Maroon Bells

[trink408]

So I've been debating changing my travel plans from Rocky Mtn. park to the maroon bells wilderness area.

Any suggestions on shooting in this area? Good times of year, good hiking trails, must see places, etc...

Still thinking about traveling in the late May, early June time frame.

Thanks in advance.
Kevin

[venchka]

No matter where you go, check on snow conditions. Best to talk to someone, rangers, park people, who actually know what the conditions are up high. Snow conditions in late May-early June are quite variable up high.

Have a great trip! Share your photos!

[eric black]

They got a lot of snow this year- May is typically fairly sloppy up in that area with snow melt etc... Good new is there ought to be a bountiful wild flower shoot through the summer associated with all of the snow- hope your timing works out for you and you hit good weather and some peak blooming

[trink408]

If necessary I will postpone my trip until later June, I'm just concerned with how busy the park will get into the summer, anybody know how busy it gets?
I do plan to take many hikes so maybe that will allow me to get away from the crowds a bit...

[Donald Miller]

Both places have their own distinctive flavor. I personally prefer the Maroon Bells...not so much for the Maroon Bells themselves since they have been photographed to death.

But there are a number of adjacent worthwhile places to visit. Among those is the old town of Marble (back side of the Maroon Bells) and continuing up from Marble is the old Crystal Mill (another photographed to death place) but nearby is Lead King Basin which had a wonderful wildflower display the last time that I was there.

Back to the highway leading to Marble, if you head up the hill to McClure Pass you will find stands of aspens that are truly amazing.

Above the town of Aspen you will encounter Independence Pass (may or may not be open at your time of visit). On the road up the pass, you will come across Lincoln Creek... a place that I have made several meaningful photographs. Many rock formations and also the Grottos which is unique in it's own right.

RMNP is typically busier than the Maroon area.

All in all this area has more appeal to me than RMNP...different strokes for different folks...

[venchka]

My last experience in R.M.N.P., many moons ago:

I had to wait for a parking space at the Bear Lake parking lot. The shoreline of Bear lake was crowded near the parking lot. I hiked up to Bierstadt (sp?) Lake. The trail to the lake and the lake itself was deserted. I have had similar experiences in Grand Teton & Yellowstone N.P. Within 15 minutes, or less, from most parking lots the trails are empty. Things may be different now.

[venchka]

About halfway between the two places you mention, I'm partial to the Holy Cross City-Holy Cross Wilderness-Mount of the Holy Cross area. If you can hike up to Holy Cross City and get across Fall Creek Pass, you will be alone. A base camp at Holy Cross City seems very feasible. Beware of the 4x4 crowd. That is generally a weekend annoyance. Weekdays are generally not crowded.

[mrladewig]

Kevin,

In all the years I've lived in Colorado, for one reason or another, I've never been to the Maroon Bells, but I've been all around the area. The Maroon Bells are not a park, but because of the high visitation, there is a bus to take people up the road. However, if you get there very early you can drive up yourself and park.

If you can, I'd strongly suggest that you postpone you trip until July, and better yet late July. That is unless you are looking to capture the Bells with snow and lime green aspens, in which case late May will probably be very good.

Wildflowers bloom in the high country around mid July to mid August.

The 4WD roads will usually be open by mid July, though some like Pearl Pass may not open in a year. This just gives you more options for travel.

The runoff will be quite high this year, so stream crossings may be very difficult and the trails may be quite mucky. Plus you'll be fighting with snow in some of the higher elevations.

I wouldn't worry about how busy the Maroon Bells get. They're busy all the time, but not as busy as RMNP. At the same time, I have to echo that RMNP gets quieter 15 minutes walk from a parking lot in all but a couple areas. Its quite easy in my opinion to enter the mountains and not see too many people, but its also almost impossible to enter the mountains and see no other people. If you wish to have quiet solitude, stay away from the 14,000 mountain trailheads.

I live in Colorado and would be happy to provide more information, but would need to know more about how you are planning to travel (hiking/backpacking/4-wheeling) and what you are capable of doing.

Mel-

[mrladewig]

Beware of the 4x4 crowd. That is generally a weekend annoyance. Weekdays are generally not crowded.

As one who does 4-wheel and has driven the Holy Cross City trail I don't think this is a fair comment. In fact the last time I was up there 4-wheeling, I helped a couple of lost hikers find their route and gave them my map. Certainly there are some impolite 4-wheelers, but I've run into many impolite hikers as well. And I should add that I hike and backpack more often than I 4-wheel difficult trails like this.

