Maroon Bells (Monday, August 22nd, 2016)

We slept in a little bit this morning, and then headed back toward Glenwood Springs to catch highway 82 South to Aspen.  Today we are going to Maroon Bells, two of the 14er's (which means that they are a mountain who's peak is 14,000 feet or more above sea level).

As we approached the town of Aspen, we hit traffic, and I mean a lot of traffic.  The Aspen airport is directly next to highway 82, and we had the pleasure of watching three planes take off while we sat in traffic.

But eventually we made it through all of the traffic, and enjoyed the scenery as we made our way to Aspen Highlands Village where we would catch our bus to Maroon Bells.

Maroon Bells has become so popular in the last few years that you can no longer just drive up.  You now have to take a bus from Aspen Highlands Village, through the White River National Forest, about 8 miles further up the mountain. Parking in Aspen Highlands Village was $5.00 per car, and then it was an additional $8.00 per person for the bus. The buses are very clean and comfortable.  They seem to run about every 15-20 minutes. 

The drive up is beautiful, but nothing in comparison to looking at Maroon Bells itself.

Once you reach the bus loop at the top there are lots of options for how you spend your time.  There are lots of hiking trails, some of which will take you to the peaks of the Maroon Bells which require multiple days of back packing.

It looks more like a painting than anything you would see in real life.

We opted for a short hike called the Crater Lake Trail.  It is about 4 1/2 miles round-trip, and takes you up to the base of the Maroon Bells.

There is a lower lake near the bus loop called Maroon Bells Lake. It is very popular, and most people make it down to the lake.  There is a trail that goes around this lake, but it was closed today because a young male moose had made it's way down to the lake for a snack. 

The rangers said he was about 18 months old and weighed in at about 1000 pounds.  They had to close the trail for the safety of the moose and the guests.  

There was a boisterous group from New York that rode the bus up with us, and shared our time at the lake as well.  They kept asking each other "Is it real?"  They were in complete disbelief that a real moose could be standing in the lake so close to them.

We enjoyed a few minutes watching him before we made our way up the Crater Lake Trail.  We were able to look back over Maroon Bells Lake, and catch another glimpse of the moose as he stood there in his home.  What an incredible sight!

More aspen trees with their white trunks.  This is some of what the Rocky Mountains are known for.

Most of the trail was pretty uneven and rocky, but there we're a few flatter, softer areas.  We also crossed several avalanche fields, full of boulders as we made our way up to Crater Lake.

There is snow that remains on the ground year-round at Maroon Bells

Crater Lake is not a volcanic crater, it is a glacial crater, created by years of moving ice.

Steve taking pictures of me taking pictures!

We had packed ourselves some sushi for lunch, and when we got to Crater Lake, it had started to rain.  So we found ourselves a nice dry spot to sit and eat.  

As we were eating, a man from Florida came across our lunch sight, which was actually a designated camp site, and said, oh is this site already taken?  We explained to him that we were just having some lunch and we would be leaving soon.  He looked around at some of the other camp sites and decided that he liked our site the best, so he came back and we enjoyed talking with him. He had been hiking through Maroon Bells for 3 days, and would be camping one more night and then heading back home.  He had been eating freeze-dried meals throughout his entire trip and had been purifying water that he found along the way.  

Steve and I offered him a piece of sushi, and he graciously accepted it.  We then ate about 3/4 of our sushi and decided that he would enjoy it more than we would, so we gave the rest to him, and he was so excited!  We also gave him some extra water and banana that we had, and again, he was really excited to have such fresh tasting food and water.  It made us feel good to help him out.

As we started back down the trail, we encountered these unique looking mushrooms.

There was also a little a girl that had made it about 2/3 of the way up, and was not thrilled about the hike.  Her mom and brother were waiting on her as she made a scene because she didn't want to continue on.  As we passed by, she looked at her mom and said.  "I just want the last hour and a half of my life back!"  It was all I could do to not burst out laughing.  It was the funniest thing I had heard all day!  By the look on her mom's face, I could tell she didn't agree with me, so I just kept my mouth shut.  Here she is on the trail, making her way back down begrudgingly.

When we arrived back at Aspen Heights, we thought we would finish our afternoon exploring the town of Aspen, but as we entered the town, the traffic was once again really bad, and we decided that we would rather head back to the hotel and relax once again by the Colorado River.  So we settled for a few pictures of the Aspen Highlands Village area instead.

A doe and two fawns wandered by on the opposite shore, which of course made me happy.  I haven't seen a bald eagle yet (a goal i had set for this trip), but I decided that a moose and three deer make up for it.  I'll just have to be content with that.

Tonight's dinner was leftovers from the Miner's Claim in our room with the door open to the beautiful view outside!  Hooray!

After a great day of hiking on sharp rocks, our feet are a little sore and tired, so we took advantage of the hotels hot tub before we called it a night.  A wonderful day in the Colorado Rocky Mountains!