Maroon Bells: Day 2

Maroon Bells: Day 2

7/19/2022

Pine Shelf Camp - Bumpy Ground Camp

Miles hiked: 8.1 mi

Elevation gained: 2,188 ft (11,703 - 12,409 - 10,272 - 11,700)

Animals seen: mosquitoes, black bear, devil flies, mule deer & fawn, no-effs-given marmot

Elevation chart created on AllTrails.com

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So we definitely had rain. The rain made Jake anxious, which directly correlates to how often I woke up. Not the best sleep on trail, but we were dry when morning hit. Jake started coffee and brekkie (mango macadamia nut oatmeal and carnation) while I packed the sleep systems (trail lingo for sleeping pads, bags, and pillows). 

We were up and on trail by 8:30am with the goal of one pass for today, which conveniently happened to be situated less than two miles from us. It was relatively easy cruising, now that I seemed to be adjusting to the altitude.

Morning cruising with brekkie fuel

The last half-ish mile to the pass was the steepest climb I have ever had to do. It was just shy of a solid class 2 scramble, thank god we were going up and not down.

Jake skipped ahead and took this of Target & I struggling

We scrambled to the top of Frigid Air Pass and took in the morning views over nut butter (cinnamon almond) and electrolyte mix. 

Frigid Air Pass, our group pic turned out fuzzy

The switchbacks to the valley below were reminiscent of Whitney’s infamous 99 switchbacks. Down and down and down we went. We hit the cool shadow of the forest and slowed our pace to relish in the shade. We attempted a pack off break at a campsite near the river but the bugs were horrendous. We all dawned waterproofs and bug netting. I ate a cliff bar and chugged some water while Jake filtered more. We hustled to finish and get back on trail despite us all wanting a nap. 

Starting the switchback laden descent

Entering the respite of the forest shade

Continuing after muling & fueling

Another curve and we found we had another drop into the next valley with a dramatic waterfall. We wound down the trail and followed the river to another wet water crossing. This was deeper than the first two and we ran into the 3 bonus peak bagging guys again. They reported that they had been unsuccessful in summiting their first peak. Bummer. We tried to gain some trail data from two guys going opposite us. They reported two miles of steep ups and a leveling out to nice camping. 

Entering the valley, we had to cross that river

Looking back at the waterfall

With our camping goal in mind we hit the trail. The trail maintained its flatness for a bit and then the steep hit. Man, it was steep switchback after switchback. The sun was in full force making it a sweaty trek. On our way up we all heard a big noise in the trees and suddenly Target came to a screeching halt in front. Right there in front of us was a black bear, a bit off trail, maybe 20-30 yards away. I think we were all on the verge of soiling our pants when I started calling out to the bear with a “Hey Bear!” and clacking my poles. We grouped up to appear large and foreboding. Our intimidation check must have been hovering at 11 since he took his sweet time meandering back up the mountain.

Steep mountain ascent, shortly before running into the bear

Adrenaline was raging and we continued cautiously onward and upward. Then the devil flies hit, satanic flies, flies straight from the upside down. Vecna flies that penetrated straight to your brain and soul as they swarmed and bit you. I was not having any fun.

We ran into a dad and son on their way down and the guys stopped to chat. The dad reported no water sources on this side of the pass. What?! So now we were looking at a second pass and conserving water while my sweat and fly rage whittled my mental capacity to near zero. If I wasn’t having fun before, I was hating the trail at this point. During a short break to catch our breath, the idea of throwing myself off the mountain instead of facing the Vecna flies didn’t seem that unreasonable.

Waging a mental battle with the Vecna flies

Then the miracle of miracles happened. We hit a small stream crossing. No water on this side of the pass? Ya drunk, bro? We took a pack off break since the flies from hell had abated and chugged glorious mountain water, filtered, of course. Two ladies on their way down confirmed that the rest of the trail was not nearly as steep and a lake maybe a mile further up had ample camping. Two girls came up from behind us and we got to chatting. They were doing the loop as well but hoped to get over the next pass and camp at the famous Snowmass Lake on the other side. They asked if we were the group that saw the bear. Apparently the confused dad with poor trail data was blowing an air horn all the way down the mountain to scare off any more bears. Confused and nervous, a good combination for the backcountry. 

We gathered our gear and continued that last portion to the rumored lake. On the winding way up I spotted a mule deer and her fawn drinking at the stream we had crossed. The climb leveled out again and dipped down slightly to a snow melt lake. We visited the first worn campsite and came face to face with a honey badger trapped in a marmot body, no effs were given and it was not moving from the center of camp. Noted, Mr Marmot, noted. 

We moved on to the next campsites and were greeted by a guy who was already set up next door. No one wants to be crowded in the wilderness so we moved on a bit further and found a relatively flat-ish area with room for two tents. Jake found a natural outhouse spot and dug the hole. The view from the camp was great on both sides even if the mosquitoes found us again. We settled in for more mountain margs, cuz we earned it, and some dinner (chicken burrito bowl, yum!). 

Bumpy Ground Camp

It was rather early in the evening, not even 8pm but I think we were all so tired from the day that we passed out as soon as we hit the pillows.

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