Coloradical
The inspiration for my trip to Colorado was as simple as promotion for cheap flights on Frontier Airlines. I couldn’t resist the call of the rocky mountain state so I planned to fit as much adventure in my week as possible. The trip was charmed from the start when I ran into a friend from college and her brother who’d decided to take advantage of the same deal I had. They were going to visit their parents, but we grabbed a drink together in Denver before heading our separate ways.
I’d picked travel dates to coincide with my birthday, but I’d also picked the perfect time to see Fall hit the mountains. My first full day in Colorado I drove out of Denver and over Independence Pass into Aspen. The eponymous trees sparkled a golden coat on the mountains. My sights were set beyond the city of Aspen to the Maroon Bells, a pair of mudstone peaks watching over a glacier sculpted basin. This scenic overlook is reputed to be the most-photographed spot in Colorado and it’s not hard to understand why.
The majestic Maroon Bells as seen from Maroon Lake
To help control the traffic to the peaks, the road is closed most of the day and one has to take a shuttle from Aspen up to Maroon Lake. Opting for a more scenic access route, I decided to park as close to the overlook as allowed and make the remainder of the approach on foot. I’m glad I did too, because the trail was one of the most beautiful routes I’ve ever seen. It ascended gradually through changing colors of Aspens in the midst of beautiful undress before the winter freeze.
Enchanted by the area, I camped here for the night and decided to take a longer hike toward the bells themselves the following day. Further exploration of the area only served to peak my imagination more, but unfortunately an ascent of either Bell was out of the question. Referred to as the “Deadly Bells” they are a technical ascent that requires class-5 climbing on treacherously unstable rock. Given the opportunity though, I’d love to come back and see this famous view from the other side someday.
The approach to the Bells left me breathless
After leaving this high altitude Eden I set my sights south towards Salida, CO, and a little bit of two-wheeled adventure. After a night overlooking the Collegiate Peaks, I found a local shop called Sub Culture Bicycles to rent a ride from. The owner of the place was there and offered to loan me his sick single speed whip to tool around on some XC tracks. At this point, I could feel a cold coming on, but I didn’t want to waste a day of adventuring.
Unfortunately, the by the next day I wasn’t able to deny my body's signals any longer and decided I’d earned a day of rest. I spent most of the day taking it easy at a hot springs near the base of Mt. Princeton, reading and trying to burn off my cold. By the end of the day I was feeling well enough to plan on my final adventure of the trip, a trip up to the sky.
My steed for the day
No Colorado adventure is complete without standing above 14,000 feet so I spent my final night of camping at the Mt. Elbert trailhead. Mt. Elbert is the tallest of Colorado’s peaks, but it’s gradual ascent has earned it the nicknamed “Gentle Giant.” The weather report predicted afternoon thunderstorms in the area, so I planned for a dawn patrol ascent and set my alarm for 5 a.m.
True to it’s reputation, the trail up Elbert went quickly and even above timberline it was smooth and relatively gradual. A bit of excitement was added by a dusting of snow that began to fall in the last hour of my ascent. The weather was more of a powder coating then a flurry though and added a bit of Winter wonder to a trip that had been accented with Fall colors. The clouds made visibility at the summit poor, but seeing the mountain in it’s fresh winter coat made it all worth it.
While visibility was limited, there was no shortage of beauty to be found on the mountains summit
After a quick descent of the mountain, I headed back into Denver for a night of rest before my flight home. I crashed at a friend’s house in the city, crowded with as many housemates as it had rooms. It felt a little bit strange to be around so much energy after days spent solo in the backcountry. But with my cold still lingering and a bit exacerbated by my frosty climb, I was happy to spend the evening lying on their couch watching on-demand. After a week of vacation, I really needed a to relax.
The director of a camp I spent a summer working at called Colorado, "God's Country."