4 Pass Loop: Aspen Colorado

Another week of foot clinic down and I was due for another trip to explore the Colorado mountains. The plan was to meet Spencer and Annie Weiler in the parking lot of Maroon Lake sometime during the night and then get up and run the 4 Pass Loop.

The Four Pass. We did it in a counterclockwise direction in the order of Buckskin Pass, Trail Rider Pass, Frigid Pass and Maroon Pass. 

The 4 Pass Loop is a 28 mile route that circumnavigates the mighty Maroon Bells (Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak) which both are over 14,000ft. The rout climbs up and over four different passes that are over 12,000ft  while starting at only 9,600ft. The total elevation change is around 8,000ft. It is burly!

I left Denver around 7pm and after a quick stop to grab a cheap rain poncho I was on the road. Aspen is about a 3.5hr drive from Denver and it gets a little longer when everyone in Denver heads for the hills at about the same time. The drive there was awesome, climbing massive mountain passes under a full moon. I arrived in Aspen a little bit after midnight and was glad I had the wagon which allowed me to stretch out in the back.

Spence and Annie were parked next to me when I awoke and we preped for the run. Annie had sprained her ankle the week before and opted out on this adventure. Spence and I were on the trail around 6:45am.

Maroon Lake. 

The sights were absolutely unbeatable and these pictures don't give it justice at all.

View from the top of pass #1, Buckskin Pass. We came up the canyon to the left. 

Buckskin Pass. Our next objective was the lake below the gray mountain rang in the middle. 

Snowmass Lake!

View from top of pass #2, Trail Rider Pass, looking down at Snowmass Lake. 

Spence heading down off of Trail Rider Pass. 

Looking down from pass #3, Frigid Pass. We cam up from way down this canyon to the left. 

View from top of pass #4, Maroon Pass. We came up the left canyon and are headed down the right canyon. 

Notice the super rocky train. Below there you can the lake that I thought was the finish. Wrong, that one is Crater Lake and I finish at Maroon Lake. 

Spence didn't bring his Excedrin and ended up getting a brutal headache due to the altitude. He had to dig deep. He used this run as a training run for the Wasatch 100 mile race he is doing in September. In the condition I was in I couldn't even dream of doing another 72 miles of similar terrain and I beat him to the end by 19 minutes. I wish him the best in his gargantuan undertaking. A 100 miler may be in my future, someday......not today.

Reward.

During the drive and run I was able to get in a few awesome podcasts that covered a whole heap of topics such as cash or curse scams, reality TV show of a one way trip to Mars, Good Science vs Bad Science according to TEDx, The New Testament and tons of other things. Running and driving are great times to learn and think.

Colorado is providing some stellar adventures!

The STATS:
Distance: 28miles
Elevation climbed: ~8,000ft
Time: 8hrs 25min
Calories consumed: CliF Energy Gel x2, Power Gel x1, Nature Valley Granola Bar x2, Clif Bar x1, Clif Shot Bloks x1 pkg. Total calorie count of approx 1,120.
Water consumed: approx 3 Liters.