Preface: This was the trip that "almost" didn't happen. Original plans were for three of us to backpack the Wind River Range in Wyoming but after Sue having a chronic foot problem this summer, we decided not to do a huge backpacking trip. Colorado looks appealing, we could do day hikes, a short backpacking trip and act like tourists visiting towns and shopping. Connie decided to join us as this trip looked more like something she would enjoy. Truth be said, I am probably the only one of us that is overly crazy about backpacking. We still camped each night except for the first and last nights that were related to our air travel schedule.
I did write my usual journal on this trip but will only skim the highlights or downlights as some may be:
August 25: Sue, Connie and I flew out of Marquette. Connie had traveled here the night before so logistics would be easier. Our trip was prefaced by a misplaced parking ticket fiasco....Sue's husband Jim had dropped her off and parked the car...then I would follow him to his hanger to store my car next to his plane. He was parked for maybe 15 minutes and wanted to exit the lot but the ticket was nowhere to be found...that meant he couldn't get out of the lot without the ticket which entailed getting security. In the meantime, I wondered where he was? They would let him out but not before paying the minimum of $35...This had to be dealt with later as no one would believe him or us!
Our plane was late getting out of Marquette meaning we had to run like hell when we hit Minneapolis. We grabbed the tram and luckily made it on our flight to Denver.
In Denver, Julie's plane from Phoenix arrived within minutes of ours and we were all together...our luggage miraculously made it too....life was good! We stayed at the LaQuinta and picked up our rental vehicle in the morning....a Suburban.....what a monster!...We teased Sue about practicing for her future life when she retires....driving a big RV!
August 26: We were off to Boulder...it was 90 F in the shade so we decided to do our acclimatizing by shopping at REI and MontBell rather than climb the Flatirons.
We picked up the rest of our food supply at Estes Park, bought some bakery and set up our camp for two nights at Moraine in the Rocky Mt National Park. We had an awesome site that I had previously reserved with a huge backdrop of mountain scenery.
August 27: The first night we all heard a huge chorus of coyotes...and I mean huge! We packed our day hiking packs with necessities. We walked right to the shuttle from our camp site. We met a group of local women called the Friday Frolickers who were very friendly. We switched shuttles and we were dropped off in the Glacial Gorge to do a few hikes including The Loch and Mills Lake.
Highlights were seeing a ton of elk and meeting a couple who were in their 26th year of volunteering at the park...incredible, they were at least in their 80's and hiking all the time.
Downlights were that Sue and I couldn't find Connie and Julie. At the time they were ahead of us as we were busy taking pictures. I kept walking and didn't come across them after asking several people if they were ahead of us.....of course, everyone indicated they were......yes, "two women, sun hats and one blue shirt"....after awhile instinct told me that they weren't, so we returned to a spot where we were shaded by a large rock...after another half hour they came walking from the other direction....Yikes, Sue and I had ducked into the bushes at separate times and they must of sneaked on by...........well, we all got a lot of extra walking in. Sue and I met a local and he told us of another way of getting back...it was really cool and it was unmarked and untraveled....just what I like!
August 28: It was a crazy night of elk bugling...I love our camp site. It sits far back from the road and is rimmed by meadows with large rocks and mountains in the backdrop. In the morning we packed up our tents and drove to the Bear Lake TH.
We were to hike to Odessa Lake and this trail was fabulous. There was tons of loose rock so it was slow going but pretty. We stopped at a short unmarked spur that the local had told us about yesterday and the views were fantastic (it's great to get hints from locals as they know the best places). The descent to Odessa was very picturesque. We turned around as we neared the bottom as we wanted to drive through the rest of the park today on the Trail Ridge Road.
As we traveled the road, it mostly threatened rain but had only mini-showers. We got out at various overlooks and took short and scenic hikes at others. The road winds all over the place with huge drop offs but is in remarkable shape. Highlights were the tundra, more elk and the Alpine Visitor Center. After we left the park proper we found a camp site in the Arapaho National Recreation Area at Shadow Mt Lake. As we settled for the evening lightening flashed everywhere across the horizon. August 29:
The drive was very picturesque, we stopped in Vail and enjoyed the farmer's market where we bought bagels..supposedly the biggest farm market in Colorado. We next stopped in Glenwood Springs where Connie and Sue opted for the outdoor hot springs pool and Julie and I opted for a shower. We would have opted for the pool but neither of us had a bathing suit or appropriate swim attire (who wants to rent a bathing suit...yuk?) I have been there before so it was no big deal plus it was 90 F outside at least.
