Four Pass Loop - Day 1
sunset at the maroon zone dispersed campsites.
8/28/23
5:00am. the alarm rang and my whoop buzzed. i turned them off, laying “in bed” for 2 more minutes, contemplating the idea of going home instead. fantasizing about what it would be like to have these next days all to myself, with nothing to do. the adventure thirsty part of me gently put that thought aside, “you know that being outdoors for 4 days will feel incredibly better than staying at home”. she was right. she always is: spending time in nature is never a bad idea, even when my tank feels like it’s running low.
i got up, forcefully stuffing my sleeping bag in its compression sack, meticulously rolling up my sleeping pad, and intentionally arranging them in my backpack; the same way i’d be doing for the next 3 mornings on trail. i checked the clock and opened my computer, scheduling some last minute work emails and slack messages, before shutting it down and with it, setting a side any thoughts of work for the next 4 days. letting the reality of truly being off wash over me like the sweetest balm.
hearing my cousin get up, i made my way to the kitchen and reheated the coffee i’d made the day before, perfecting my new backcountry coffee concoction (1 trader joe’s instant coffee packet, 1 starbucks via italian roast coffee packet, 1.5 tablespoons dried whole milk, 1 tablespoon brown sugar). it still hit the spot. Jake and i talked for a few minutes before we hugged goodbye and i set off.
as i made my way towards the maroon lake trailhead, i was greeted by cotton candy skies and sweet messages. i replied back quickly before (happily) disconnecting from digital society for the rest of the trip. as i pulled in the parking lot, i went into auto pilot: check snacks, repack my bear canister, assemble my hiking poles, grab an extra lighter, keep the first aid kit accessible, lock the car, use the bathroom. the thought of heading home was long gone. how could i think of being anywhere else, when the views in front of me were already this breathtaking?
7.40am. i set off on trail, expecting to be more nervous than i was. shouldn’t i be scared? panicking? almost turning around? but no. this place demands your presence and begets awe; jaw dropped all the way to the floor- no intentions of picking it back up.
i passed a group of women on trail. one of them noticing i was waiting for her to approach and offered to take my picture. she asked if i’m doing this alone, the safety i feel with women making me answer honestly, “yup, just me.” i smiled as i heard her reply, “good girl!”
Jen and i ended up hiking together for parts of the trail. i listened to her share her newfound passion for the outdoors with me, how she feels like she’s making up for lost time. there’s something about connecting with people on trail that just hits different. maybe it’s the mutual appreciation for nature, the shared willingness to wade through discomfort, or both. either way, i’m always grateful for the bits and pieces of their stories that people share with me.
i hiked for ~3 miles before i realized i hadn’t eaten breakfast, promptly stopping to fuel up, hydrate, and apply sunscreen. there was no way i was going to risk underfueling myself and bonking on day 1. even during this quick break, i couldn’t believe my eyes. and i finally understood the meaning of the word “stunning”. i was stunned. by the vastness of the mountains, the lusciousness of the greenery, and the peace i found so easily accessible while out there. i teared up, feeling bone-deep gratitude for how at ease and different i felt. for how presence wasn’t just something i wanted, but something i actually held in my own two hands.
11.15am. i arrived at the camping zone and scouted the area for some sites. most were either large enough to fit a few tents, or really close to the trail. i settled on an overlook and started setting up camp, feeling both like i could’ve kept going and grateful for a calmer first day, knowing longer miles awaited ahead. after a while, a guy walked up, looking for spots for his group of 6 to camp. “do you mind if some of us post up here?” “not at all!”
i filled the afternoon with drawing, writing, filtering water, sitting in the sun, shooing off curious chipmunks, and talking to my new neighbors. i found myself bummed going through the roller coaster of boredom: bummed i didn’t bring a book, in awe of the views, antsy with all the free time i had in front of me, immersed in what i was drawing, etc. slow and spacious is an interesting and confronting place to be when your modus operandi has been go go go. boredom is always a cue for me to be present and lean in, which landed me back into a place of gratitude for how i was being stretched today: to be no where else but where i was. to allow myself to be bored, to study the details of the mountains ahead of me, to not be fixing anything. just me and the surrounding nature. “this is a good chance for you to practice more presence, Steph”.
as i’ve spent more and more time adventuring outside, especially here in the US, i often think of not only the privilege i have to be able to do so,
later on that day, Todd invited me to join them for dinner, and as i’d get to spend more meals and miles with them in the following days, Todd was a steady inclusive presence, something i grew to appreciate about him. we talked about how we liked our food, how their group had been doing this yearly adventure for a while, and about Boulder life, while sprinkled with a few drops of rain and styrofoam-looking hail.
that night the sun set the mountains on fire and was the best one of the whole 4 days on trail. i stared until the ember mountains turned a dull brown, then tucked myself in for the night. feelings of gratitude, nervousness, and excitement swirled about as i thought of the day ahead: two passes and over 10 miles awaited me - it was going to be another early start. i reminded myself to eat and pace myself, that i had never done something of this intensity in a backpacking setting before. “everything will be okay”, i whispered as i fell asleep.
the day’s data:
hiked: 7.40am-11.15am
wildlife seen: chipmunks, grouse (?), pica, marmot, misc birds, deer (white bottom), barely any bugs
4.93 miles and 1,785 ft elevation
~5-10 minutes of light rain and hail
technical notes:
campsites are sparse in the maroon zone. if you plan on sleeping here the first night, i recommend arriving early in the day to get first dibs
when you book a backcountry permit for this area, recreation.gov includes a special link for overnight parking at the trailhead (rules require you to arrive before 8am or after 5pm), so don’t forget to check your email/account for that. as it was significantly cheaper and easier than parking downtown Aspen and shuttling in.
check out the video below for the vlog version of day 1 on the four pass loop.