So somehow living in Colorado my entire life I have managed to not visit the Maroon Bells which is pretty much the “classic Colorado mountain photo” that everyone else in the world knows Colorado by. And so finally after 37 years I made it.
Clint and I were less than a 2 hour drive from Aspen from where we stayed after our trail marathon and so I decided we would make the trek and use it as an excuse to hike and stretch our legs post race. It didn’t hurt that it’s also September and the leaves are just beginning to change….honestly I think in a week they will be absolutely be stunning, but I took advantage of where we were when we were close.
We rode the bus up early and were some of the first people to the area Sunday morning. And we couldn’t have asked for a better day. We chose to hike to Crater Lake which lies at the base of the Bells about 3.8 miles round trip or so. Our sore legs made the journey and it was breath taking. Crater Lake, and Maroon Lake were low on water, owing to the poor snow and spring rains that we had last year, but that barely detracted from their beauty.
And so now I guess I can call myself an official Colorado native having hiked Maroon Bells…of course to add to my official Coloradoness I spent the afternoon watching the Broncos play their first game of the season so I think i earned bonus points.
Hiking Mommy 