The Maroon Bells
Trip to Montana? Nawh! I'll do you one better! The Colorado Maroon Bells!
Sit down. Take a deep breath. I'll tell a story...
Once upon a time, in a land far far away. There were four men looking to roam the mountains on the 4th of July weekend. Months in advance, the date was saved for this adventure. The destination, Glacier National Park. It was a place where grizzlies, wolves, moose (meese <- plural of moose) and all kind of big game animals roamed freely. To safely backpack this park, it required countless hours of practice in front of the mirror, pulling out the bear spray and scream ‘I HAVE GENUINE BEAR SPRAY AND IM NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!.......... Grrrrr’. No matter how much they practiced… they know that they were not ready for the real encounter.
As the day draw near, the plans they had slowly slipped through the window. One day, ‘I can go’, the next ‘I got work… yo’. The original plan was to head into Glacier National Park from the 2nd of July to the 7th. The duration of this trip kept a few of the men on edge. Were they scared of the bears and the big bad wolves? We can never tell for sure. But one thing for certain, the trip was a bust!
The night of July 1st, a final decision was made that could accommodate everyone’s schedule. Rather than driving 14 hours to Glacier National Park, the men would drive to the Maroon Bells to do the Four Loop Pass. Not much was known about the Maroon Bells and the trails except for the fact that it is one of the most highly rated trail in Colorado for backpackers, fishermen and photographers. The trail was 28 miles long, that was the only thing that mattered to them. In confidence, they all thought back on the previous trip where they were able to hike 14 miles in 6 hours. Twenty eight miles in 2.5 days is a walk in the park. Or so they thought…
July 4th… 11:30pm. The night before the trip. The four men first rendezvous at a local supermarket to gather their meals for the days ahead. As they always had before, the guys would always gather around a living room to do a final gear and food check. Check and check!
July 5th… 4:35am. They took off into the cool night, destination – Aspen, Colorado. From Denver, they took the scenic route that lead them further and deeper into the San Isabel National Forest. The sun made its sneak appearance over the distanced mountains. Saturated by the sun, the sky was blanketed by an orange hue that twinkled as the aspen leaves rock to and fro with the wind. Time slipped away as they enjoyed the curvy scenic mountain road while talking about surviving a bear attack.
July 5th… 8:30am. Overnight parking permit, check. Fishing poles, check. Camera, check. Backpack, check. And just like that, they eagerly took off into the mountains. They were so eager to start that they blindly hiked a short day trail instead of the intended backpacking trail. Stumbling around the starting area, they asked for directions from oncoming day hikers while lugging around 40lb backpacks on their backs. At this point, the day hikers was probably in disbelief and thinking to themselves, “If these guys are backpacking, and are lost before they actually started… May God be with them.”
Indeed, God was with them. They finally found the trailhead at about 9:30am and started their 3000ft climb to the first of four peaks; from 9,500ft to 12,500ft. This was the first physical and mental test. The altitude combined with a constant inclined was a gentle killer. Every twenty or so steps, a short cry from one of the men would burst into the air and echo across the mountains. They cries were short and quick, but again they put one foot in front of the other and marched ahead.
Though the trek was arduous, the backcountry scene was stunning and eased their minds into a state of serenity. Every turn, every step, the mountains morphed from Jurassic Park scenes, to scenes from Nature Valley granola bar commercial.
They looked at the meadows, and stared at the flowers. The meadows was better dressed than any girl on her wedding day. So the natural question is… Why do we worry? Why do we freak out? God knows what we need.
It’s a little excerpt from You Love is Strong – Jon Foreman. Got off topic there for a second… but really. Why do we worry? 2.5 days in the backcountry, there was nothing to worry about. They were so far from civilization, their only worry was the next step.
After summited the West Maroon Pass, the hardest part of the journey was over. Now at 12,500ft, they will have to descend to 10,750ft to go back up to 12,500ft, just to go back down to 10,250ft then to go back up to 12,500ft, then descend to 11,750ft, just to go back up to 12,500ft again, which then finally goes back down to 9,500ft at the parking lot. This is the reason why call this trail, the Four Loop Pass.
They walked into this trip not knowing exactly what was in store for them. But when they walked out, they knew they were more than just men. They were… supermen.
