licked the whole altitude sickness. Lauren and I made our usual breakfast (granola cereal), packed up our gear, and we began our trek. 

 

The trail skirted the North Fork Creek, revealing even more dramatic falls - however the trail also began its own steep, downward trek.  After a quarter mile of knee jarring hiking, we came down into a lush meadow, and to our right was a stunning cascade of falls that Pete Coors would be proud to use in one of his ads. Lauren and I paused to take pictures and marvel at the beauty.

We were at 10,400-feet, our lowest ele

vation since our beginning at Maroon and Crater Lakes. The vegetation continued to be lush, and the flowers were ever more plentiful.  Again, more columbines, daisies, paintbrush, bluebells, and countless flowers I could not identify lined both sides of the trail.  Lauren and I were shocked at the numbers of flowers in this valley, and of course I snapped more pictures.

Following this showcase of flowers began a grueling 2,000-foot climb to the top of Trail Rider Pass, which would provide some of the most adventure and drama on this trip.  For one thing, this climb was steep, and any misstep would literally lead to a terrible fall. Second, the weather was getting ugly early.

Clouds were brewing dark over our pass, and low rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance.  Lauren and I filled up on water and took a lunch break (tuna and pita) at a small stream. Rain was beginning to spit on us, and I told Lauren that if it were to get worse that we would hunker down among a stand of trees.  Lo and behold, the rain started to gain strength, so we retreated to the trees and pulled out our umbrellas. The rain, however, was short lived. While we waited, we saw another hiker (the only other person we saw all day!) walk by and make his way up towards the pass.  So, we resumed our climb.

We climbed up further until we finally had a slight descent into a high meadow with a tarn and several rock and tree outcroppings.  Finally, we could see where the trail led up to the pass. Unfortunately, there was more rumbling and I even saw a flash of lightning out of the corner of my eye.  Although we could see the other hiker ahead of us climbing toward the top, I felt that it would be best to pitch the tent in a low area and wait out the impending storm. Once again it began to rain, and immediately Lauren and I pitched the tent and hunkered down.

For two hours we waited in the tent for the storm to pass.  At times, the storm looked like it was going to break, but then the rain would pick up again. Around 3:00 blue skies emerged, and the sun shined, so we packed up the tent and resumed our climb.

We picked up where we left off with a continued steep climb. Although Lauren and I had two hours of rest in the tent, our legs had cooled down, so we were trying to gain our stride again on this uphill.  The climb was slow. 

The view from Trail Rider Pass was breathtaking, but short lived.  Instead of taking a snack break, Lauren wanted to keep moving down the other side of the pass.  I couldn't blame her, since we were cooped up in the tent for two hours.  Nonetheless, I had to get some pictures. Perhaps one of the more dramatic sights on the trip was at Trail Rider pass, as we gazed down upon Snowmass Lake, a placid, turquoise mass of water nestled at the bottom of steep, surrounding mountains. What a sight!

The descent down Trail Rider pass was technical.  First, we had clouds brewing again, so we had to make a quick descent if we wanted to avoid the possibility of lightning.  Second, we had to cross a few snowfields, which ran along very steep slopes - one bad step and either Lauren or I were going sliding down the mountain. So we took our time going down the mountain.

The trail came within a stones throw of Snowmass Lake before heading off toward Snowmass Creek.  We were at the base of a mountain, and deep in the woods, which made for both good and bad.  Good in that it started to rain again, and we had the trees to provide cover, and bad since we were in vicious mosquito territory. The afternoon had also grown to early evening, and were were looking for a place to camp and rest our weary bodies.

As we made our way through the woods, we saw more tents than we had seen through the whole trip - my fear was that we might be hunting for campsites late in the day.  We eventually came to Snowmass Creek, and crossed it on a double log traverse. After crossing, we really kept our eyes peeled for sites.  We followed the creek for about a quarter of a mile before we came to a fork in the trail.  The left fork would take us up further on the trail, and the right would lead us down toward the creek and a possible campsite, so we took the right fork.

About 100-yards down, we climbed the hillside up to a relatively flat area. The area did not appear to get much usage, but we did see an old fire pit with old, wet coals that were scattered about. Lauren spotted a suitable site to pitch the tent, so we called the site home for our last night on the trail.  We cooked up my ramen-rice-dehydrated veggie dish, played two games of Scrabble, and then called it a night. Again, the rush of the creek (Snowmass) lulled me to sleep.

Maroon Bells Loop Hike Day 2

Sunday July 27th

I hardly slept last night. My head pounded throughout the night due to altitude sickness. I was even awaken by Blaine, who asked me, "Chris, what kind of animal is that?" When I looked up, there in the dim light was a porcupine. "Psssssssst!," I responded, "a scared one," and the porcupine waddled off. I laid my head back down to try and get more sleep.

