Aspen Fall Colors and the Bear Scare September 27-29th, 2008

My parents have been visiting us for about a week and a half now and this past weekend we drove up to Aspen for a long weekend to enjoy the leaves, mountains and for a bit of adventure.

It was beautiful on Saturday when we set out for Aspen to enjoy the glowing colors of the changing leaves. We took 24 out through the mountains and made a quick stop at Independence Pass. We got out of the car and the icy wind hit our faces. It was starting to snow and the air was silvery with the fog looming overhead. A quick stroll up to the lookout was all we needed, and the mountains and ground were beginning to collect snow. We took our “ever so famous picture” at the Independence Pass sign and then made a beeline back to the car as the wind was blowing through us.

We started to come down from the top of the pass and we noticed the weather was starting to give us a break. The icy wind started to recede and the sun began to break through the clouds. Nearing Aspen we stopped the car and hopped out to see the road lined with glowing aspens.

The drive through the town of Aspen is always such a thrill. The details in the architecture and the surrounding mountains make it my favorite ski town by far. However, where we stayed was just outside Aspen, in Snowmass Village, a town equally gorgeous, just not as big. On our way to Snowmass we made several stops to jump out for pictures. The mountains and hills were golden with the late afternoon sun shining down upon them. It’s an experience that you can only have in that part of the country. We had arrived, let the 2 days of adventure begin!

We began the day early on Sunday and pulled into the Maroon Bells Recreation area at 8am. Even at that time, the parking lot was full and we had to “create” our own spot. Walking up to the lake, the first thing you notice is that the shore is lined with photographers. Everyone was setup and in place for when the sun has completed it’s ascent over the mountains to illuminate the forest of golden aspens below the Bells. Jeremy and I decided we had about an hour or so until the perfect light was in place, so we made our way past the lake area to the hiking trails. There were a few spots in the aspen forest that the sun had touched, so I deviated from the path a bit to bask in the glow...

I am shaken from an almost dream-like trance that had been induced by the glowing aspens, when I hear a loud grunt-like roar. It takes a minute to process what this large roaring creature in the forest, less than 20 yards away from me was. I come-to and realize that it was a large brown bear (we are still in discussion over whether or not it was a grizzly or not) running through the forest, thankfully it was running away from me. Too stunned to lift the camera to my eye and press the shutter, I just stood there for a second, then I took off towards the path yelling “JEREMY!” I caught up to him, and told him what I saw. He wanted to go back and find the bear, but it was long gone. By then, the sun had reached over the mountains and we headed back to take some pictures at the lake. We finish up at the Maroon Bells and get ready for the rest of the day’s adventure.

We headed north about 40 miles up to Hanging lake for a pretty intense, but well worth-wild hike. The hike was a 1.25 mile forest canopy covered dream. A stream wound it’s way up the trail along beside us, sending a cool breeze our way in the midday heat. We gained about 1200 feet in elevation on the way to the lake, a lot of the steepness being in the last part. Once we emerged at the top of the canyon an incredible, emerald lake with 2 waterfalls stood before us. We took the boardwalk around to the side of the lake to get a little closer to the waterfalls. The mist from the waterfall hit our faces and we were rejuvenated. We made our way back across the boardwalk and down a path that we passed by on the way to Hanging Lake. The sign said Sprouting Rock, so we went to check it out. Sprouting Rock is a great place to get your feet wet, it’s a waterfall that appears to be “sprouting” from the side of a cliff. It was time to begin our trek back. It’s far more of a challenge to get back down than it was getting up to the lake. It took half the time, but you must remain focused on the ground and rocks below your feet. We were all pretty tired once we made it back to the car, we were ready to get back to the townhouse, throw our burgers on the grill, and relax in the hot tub.

On the morning of the next day, we set out for the Maroon Bells, one more time. Mostly to see if we would see another bear...j/k. After we took all of our last pictures, we went back to pack up and be on our way back to the Springs. We took the less scenic route this time, via 70. About 5 hours later we were back in our driveway. Our trip was over as soon as it began.

Until next time, Monica