Bucket List Long Time Coming

Today was a big day! My favorite day of our Colorado trip so far. We left our Campground (Difficult Campground East of Aspen) and rode our bikes to the Maroon Bells, 16 miles one way. I think I first saw a picture of the Maroon Bells when I was about 18. I have always dreamed of seeing it in person. I lived in Colorado, only a few hours away, for 2 years...and in fact passed through Aspen back then, but did not make it to the Bells. Today was a glorious day...sunny but not hot. It wasn't crowded. You have to have a reservation to drive up, or ride the shuttle bus up. OR...you can ride your bike! Win win!

Aspen has a fabulous system of walking and biking trails. We were able to get all the way there with only about 1/2 mile on a road. It was awesome and beautiful!

Once there, we locked our bikes, changed into hiking boots, and enjoyed the view of Maroon Lake with the Bells behind it. We then headed up the trail to Crater Lake.

This trail is only 2.8 miles round trip and rated moderate difficulty. This trail pulls you in gently, and once you are hooked it ratchets up the difficulty! It begins with a gentle rise through breathtaking Aspen groves just whispering gently to you. You cross a bubbly stream flowing down the mountainside. The trail gets more and more rocky until you are doing nothing but staring down so you don't trip and break something! I love a good rocky trail....this one wins the prize. At the same time, the steepness of the trail is increasing also.

We stopped often to catch our breath...it's hard for those of us who live at 300 ft elevation to adjust to over 7000 ft. We used those opportunities to just gape in wonder at the beauty around us. But we kept going. Several people coming down said " keep going....it's worth it!" There was no question we wouldn't keep going. We finally came to a scree field. It's just a field of boulders and stone. The trail meandered through it but we really had to watch our footing. Then the lake came into view just barely peaking through the trees.

To get to the lake, the trail took us through another magical Aspen grove with huge boulders. The light breeze causing the leaves to sing. Finally, we crested a small hill and there it was. Like a twin sister almost to Maroon Lake, but even closer to the Bells. We were standing at their feet.

We found a place to sit and had our picnic with the best view. We took lots of pictures and spoke to some of our fellow hikers. If there is a more beautiful place, I don't know it. I did not want to leave, but it was time. I thanked God for allowing me to see this incredible place.

It took us a total of 2 hours and 35 minutes to hike up and back, including our picnic. We were almost the last people to leave.

I have many hikes on my all-time favorite list. A great hike, to me, has 2 things. One, it challenges me. It pushes me toward my limits....length, elevation gain, trail condition...rocky vs smooth, etc. Two, there is a payoff. A beautiful vista, waterfall, etc. This one is right up there with my top favorites. It had everything a great hike should have.

We biked back the way we came, 32 miles total. We left at 10:00 am and got back at 5:30. It was a perfect day and I so blessed to have spent it with my sweet husband.Læs mere