A few hours later all of us were awake. When Blaine crawled out of his tent, he noted the condition of his shoes. Apparently, that porcupine, who visited early in the morning, decided to make a meal out of Blaine's Avia shoes. All the leather was shredded on his left shoe, but amazingly, it's structure was still in tact. We all had a good laugh about it. 

After eating our breakfast, we packed up the tents, and we continued our journey to the top of West Maroon Pass. Blaine told me that he didn't sleep a wink through the entire night. On top of that, he came on this trip with a cough that he had been fighting since Tuesday, and had only gotten worse. He told me that he was not feeling well, but he was going to give the hike a shot. However, after about a mile and a half of hiking, Blaine told Lauren and me that he just could not go on. His cough had grown worse, and the exertion and altitude was of no help. So we decided together that Blaine would head back to the car to get medical attention, and Lauren and I would continue on the loop. After an emotional moment, we said our goodbyes, and like that, Blaine was heading back down the trail, and we were continuing.

Lauren and I continued up the trail to West Maroon Pass. Both of us lamented that Blaine could not be with us, but we felt that we had made the right decision in continuing the trip. As we climbed we left the shrubs and trees behind us, and now we were among red rocks, patches of snow, and occasional wildflowers. The sun had grown high, and the temperatures were warming. I was sucking wind, and my head continued to pound from the lack of oxygen.

Before long, Lauren and I reached the top of West Maroon Pass, and the view from up there was phenomenal! The new view to the west revealed a lush, green mountain landscape with scattered patches of snow and two small lakes, and immediately below was a steep descent over a red, rocky mountainside. Lauren and I took a healthy rest break on the pass, where a number of other day hikers had also congregated.

The descent from West Maroon Pass was indeed a steep, knee-jarring experience, but thankfully it was short lived. The elevation drop was about 600-feet, and then the trail leveled out for the journey toward Frigid Air Pass. Scattered along the sides of the trail were more wildflowers, but unfortunately it was hard to appreciate them since there were more mosquitos on this side of the pass. During our hike the day grew warmer, but a slight breeze created very ideal hiking conditions.

As we approached Frigid Air Pass, we were initially confused about the location of the pass. Ahead of us, and to the left of a peak was snow-covered shoulder, which we thought to be our pass, but it was not. A weathered sign on the trail pointed us to the right of the peak, and straight up a hill, so we began our second climb of the day.

On the Pacific Crest Trail, I always remembered that climbing two passes in one day was quite the chore, even for an experienced hiker. Out here I had only been on the trail for less than 24-hours, and here I was climbing my second 12,400-foot pass in one day. Over the course of the climb, my head was pounding, my breath was short, and my energy was spent. Thankfully, Lauren had a more relaxed pace, which allowed me to take it more easy on the climb and not burn out so quickly. On top of the pass we absorbed to incredible views down into the North Fork valley. Again, it was another beautiful sea of green with splotches of snowfields littering the landscape. We took another break on the pass, where I just about fell asleep.

Gathering clouds in the sky forced Lauren and I to start making tracks for our campsite somewhere in the North Fork valley, so we left the pass.  As we made our steep descent, I kept looking back at the pass, and I noticed that the clouds continued to consolidate and get darker - rain was on the way. Still we never felt rushed to get to our campsite.  There was something about the day that was reassuring and relaxed.  

Confirming that notion were two hikers who caught up to us and asked, "Are you Freefall and Tenderfoot (Lauren's trailname)?"  

Surprised, I responded, "How did you know?" 

"On the way up," he replied, "we ran into Blaine, who told us to be looking for you."

"Where did you see him?" asked Lauren.

"Second creek crossing," he replied.

It was good to hear about Blaine, and that he had made it down that far.  However, I thought back to that second crossing, and all I could see in my mind was Blaine crossing that creek and shuttering from the ice cold water (see video from Day 1!).  According to those two hikers, Blaine was heading to Aspen to find a place for the night.

Around 5:30, Lauren and I found a nice campsite close to the creek, and the timing could not have been more perfect.  Just after I set up the tent, it began to rain.  I pulled out my sleeping bag and mat and I laid down and let the pattering rain lull me to sleep.  I was out.  

An hour or so later I woke up.  Unbelievably, I was feeling like 100%.  The headache was gone, and I felt full of energy. Lauren, who had also taken a cat nap, was awake and talking about eating the dehydrated lasagna that had been reconstituting in our packs for the day.  After the rain died, I fired up the aluminum can stove and cooked up the lasagna.  I was overjoyed, since it turned out perfectly!

