Aspen

Kristen with the Maroon Bells

Aspen Mountain, the town of Aspen, and the Roaring Fork Valley as seen from the top of the Ute trail

Part of the 7 Castles, up the Frying Pan Valley

We drove from Boulder to the Aspen area.  We AirBnB’d an in-law apartment on the bottom floor of a house up Frying Pan Valley, which is in Basalt, CO (about 30 minutes from Aspen proper).  We weren’t sure how it would go, but the place was GORGEOUS.  The apartment was very nice, and the hosts were very accommodating as well – they invited us to hang out and use their hot tub, and recommended several things to do.

The plan for our 3 days in the Aspen area was pretty much just to check everything out and do some hiking.  First, we headed to Maroon Bells, which are always touted as the most photographed mountains in the country.  We did a hike back to a lake near the bells, but the view was honestly better further back.

We also did a hike up the Ute trail, which is famous among local (and not so local) fitness freaks.  It’s a very steep, switchbacking trail that you pick up right in the town of Aspen, and ascends up the side of Aspen Mountain.  People time themselves to see how fast they’re able to go up.  Anything under ~30 minutes is considered a good time.  I got up in about 22:30, and Kristen was about 30 seconds behind.  We were definitely feeling the altitude – we were pretty winded at the top.  But wow was there a great view.

Afterwards, we walked around the town and got some ice cream at Paradise Bakery.

On our last day in town, we decided to do a hike in Frying Pan Valley, into the rock formations known as the 7 Castles.  They do indeed look like castles – cliffs of red rock that look like spires and battlements.  It was a very nice hike, ended at a waterfall at the back of a red rock box canyon.  I had no idea Aspen had Colorado Plateau-like scenery.