I did a 3-day, 2-night backpacking trip in the Maroon Bells area! The Four Pass Loop has been on my list for a while, I thought it’d be the perfect choice for my first solo multi-night trip. I didn’t think it was too difficult, especially after having done some 14ers this summer. The passes felt short in comparison. The views throughout this route, especially near the midway point, were just incredible.

Total stats

• 27.7 miles
• 20h 45 min
• 7,41s ft ascent

Some thoughts

• There were tons of trail runners doing this route in a day. It’s definitely doable to backpack in two days, but I enjoyed having some down time on each of the days, especially around Snowmass Lake.
• I went clock-wise. I did West Maroon and Frigid Air on Day 1, Trial Rider Pass on Day 2, and Buckskin Pass on Day 3. Day 1 also happened to have the longest distance of my three days (the stream-side campsite I ended up at made it completely worth it). My logic was that I wanted to tackle 2 passes in the first day when I had the most energy, but on my way up the first pass I realized it wouldn’t have been so bad doing those 2 passes when my pack was at it’s lightest.
• I didn’t camp at Snowmass Lake, but I can see the appeal. It’s a beautiful lake, and there were tons of spots with privacy for how dense the campsites were. I was happy to have just grabbed lunch there before camping closer to Buckskin Pass (also close enough to a stream).
• I had an absolute 10/10 campsite the first night. But I discovered the next morning that there was an even better campsite just half a mile up (or down, rather). After 12 miles and a full pack, I don’t think I had enough energy to go that extra distance, and I’m sure that spot might already have been taken by that time. But just a mental note for next time, if I do this again, I want to go extra early to try and snag that spot.
• I started from the Aspen side, but met many groups coming from Crested Butte. I’m curious enough to want to try that someday.
• I met another solo hiker who stayed at Geneva Lake, which was kind of out of the way for the route I was doing, but sounds like a nice place to camp as well.
• Crater lake was unfortunately dried up. I felt bad as most people seemed to be coming into that area to hike to that lake. Hoping for a better season this winter.
• The Maroon Bells were incredible to see in person. I was awestruck on my way in, and just as awestruck on the way out.
• I woke up on one of the morning to a marmot chewing on my trekking pole handles. I learned after the fact that they’re attracted to the salt found in the sweat that gets rubbed onto the handles. I typically leave my poles out overnight but learned this time to just keep them in my backpack. I snapped a photo of a marmot at some point later that morning. I’m fairly certain it was the same one.
• Someone (or some group) had left a giant tent near the campsite I stayed at on night 2. It seemed like they had carried it all the way up Buckskin Pass, camped that night, and abandoned it because it might have been too heavy to carry down. It’s frustrating that folks would rather leave these things behind than carry out their own mess. I notified a ranger on the way down who was already aware of it.
• I had slightly underestimated my food for the trip. I like to try and end up at “food zero” by the time I reach my car. I was at food zero with a couple miles to go. Needless to say, I drove straight to Aspen for a big lunch afterwards.