I’ve wanted to go to Maroon Bells for a number of years. It is a highly visited and very pretty place. Because of its popularity and close proximity to Aspen, visitation is highly regulated. Personal vehicles are limited and shuttle buses are available, but anyone can bike in without a reservation. My friends Phil and Mary told me that there were shops in Aspen that rented eBikes, so on Tuesday afternoon, 9/14/21, I left CORA with the plan to eBike to Maroon Bells.
The forecast was for sunny, smoke free days in Aspen. Lately, due to the wildfires in other states, Colorado has had some very smoky days. I drove Enzo over Independence Pass, which is a spectacular drive in any vehicle less than 35 feet long and turned onto a dirt road on the western side of the pass. There is a fee campground within a 1/4 mile, which costs $25, for a very primitive campground. My goal was Portal Campground on the shore of Grizzly Reservoir 6.4 miles further up the road. The first 1 1/2 miles is very rough and steep in a few spots, probably drove 5 mph, then the road improves to a rough 15mph dirt road with a few rough spots. There are 22 free, designated primitive, wooded, campsites with bear boxes spaced along the first 4.5 miles. Camping is only allowed at these designated sites on this section of road. The last 2 miles before Portal Campground is no camping. There were a number of nice empty sites, so I knew if the Portal Campground was full, I could double back and grab a site for the night.
The road follows a small creek, with some little waterfalls and works its way uphill through a very pretty mountain pass. After about 45 minutes I came to the little dam, a small group of dam support buildings and finally, Portal Campground. Not only did I get a campsite, but I got one of two which are actually on the shoreline. There are about 8 campsites, two were occupied. I couldn’t believe the other campers didn’t take a shore campsite. It was about 4 pm when I backed in to my spot, I geared up and went fly fishing. By 5 pm I had caught four 10-12” Rainbows, two on an olive wooly bugger and two on a black wooly bugger.
After fishing, I settled in with a glass of wine, some warm clothes and a steak dinner. Life is good and I’m grateful to be able to do this. There wasn’t much of a sunset. The sun just dropped behind the mountain on the opposite side of the lake.
Friday morning it was 31 degrees outside and 38 in Enzo. I fired up the furnace, and by the time I made coffee, it was 65 degrees in Enzo. By 9 am, I was packed and driving towards Aspen. Aspen Velo Bike Rentals opened at 10 am and I arrived a few minutes later. By 10:30 I was on the eBike and heading up the bike path to Maroon Bells. These bikes are pedal assist eBikes, no throttle, so you have to pedal. Aspen has a very extensive bike path system which takes you throughout town and to the base of the road to Maroon Bells. It was a beautiful day. The aspen trees appeared to be almost peaking, my luck held out again.
Aspen on the way to Maroon Bells
I really enjoyed the 16 mile up hill bike ride, but I was surprised at how tired my legs were when I got to the top just before noon. I had planned to do a three mile hike, but opted for the short walk to the first lake and just relaxed, had lunch and enjoyed the view for the next hour or so.
Even with all the restrictions, Maroon Bells is not totally protected from idiots. After lunch I went for a short walk around the lake and suddenly, this woman tosses a banana peel into the grass next to the trail. I was beside myself with anger, but calmed enough to say, excuse me did you just toss a banana peel into the grass. She said yes, but she said I thought it was okay because it’s biodegradable. I told her it wasn’t okay and that the ethic was to leave no trace, which means you are to leave nothing. I turned and walked away, hoping she would pick it up. Later, I realized I should have waited and if she didn’t pick it up, then I should have.
The return ride was quick. The eBikes have digital speedometers. My top speed on the descent was 35 mph, but I probably averaged around 20 mph without pedaling. The road is paved and mostly devoid of vehicle traffic. I think I saw more bikes than cars and the shuttle buses are infrequent, so I was able to ride in the middle on my lane and just cruise. I did have to stop for a deer crossing the road. Once back in town, I got a little confused on the bike paths, but finally made it back to the shop around 2:15. The rental cost me $120 with tax, I thought it was well with it, not only for the Maroon Bells but the awesome speed ride down the mountain.
This was my first time in Aspen and it is crazy busy. It makes Breckenridge look like a sleepy little town. I didn’t stick around and headed “down valley” to find some peace and quiet. I stopped at a parking area next to a river to see if there was any fishing access. After parking the truck, I walked up the bike path, there wasn’t any fishing access due to the steep bank, but I did come across “Goats at Work”. These are four legged brush hogs. A “shepherd” erects an electric fence along the river and this herd goes to work. Once they eat everything they can reach he moves the fence and the herd. I think it’s a great way to clear unwanted vegetation without the noise and environmental impact of a machine.
I had made online reservations at Bogan Flats Campground, which is a medium size NFS campground, on the Crystal River. Once I had enough goat watching I headed down the road towards Marble, CO, which is where the white marble for the Lincoln Memorial was obtained. About 11 miles from the campground, traffic came to a dead stop for 30 minutes. There was a motorcycle vs camper accident. According to the locals hanging out near the road, a motorcycle rear ended a camper. The rider must have lived because the ambulance headed out with lights and siren at a very high rate of speed. I believe they wouldn’t have done that if the rider wasn’t alive. Finally, they opened the road and I arrived at Bogan Flats Campground around 4:30pm.
More as it happens.
Tight lines and safe travels
Oooooh, nice little trip there! You're trying to make us big RV owners jealous? Well it's working!
ReplyDeleteLovely camping. We've avoided that area because of its popularity. Looks like we'll need to check it out at some point. Maybe when we get a good deal on a Sprinter van when used ones glut the market in a couple years.
And yeah that kind of attitude about "oh it's biodegradeable" is just the worst! Thank you for trying to educate that lady. Is it her fault entirely? Not really. Corporate America has brainwashed the public into thinking that stuff just breaks down and disappears, so they can go and consume more of it. From plastic Hellmart crap to bananas, the public is SO uneducated about the waste stream that it's no wonder the Earth is in the sorry state that it's in. Grrr.