My friend and I went camping at the BRB Crystal River Resort, a little campground in Carbondale situated just along the edge of the Crystal River. The land was far more modest than its name would lead one to think, though the campground did have hot showers and flush toilets which is more than I've come to expect!
In lieu of a campfire, we lay along the bank of the river and looked at the stars, which bubbled across the sky as the Milky Way flowed between them. I haven't seen the stars so clearly since my trip to tiny lake land in Nebraska, and the sight of them in combination with the soft rush of water filled my soul with peace.
Camping this weekend was a little experiment for me. The weather forecast predicted that it would get down into the mid 30's on Friday night, and I wanted to see if I felt comfortable sleeping in that temperature in my backpacking tent and mummy bag. I heaped layers of clothing over my body, pulled my hat down around my ears, and burrowed myself into my bag. Not only was I warm all night, but I grew so warm that I took off the hood of my sweatshirt. We didn't think to check the temperature until about 9am the next morning, but by that time it was still only 40 degrees. I would believe that it was in the mid 30's, if not colder, and I was so happy to learn that I was fine camping out in temperatures that cold. I didn't even cinch closed the opening of my mummy bag!
The next morning, after a leisurely time of breakfasting and drying out our camping gear (cold temperatures = more condensation!), we headed over to Aspen to catch the bus bound for the Maroon Bells. During this time of year buses run on the road between 9am and 5pm and cars aren't allowed, in an effort to keep traffic down and make the area accessible to more people. We waited at the ticket counter while some New Yorkers made a huge stink about some misleading information that they found on a website, and could only laugh in amazement as they argued until they were given free tickets for the bus. (They saved a grand total of $6 each...).
We were dropped off in an upper parking lot, and I could immediately see why people love these particular peaks. They look like nothing I've ever seen before. This was the view in front of me when I left the parking lot and headed onto the trail:
Up to my right were these strange red peaks:
Maroon Lake sits in front of the Maroon Bells, and we arrived early enough in the day to catch the reflection of the mountains in the water. The surface of the lake was perfectly still and posed a strange contrast to the craze of tourist activity around us. (Yes, I do count myself as part of the tourist activity. :) ). Many of these pictures were taken looking right into the sun, and the day was strangely hazy for some reason (forest fires?). The sky in some photos looks cloudy, but in real life it was a flawless sapphire blue.
A second lake, Crater Lake, was reachable via a moderate 1.8 mile hike, and we decided to head that way for more mountain views and foliage. As usual, the mountains didn't disappoint.
I spent a lot of the hike joyfully bathed in aspen light.
There was even a smiley leaf!
Crater Lake was smaller than Maroon Lake, but every bit as beautiful. The side of the lake farthest from the mountains was littered with massive weathered tree trunks, which we realized had been carried down the surrounding mountainsides by avalanches and then blown across the lake by the strong winds that whipped through the valley.
Tired of tourists, we walked around to the far side of the lake to eat lunch and bask in the warm sunlight. My friend had visited the lake earlier in the summer and stated that it was much lower than it was then. Apparently the muddy area in the picture below is usually filled with water.
For some reason, my sense of aesthetics was delighted more by the walk back to Maroon Lake than the one up to Crater Lake. Maybe because it was all downhill. :)More pictures of the Maroon Bells:
This is the view of Maroon Lake that presented itself to us as we hiked back from Crater Lake. Wow. There are moments that still take my breath away, even after living here for 2 years. The moment of this view was one of them.
And the aspens. Beautiful shifting golden light, brilliant even in the shadows, and the sound of those thick waxy leaves rustling against each other at the slightest suggestion of a breeze.
This particular little grove was so fun: tiny yellow plants just growing up from the ground, reaching up to meet the crowns of the grown trees, but somehow nothing growing in between to shelter the strong, smooth trunks.
Upon our return to Maroon Lake, we noticed that we could no longer see the reflection of the peaks in the water. My friend suggested that I take a picture of the peaks through a sunglasses lens, and the photo below is the result of this experiment:
I thanked the earth for such a beautiful day, and we headed off down Route 82 through Independence Pass. I traveled this route in the opposite direction the first autumn I was in Colorado, but wasn't able to see much due to the random snowstorm that met me at the top of the pass. This time though, the sky was clear for miles and miles, and I was able to see exactly just how precarious our situation was: balanced between the narrow road and a drop of hundreds of feet.
We arrived in the Twin Lakes area just south of Leadville, with the sun still shining its heart out in the depths of a flawless sky. Here's another sunglasses experiment photo of Twin Lakes:
I've had a few people tease me about the things I've done with people whom I call "friends", and are they really just friends? The answer? Yes. Do I wish the answer were different? Yes, but not with any of the people whom I currently consider to be friends of mine. The funniest part about this line of questioning to me is that many of the adventures I've had with friends have been with female friends. :) Funny that people assume they are male!
1 comments:
Great pics. Smiley Leaf rocks!
Jon
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