Hiking Colorado's Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness: Plus the Hunter-Fryingpan, Mount Massive, and Collegiate Peaks Wildernesses

by Erik Molvar

Overview

Just 5 miles southwest of Aspen, the rugged peaks, broad valleys, and high passes of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness draw throngs of visitors each year. This guide covers the vast network of trails in the fourth largest wilderness in Colorado. With detailed trails descriptions, accurate maps, and elevation profiles, this guide will show you the popular spots as well as the less-frequented ones.

Veteran author Erik Molvar discovered backpacking while working on a volunteer trails crew in the North Cascades of Washington. Erik is the author of trail guides for Glacier, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Olympic National park, and other areas, as well as Alaska on Foot: Wilderness Techniques for the Far North.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493044375
Publisher:	Globe Pequot Publishing
Publication date:	05/01/2020
Series:	Regional Hiking Series
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Erik Molvar spends half of each year exploring the wildlands of the American West. After receiving a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology from the University of Montana, he went on to attain a master’s degree in wildlife management from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, where he performed groundbreaking research on moose in Denali National Park. Erik has hiked over 10,000 miles of trails, from the Arctic Ocean to the Mexican border. This total includes more than 900 miles in the mountains surrounding Aspen, encompassing all of the trails in this book. He currently works as executive director for Western Watersheds Project, a West-wide nonprofit conservation group.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Meet Your Guide vii

Introduction 1

Early History 1

Geology of the Elk Mountains and Sawatch Range 3

The Forests of the Continental Divide 4

A Few Words of Caution 5

How to Follow a Faint Trail 6

Fording Streams and Rivers 7

Sharing the Trail 8

Leave No Trace Techniques 9

How to Use This Guide 15

Planning Your Trip 16

Cross-Country Travel 16

Driving Tips for the Colorado Hinterlands 17

Overview Map 17

Map Legend 18

USGS Topographic Map 19

The Hikes

The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness 21

1 Cathedral Lake-Electric Pass 22

2 American Lake 25

3 Conundrum Creek 28

4 East Maroon Creek 32

5 Maroon Lake Scenic Loop 35

6 West Maroon Pass 38

7 Buckskin Pass 42

8 Willow Lake 45

9 East Snowmass Creek 48

10 Snowmass Creek 51

11 West Snowmass Creek 56

12 Capitol Creek 59

13 Williams Lake 63

14 The Hell Roaring Trail 65

15 Thomas Lakes-Mount Sopris 68

16 Avalanche Creek 72

17 East Creek 76

18 Hawk Creek Overlook 80

19 Carbonate Creek 82

20 North Lost Trail Creek-Arkansas Mountain 85

21 Avalanche Pass 88

22 Silver Creek Pass 91

23 Geneva Lake 95

24 The North Fork of the Crystal River 98

25 The Hasley Basin 102

26 The East Fork of the Crystal River 105

27 Rustler Gulch 108

28 The Copper Basin 111

29 Twin Lakes 116

30 The Cumberland Basin 119

The Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness 123

31 Linkins Lake 124

32 The Lost Man Trail 126

33 Midway Pass 130

34 The Hunter Valley Trail 133

35 Hunter Creek 136

36 Woody Creek 141

37 Spruce Creek 144

38 Sawyer Lake 148

39 Granite Lakes 150

40 Chapman Gulch 153

41 Chapman Lake 155

42 South Fork Pass 157

43 Fryingpan Lakes 159

The Mount Massive Wilderness 165

44 The North Fork of Lake Creek 165

45 North Halfmoon Lakes 169

46 Mount Massive 172

47 The Main Range Trail 175

48 Swamp Lakes 179

49 The Highline Trail 183

50 Windsor Lake 186

51 Mount Elbert 188

52 The Black Cloud Trail 191

The Collegiate Peaks Wilderness 197

53 Difficult Creek 198

54 Weller Lake 201

55 The Grottos 203

56 New York Creek 205

57 Tabor Creek 209

58 Grizzly Lake 212

59 Truro Lake 215

60 Petroleum Lake 218

61 Graham Gulch 221

62 The South Fork of Lake Creek 224

63 Sayres Gulch 227

64 La Plata Peak 229

65 The North Fork of Clear Creek 233

66 The Silver Basin 237

67 Lake Ann 240

68 Huron Peak 243

69 Pear Lake 246

70 Missouri Gulch-Elkhead Pass 249

71 Mount Belford-Mount Oxford 252

72 The Lowline Trail 256

73 Pine Creek 261

74 South Pine Creek 264

75 Frenchman Creek 268

76 The Horn Fork 271

77 Kroenke Lake 274

78 Silver Creek 277

79 Avalanche Gulch 280

80 Mount Yale 283

81 Browns Pass-Hartenstein Lake 286

82 South Texas Creek 290

83 Texas Creek 293

84 Waterloo Gulch 296

85 The Magdalene Mine 299

86 Red Mountain Creek 302

87 The Enterprise Mine 305

88 Bowman Creek 308

Appendix A Useful Addresses 312