The skies began to clear again, and I took the opportunity to explore our campsite.  Near our site was a small, but cool waterfall, so I took some pictures.  As is became dark, Lauren and I huddled in the tent and played another ruthless game of Scrabble.  One game tired us out enough and we turned in for the evening. Despite my earlier nap, I went to sleep very quickly.

Maroon Bells Loop Hike Day 1

Saturday July 26th

After a wonderfully prepared breakfast by my sister-in-law, Robin, I hopped in the car with my brother Blaine and my niece Lauren to head up to the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. We traveled for 3 1/2 hours from the Denver area on Interstate-70.  Since we were backpacking the loop, we could take the car up to the parking area instead of having to take the shuttle bus, which actually arrives every 15-minutes at the trailhead.

When we got to the ranger station, it was spitting rain on us, and the ranger told us that the weather pattern was consistent - clouds build up around 3 p.m. and there's a 40% chance of rain. The ranger also asked me if I knew about the snow conditions on the passes, and I told her that I was aware (I really didn't).  She went on to tell us that they had a heavy snow year, and that the snow is still melting off up high, and that we might need ice axes and crampons to traverse the passes. My party of hikers certainly did not plan for that, but I also thought that she was over-hyping the situation.  Seriously, this was late-July, and there couldn't be that much snow up there. Right? 

After parking the car, Blaine, Lauren and I took a moment to use the facilities and get our gear in order one more time.  The skies looked like they might clear, so we put on our sunscreen, "cameled" up on water - that is, we drank as much water as we could to stay ahead of getting dehydrated - and we began our hike.  The time was around 4:00 pm.

The first mile and a half  is an approach trail to the actual loop hike.  It is a well used path skirting the shore of Maroon Lake, and it provides perhaps one of the most photographed features in all of Colorado: the Maroon Bells. The bells consist of two peaks, which rise over 14,000 feet, and it is a popular destination for climbers looking to bag a Colorado 14'er. Striations run evenly and gently through the face of the bells - a seeming uniformity to an otherwise chaotic mass of rock and scree. It is a beautiful sight for the eyes, and it is no wonder that thousands of tourists visit here throughout the year to catch a view of the Bells over the still, reflecting water of Maroon Lake. The approach trail alone was worth the visit, but as an experienced hiker, I knew that there was a lot more the Maroon Bells than this one sweeping view.

On we hiked on this approach trail, passing numerous day hikers and climbers.  The tread was characteristic of the Rocky Mountains - yes, it was rocky!  However, it climbed gently through a lush, green aspen forest.  We arrived at the wilderness permit station, and we made things official for our four day adventure. Again, we climbed over rock and rubble, and then we came to the junction of our loop.  Taking a right at the fork led to a steep climb up Buckskin Pass, while a left led to Crater Lake and a "gentler" climb to West Maroon Pass - naturally, we took a left at the fork.

The woods opened up to another stunning and up-close view of the Maroon Bells.  This time, Crater Lake provided a foreground view. As we walked down to the lake, a marmot (our first wildlife sighting) stood up among a thick pile of sticks and looked at us curiously.  Again, this trail appeared to be well-trodden, yet perhaps the furthest limit of the casual day hiker. Once again, the trail moved into a thicket of bushes, and then it came to our first stream crossing: Minehaha Creek.  The creek was wide and shallow, but void of rocks to walk on, so I took my shoes and socks off and crossed. 

Beyond the creek, the trail previewed what we would encounter for the rest of the trip: lots and lots of mud. However, along with that mud, came rich, moist, fertile soil filled with wildflowers.  Bluebells, columbines, paintbrush, yarrow, and daisies were in full bloom, and in tandem with the already colorful landscape gave deep meaning to the phrase to "Colorful Colorado."

After a short rest break of Clif Bars and Jerky, Blaine, Lauren and I came to Maroon Creek, our first formidable stream crossing.  The current was swift, and the creek appeared to be over two feet deep in some places.  Initially, I was going to cross without shoes, but looking at the obscured rocks underneath the current made me think twice about that option.  So I kept my shoes on, and I crossed the creek.  The water was freezing cold, and by the time I reached the other side, I felt like my feet were popsicles.  Lauren was next to cross, and had the same reaction to the cold that I had. Blaine also mulled crossing without his shoes, but reconsidered after trying to take a step in the water.  All of us had wet, cold feet, yet I made reassurances that since we were wearing sneakers that they would dry out.

Further we climbed up the trail.  Again, the mud and water on the trail made the hiking slow and tricky.  At one point Lauren stepped in mud so deep that it almost sucked the shoe off her foot.  Fortunately for her, we had one more crossing of Maroon Creek, which cleaned all the mud off her shoes.