We headed towards Aspen exploring many possibilities to camp...the national forest campsite signs were mostly hidden from our view so we drove to Maroon Creek where I knew of three campgrounds.
August 30: Rain continued into the morning, we thought about hiking but headed into town instead. Aspen as noted is a very upscale community. We wandered amongst the shops where the best of the best is apparent. We did buy bakery and pondered over a shop called "Travel Jewelery"...I really never thought about having to wear travel jewelery so someone wouldn't rob me...but then I guess most all of my jewelry could be considered travel jewelery...I guess I have one less thing to worry about!
We drove back to camp and made preparations for our backpacking trip starting tomorrow. The day was mostly cool with intermittent sun.
August 31: After a rainy start to the day, we arrived at the trail head, filled out the required registration for backpackers and picked up our poo bags. I was surprised to see very few cars at the long term parking lot as every mention of the Maroon Bells warns of crowds of people.
The trail started off very rocky. I wondered how Sue would do with all the rocks if the whole thing was this way. We took a few breaks along the way and then slow and steadily marched to Buckskin Pass where the elevation is nearly 13,000 ft.
The views of the valley were as spectacular as promised. We stopped for lunch at the top and were relieved that it was mostly downhill the rest of the day. Our map didn't exactly line up with some of the landmarks but we settled into camp. Views at Snowmass Lake were pretty but not as idyllic as seeing it from Buckskin Pass.
September 1: We had a long climb ahead but we soon were at 13,000 ft again but not before seeing lots of pikas and marmots. Mountain goats gathered below the summit. We definitely saw more people today but it was getting closer to the holiday weekend which is the last hur-rah for a lot of people. On the way back we stopped at Crater Lake to take a break and then navigated through the rocks.
We got back to the trailhead around 5 PM and secured a camp site at Silver Bell. We learned from the ranger that we could obtain a shower at the Aspen Recreational Center for an after-hours price. Eight bucks each later we were clean and headed to bed. The night temps were quite cold.
September 2: Today we would drive back to Denver but not before making a few stops along the way. We drove over Independence Pass, stopped in Leadville for bakery (sense an overall theme here?) and found the REI in downtown Denver (which used to be a power plant -amazing!) after we got directions from a man in a brown uniform...known as the UPS man!!
September 3: Most of us had early flights but that didn't mean we would be home early. Sue and I had a layover of almost 8 hours in Minneapolis due to the airlines eliminating one flight while we were gone. The airlines doesn't call it canceled, but instead, that it doesn't exist??? Anyway, we spent our time dilly-dallying, riding the trams for fun and just yakking before Connie landed on a different flight. The flight to Marquette ended with cheers/clapping for the pilot as he landed safely in the midst of almost 70 mph winds, 42 F and raining crazily...welcome back Yoopers! Julie arrived back in Phoenix to 112 F...different worlds for sure. It was a great trip with a mix of types of fun for everyone. We'll surely be on the road as a group again next summer. BTW, Sue's foot cooperated very well and hopefully she is on the road to full recovery.
I have three picture albums from this trip for your viewing pleasure:
Part 1: Rocky Mt National Park, CO
Part 2 : Colorado
Part 3: Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Backpack Trip
I just took a short trip to one of the local islands. I actually packed enough for a few days but a simple 24 hours was enough to calm my soul. I'm in between two big trips right now, so I didn't want to stay away from home too long. There is a simple beauty in the island that is ever changing. The island is very quiet at this time of year and it felt like I had the place almost all to myself. How great is that? 
August 26: We were off to Boulder...it was 90 F in the shade so we decided to do our acclimatizing by shopping at REI and MontBell rather than climb the Flatirons. 
August 31: After a rainy start to the day, we arrived at the trail head, filled out the required registration for backpackers and picked up our poo bags. I was surprised to see very few cars at the long term parking lot as every mention of the Maroon Bells warns of crowds of people.
