Aspen to Crested Butte
September, 2011
Here are lots of details about the Aspen to Crested Butte ("CB") hike, just so we have the information for future reference. Barbara and Tammy, you may want to add other, especially descriptive, details. We used the West Maroon Pass Trail (Trail #1970) in Sept. 2011. The best map is the Aspen-Crested Butte Maroon Bells map by Sky Terrain Trail Maps.
We spent the night before at the Hotel Durant in Aspen ($99 per night, plus tax) and left a car at the overnight parking lot at Maroon Lake. There is a $10 parking charge, but if you leave your National Parks Senior Pass on the dashboard there is no fee.
We started about 7:30 am. The West Maroon Pass trail is about 12 miles to the East Fork trailhead on the CB side. But in Sept 2011 there was a big snowbank (the locals called it "the plug") below Emerald Lake on the Schofield Pass Road so we had to walk 2 more miles to meet our van.
We had been advised to bring Teva sandals to use crossing some of the streams,however, by Sept. they were easily fordable in boots. Nevertheless, I was glad to have my Tevas in CB. The trail goes gradually up 6.2 miles through valleys ringed by the Maroon Bells, Pyramid Peak, and other tall rocky mountains, into a large bowl and over West Maroon Pass. The Pass is very narrow. From the top the trail drops quickly down into glorious valleys full of wildflowers, even after Labor Day. It's about 5 miles from the top of West Maroon Pass to the parking area below the plug. On the CB side the trail is a good dirt one.
Generally the trail is well marked, except when you come to the end of the West Maroon Pass trail at the East Fork Trailhead There we walked a few yards to the hard gravel road and turned left, going up and over Schofield Pass and passing Emerald Lake and over the snowbank.
We had arranged with Alpine Express (970 641 5074) to pick us us at 4pm, but were getting concerned that we might be late and the van would leave. As we climbed through the trees on the Scholfield Pass Road a man came walking from the other direction. He asked if we were the Barbara Caley party. We were very relieved to meet him since he clearly wasn't going to leave without us. If you can't arrange for a friend to meet you at the tailhead, we recommend Alpine Express, ask for TR. They charged $12 per person with a minimum of $36. There is no cell reception along the trail until you get down to CB. If we had missed the van, we'd have had to walk about another 4 miles down to Gothic where we probably could have gotten someone to take us to CB.
We spent the night in CB at the Old Town Inn (888 349 6184; www.oldtowninn.net; [email protected].). With AARP it was $119 + $14.88 tax for 2 queen beds and breakfast. A delicious dinner with a delightful waitress at La Bosque right behind the hotel. We arranged for Dolly's Mountain Express (970)349-2620 to drive us to Carbondale where we had left another car. The charge was $275 for the trip, regardless of the number of passengers. We drove back over Kebler Pass and McClure Pass in about 2 1/4 hours.
We were lucky to have beautiful weather (2 days earlier it had poured rain all day.) There were some threatening clouds and some thunder, but only a little rain and grapple until we got to the hotel when the rain turned hard and steady.Absolutely exhilarating.
Martha Fulford
Here are lots of details about the Aspen to Crested Butte ("CB") hike, just so we have the information for future reference. Barbara and Tammy, you may want to add other, especially descriptive, details. We used the West Maroon Pass Trail (Trail #1970) in Sept. 2011. The best map is the Aspen-Crested Butte Maroon Bells map by Sky Terrain Trail Maps.
We spent the night before at the Hotel Durant in Aspen ($99 per night, plus tax) and left a car at the overnight parking lot at Maroon Lake. There is a $10 parking charge, but if you leave your National Parks Senior Pass on the dashboard there is no fee.
We started about 7:30 am. The West Maroon Pass trail is about 12 miles to the East Fork trailhead on the CB side. But in Sept 2011 there was a big snowbank (the locals called it "the plug") below Emerald Lake on the Schofield Pass Road so we had to walk 2 more miles to meet our van.
We had been advised to bring Teva sandals to use crossing some of the streams,however, by Sept. they were easily fordable in boots. Nevertheless, I was glad to have my Tevas in CB. The trail goes gradually up 6.2 miles through valleys ringed by the Maroon Bells, Pyramid Peak, and other tall rocky mountains, into a large bowl and over West Maroon Pass. The Pass is very narrow. From the top the trail drops quickly down into glorious valleys full of wildflowers, even after Labor Day. It's about 5 miles from the top of West Maroon Pass to the parking area below the plug. On the CB side the trail is a good dirt one.
Generally the trail is well marked, except when you come to the end of the West Maroon Pass trail at the East Fork Trailhead There we walked a few yards to the hard gravel road and turned left, going up and over Schofield Pass and passing Emerald Lake and over the snowbank.
We had arranged with Alpine Express (970 641 5074) to pick us us at 4pm, but were getting concerned that we might be late and the van would leave. As we climbed through the trees on the Scholfield Pass Road a man came walking from the other direction. He asked if we were the Barbara Caley party. We were very relieved to meet him since he clearly wasn't going to leave without us. If you can't arrange for a friend to meet you at the tailhead, we recommend Alpine Express, ask for TR. They charged $12 per person with a minimum of $36. There is no cell reception along the trail until you get down to CB. If we had missed the van, we'd have had to walk about another 4 miles down to Gothic where we probably could have gotten someone to take us to CB.
We spent the night in CB at the Old Town Inn (888 349 6184; www.oldtowninn.net; [email protected].). With AARP it was $119 + $14.88 tax for 2 queen beds and breakfast. A delicious dinner with a delightful waitress at La Bosque right behind the hotel. We arranged for Dolly's Mountain Express (970)349-2620 to drive us to Carbondale where we had left another car. The charge was $275 for the trip, regardless of the number of passengers. We drove back over Kebler Pass and McClure Pass in about 2 1/4 hours.
We were lucky to have beautiful weather (2 days earlier it had poured rain all day.) There were some threatening clouds and some thunder, but only a little rain and grapple until we got to the hotel when the rain turned hard and steady.Absolutely exhilarating.
Martha Fulford