Holy Cross wilderness is hardly quiet these days. A friend of mine was up there last year and was surprised by how many folks he saw in the Missouri Lakes area. I was surprised by how crowded the Homestake Road area was. There were makeshift camps and pullouts everyplace on that road. For the forest service to even operate a campground in that valley is almost absurd as they handled about 5% of the weekend volume from what I saw. The wilderness is also being affected badly by the pine beetles as most of the forest is lodgepole pine. So expect to have lots of red pine trees in your photos.

[venchka]

I apologize. I haven't been there since before the wilderness was designated.

"Be advised that the road to Holy Cross City is shared with 4x4 vehicles." That's what I was thinking and used my customary shorthand to keep my typing to a minimum here at work.

Like most places I "discovered" in my youth, they may not be as I rememered them now.

[mrladewig]

I apologize. I haven't been there since before the wilderness was designated.

"Be advised that the road to Holy Cross City is shared with 4x4 vehicles." That's what I was thinking and used my customary shorthand to keep my typing to a minimum here at work.

Like most places I "discovered" in my youth, they may not be as I remembered them now.

Gotcha. The 4wd trail to Holy Cross City is completely surrounded by wilderness area and is the only road extending into the wilderness that I know of. I wouldn't think it would be very nice to hike up. If you haven't been there in a long time, I'll be the road is alot harder than you remember it. I could barely make it up on 33" mud tires and lockers in both axles last year, and I'm a decent driver.

There are hiking trails running parallel to the south of Holy Cross 4WD trail.

This is the difficult part of the 4WD trail (French Creek).

http://www.ladewigs.com/Gallery/d/148-2/HC_6737_001.jpg

I have heard that 15 years ago you could have driven a stock 4X4 through here. Unfortunately as it has gotten more difficult (the creek cuts the trail into the bedrock), it has also gotten more popular. There were something like 50 4WD vehicles up here on this day. :( And unfortunately, from my experience most of the Holy Cross Wilderness is seeing a huge amount of traffic.

Mel-

[paulr]

I'm astonished that something called a "wilderness area" is open to people driving jeeps through creeks and meadows.

[venchka]

Mel,

The links you provided are photos I saw recently and prompted me to say "beware". I also understand that this was late in the summer/early fall after the water levels receded.

The only time I was there, we spent the night in one of the old miner's cabins in Holy Cross City. A kinder, gentler time.

This was taken somewhere on the other side of Fall Creek Pass from Holy Cross City, circa 1974.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=57163&d=1205506401

[mrladewig]

I'm astonished that something called a "wilderness area" is open to people driving jeeps through creeks and meadows.

This road is not in the wilderness area Paul. It is surrounded by wilderness and it does not cut through.

There is a pre-existing defined road that was excluded from the wilderness area. That road has deteriorated in the years since the wilderness area designation, but it is still a valid forest service road.

And people are not driving through meadows. People are very good about staying on trail, and the 4WD clubs have worked with the forest service to make this trail sustainable. They do alot of maintenance work up there. They are driving on a defined trail. Unfortunately that trail does not have a bridge and crosses directly through a creek. This is fairly common among forest service roads in Colorado. Considering the FS barely has funding to keep one LEO per national forest in Colorado, there is certainly not enough funding to build bridges on these trails.


Mel,

The links you provided are photos I saw recently and prompted me to say "beware". I also understand that this was late in the summer/early fall after the water levels receded.

The only time I was there, we spent the night in one of the old miner's cabins in Holy Cross City. A kinder, gentler time.

This was taken somewhere on the other side of Fall Creek Pass from Holy Cross City, circa 1974.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=57163&d=1205506401

I'd love to see the photos, but am not a member at that forum.

Those old cabins are in pretty good shape as far as mining cabins go, but age is taking it toll on them. The roofs are starting to go and the floors are getting pretty thin. The four wheeler and hikers have been gentle on them over the years.
http://www.ladewigs.com/Gallery/d/155-2/HC_6752.jpg

http://www.ladewigs.com/Gallery/d/152-2/HC_6743.jpg

My photos were from late June. The snow levels were not very high last year so the runoff was somewhat mild. I'd say this was well after peak runoff.

[windpointphoto]

:( And unfortunately, from my experience most of the Holy Cross Wilderness is seeing a huge amount of traffic.

Mel-

To which we all contribute but resent others.

