This is the cast of characters: Angela, Kevin, myself and Brian. This is the location: Denver, Maroon Bells Wilderness, and other various locations in the state of Colorado. Objection: Four days in the backcountry exploring mountain passes and alpine lakes at 10,000-12,700 feet above sea level, to eat as many vegan doughnuts as possible, and see friends I have not seen in some time. Why: It's my vacation!
Before we talk about backpacking we first we need to talk about food! Daily vegan doughnuts at Beet Box Cafe.
All you can eat vegan pizza with the Denver Vegan Meet Up Group. So many different options but the blueberry pizza was a bit disappointing.
"Chicken" & Waffles at WaterCourse. We also had Cauliflower BBQ "Wings" which were spicy but pretty good.
Now back to the "adventure" part of the trip. This is the area we went to outside of Aspen.
Kevin, Angela, Brian and I got on the trail around 11am after the 3.5 hour drive from Denver. After seeing a bear and leaving a beautiful aspen grove, we started to gain elevation.
This is our campsite at the end of day one. Rain and hail early in the afternoon sent us scrambling to set up our tents. The next morning Kevin and Angela had to head back to their cars while Brian and I continued on.
We saw marmots, jack rabbits, and deer along the way.
Snowmass Lake (10980 feet) where we stopped for lunch and to soak our sore, tired feet.
The bugs were pretty bad but the scenery was well worth it.
At the end of day two we camped next to Snowmass Creek where we washed off our sweaty, hot selves in the ice cold creek. Brian stayed in longer than I did because I'm a wuss.
Day three: climbing up towards Buckskin Pass.
This is the view from atop Buckskin pass (12,733 feet).
View of the meadow on the other side of the pass. You can see Willow Lake, where we ate lunch, in the center right of the photo.
We had to cross a couple of snow fields to get up and over Willow Pass.
View from the top of Willow Pass. It was a pretty brutal hike up and over the pass. The day was hot and since we were above the tree line there was no shade.
After going over 3 passes we finished day 3 at a nice camp site near a creek. Great fire, good food, and cribbage. I felt pretty crappy as we were making dinner; probably from the horrible sunburn I got that day. Next time I will reapply sunscreen.
Back through the aspen forest as we hiked down to about 8,000 feet.
End of the trail!
Kevin, our savior, picked us up in Snowmass after we hitched a ride from the trailhead. He also brought us fresh peaches!
From there we went to this awesome spot for some cliff jumping into ice cold waters.
Then we followed it up with a soak in some hot springs along the Colorado River.
And the day got even better! After soaking we heading over to the town of Silt where Coalatree (a skateboarding clothing company) has an organic farm with a killer skate ramp. Austin, Sam, and Zach (not pictured) were our amazing hosts.
Super sweet mini ramp next to the river.
Zach and Austin playing "Follow Me".
This is the view from the yurt I slept in. Crazy storms formed around us all night long but it didn't rain a drop.
The next morning we started our trip back to Denver. After soaking in another hot spring I found my favorite vegan cookies at a local health food store. "Too good for share!"
On to Boulder Creek where we went tubing and made good use of the rope swing.
I finished up the trip helping Angela install blinds in her house. I'm happy to report that there were no injuries resulting from the improper use of power tools.