Since the hour was getting late, and it was beginning to spit rain, we looked for a place to rest for the night.  Across the creek and over a wet, spongy mountain side, we found a forest glade next to Maroon Creek, which had what appeared to be an old, seldom used campsite nestled in the trees.  This was home for the night.  We set up our tents, made a macaroni and cheese supper and got settled for bed.  Blaine, Lauren and I gathered in the two-man tent and played a game of Scrabble. 

As I lay in my sleeping bag, my head was pounding with an altitude-induced headache.  I had come from sea-level in San Francisco the day before, and here I was in thin air at 11,000-feet. My head was pounding badly, so much that I could not fall asleep.  Despite my condition, I was happy to be out in the wilderness, with a roaring creek to relax me and fresh, cool air to breathe.  I had come home.

Blog Catch Up! Trails! Trails! Trails!

I've been so busy on the Hapkido / Bicycle front that I have neglected to post about hiking. I have three trips to post over the next two weeks: Yosemite over Memorial Day Weekend, A hike in Point Reyes, and an upcoming hike to the Maroon Bells - Snowmass Wilderness with my niece. I am also in the works of planning a section hike from White Pass to Cascade Locks on the PCT in Late August - Early September. Stay tuned! More to Come!

Freefall

Fires Contained in San Jacintos

This article caught my attention the other day, and I was reminded of how precarious things can be out on the trail. It seems that every year, there has been a fire somewhere along the trail that has forced hikers to be cautious or get shuttled up the trail and beyond the fire danger. In 2003, I remember that the trail was closed at Rainy Pass in Washington, which had many hikers taking different routes to Canada.

Hiking through recently fire devastated areas can be depressing. The canopy from the trees is, in most cases, gone. The soil is loose and dry, and dust flies up from each step of the hiker in front of you. Little vegetation grows from below.

However, hiking through burnt areas that have been recovering for several years shows promise and hope. There is something to be said about the natural effect that fires have on a landscape. They return nutrients to the soil, sometimes release seeds from pine cones, and they strengthen forests by eliminating dense underbrush. Some of my fondest memories from 2003 was when I was hiking through burned forests filled with young saplings and beautiful wildflowers. It was like I was experiencing a piece of the resurrection in my own hike.

That said, I hope fires are not being set intentionally for the sake of aforementioned benefits. Of course, the forest service does controlled burns to "help" forests, but I'm talking about the PCT here. Hopefully, the hikers out there can enjoy the rest of the trail without having to be diverted or denied access.

Scrambler's Hike of the PCT

In 2005, I attended the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick-Off (ADZPCTKO), and I met Scrambler, who had recently finished a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2004. Scrambler was no ordinary hiker, because she was just 10-years-old when she hiked the trail. Of course she didn't do this journey on her own, since her parents Gary and Barbara accompanied her on her journey.

Yogi e-mailed me a link of a podcast with Scrambler and her parents talking about her hike. One of the things I discovered to be so cool is that she was the one who had nudged her parents to do this hike! I thought it might be the other way around. It only goes to show that sometimes it is our children who are the pioneers and trailblazers in our families, be it in hiking, praying or spending time together. Way to go Scrambler!

Last summer I took my niece out for a 5-day backpacking trip on the Rae Lakes Loop in King's Canyon National Park. Over those 5-days, I reacquainted myself with my then 16-year-old niece, and I cannot imagine a better way I could have spent time with her. We hiked together every day, met interesting characters, ate all our meals together and played Scrabble every night. What a wholesome trip!

When I hear Scrambler's and her parent's story, I think of the beautiful and stark contrast to the culture in which we live. Many parents shuffle their kids off to an extra-curricular activity (nothing wrong with that) to another (now getting overwhelming) only to come home and watch TV at the end of the day. Some parents send them off to numerous camps over the summer because of the difficulties of having the kids around the house all the time.

How many parents can take 6-months out of their lives to be with their son or daughter for an entire journey along a National Scenic Trail? Very few. I can only imagine the incredible bonding that happened between Scrambler and her parents in 2004, and how a journey like that will be so educational and provide rich experiences that will be with them for the rest of their lives. If only every family could do something like this at least once.

10th Annual ADZPCTKO

I just got back from the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off (ADZPCTKO), which went very smoothly.

Attending this year's event was Eric Ryback, who is recognized as the first to backpack the Pacific Crest Trail in 1970. Eric did for the PCT what Earl Schaffer did for the Appalachian Trail: inspired countless hikers to attempt a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. His book, The High Adventure of Eric Ryback, is an easy and detailed account of his southbound hike on the PCT, and it drew a lot of interest in the trail.

I had the chance to meet Eric and have him autograph my copy of his book. I even got a picture with him, but I will have to wait for my friend Teatree to send me a copy of the picture. At any rate, Eric was a very pleasant and humble man, and he was so excited to be at the Kick-Off to share his account of his thru-hike.