[mrladewig]

To which we all contribute but resent others.

Certainly not what I meant. I don't resent others for enjoying the beauty that nature has provided in this state.

I'd only been to this wilderness area on this one occasion, so I hadn't seen it before (but I got the impression from others that it was normal traffic). I've spent time in many of the wilderness areas in Colorado, and they all get foot traffic. I was just shocked by how much total traffic was in Holy Cross, especially in the area around Homestake road. It was fishers and hikers and 4wheelers and backpackers. I just didn't expect THAT much traffic,especially since it isn't all that close to Denver. My best guess is that lots of Vail/Eagle/Dillon residents use the area.

I guess having grown up here I'm just used to it. You're going to see people. My wife used to do these 7-10 day backpacking trips through places like the Weiminuche, and even then (15+ years ago) you'd see some people at some point in your trip. There is no sense getting mad about it. I've just learned that there are certain things that draw greater numbers of visitors and some that draw fewer. Fourteeners are always busy these days, so climb a thirteener instead and you might not see anyone else. Go rock climbing at an out of the way area and you might have a quiet day. The hardest 4WD trails always draw a crowd looking to test their limits. But certain moderate or easy trails see hardly any traffic.

I don't get mad about seeing people in the backcountry. Its going to happen on a certain percentage of trips no matter how out of the way you think you're headed. And to a certain extent, seeing others in the backcountry can be a good thing as there might be someone to offer assistance should an emergency arise.

[al olson]

You are getting a lot of good advice. Don't know how much time you have to spend, or what photographic subjects you are looking for. Almost anywhere in Colorado you can get a nice postcard shot.

Frankly, I try to stay away from the popular tourist sites. They are overrun with hordes of tourists these days. If you choose to visit them, get there before daybreak (parking is better as well) and plan for the crowds to show up about nine.

There is good hiking up Boulder Canyon, but I think it has gotten very busy these days. There are some good areas around Nederland. Central City has some great century-old architecture, and gambling has not changed the exteriors in the core of the town that much.

If you are more venturesome, a very scenic drive without a lot of traffic is the Oh-My-God-Road between Central City and Idaho Springs. Some excellent views of distant mountain peaks. The road is gravel with many switchbacks and hairpin turns ... in recent years they have put in a few guard rails. I think it depends on the county you are in.

Midway between there is a ghost town, Russell's Gulch. There are some occupants of the old buildings, mostly squatters I believe.

South of Idaho Springs is Chicago Creek, one of my favorite hiking trails. There are a number of beaver ponds as you go up in elevation. A little farther south is Mt. Evans. You can drive all the way to the top.

If you are interested in ghost towns, going a little farther west there are Idarado (access is a little restricted) and Ironton (more people because the state has made a it a recreational area) between Ouray and Silverton. Also Lime Creek road is a challenging, but scenic, drive (4-wheel recommended, although I did it once in a rented Ford Econovan). The best of them is Summitville, which is south of South Fork off of US 160. You are not too likely to find any tourists around Summitville.

Northeast of Silverton and southwest of Lake City there is Animas Forks (4-wheel access is recommended). Get there early because by 8:30 or 9 it is overrun by ATVs and tour groups.

[trink408]

Thanks everyone, I'm getting some great information, a little overwhelmed at this point I will admit. I have spent a good deal of time in CO, and I know there is beautiful country in almost every direction. I spent most of my time around the Canon City area in the past. This trip I really want to do more hiking than driving, and I will be there in a little Ford escort so no 4-wheeling... I want to find an area I can focus on and spend as much time as possible in the wilderness. I wouldn't mind taking some time to shoot some ghost towns though, the idea has a neat feel to it.

I need to get myself a good topo mat of CO and look closer at some of the areas mentioned here, see what looks like a good basecamp.

Thanks again for all the information, now the problem is being patient enough to wait until the conditions are right...

[mrladewig]

You might want to pick up the Delorme topo map book for the state of Colorado. Its the one with a red cover. Its a good reference because is shows FS campgrounds, many FS roads and jeep trails and some hiking trails.

Once you decide WHERE you want to go, then choose a more detailed topo map for the area. The trails illustrated ones are nice since they cover most of the state, but if the area you want to visit has a "Latitude 40" map available for it, I've found these are great. Unfortunately Latitude 40 only makes maps for limited areas. Neither are as detailed as a USGS topo, but they cover much more area and are made of a durable waterproof material.

Mel-