Two Christy's? Can the world handle that? Actually she was caught in two shots that made up this panorama, approaching the top of Willow Pass.
On Sunday, my 37th birthday, Christy and I ran a trail linkup that started at Maroon Lake and finished with a beer and pizza at the Snowmass Mall. Rather than find ourselves in yet another grand birthday outing that’s both physically strenuous and technically elaborate, involving multiple summits and excessive vertical gains, we opted for something a little more chill. It’s been busy lately and we’re tired. After all, as a kid I recall considering a 37 year old adult to be officially “old” so according to me (at age 10 or so), I’m now over the hill and should take it easy.
The one-way trip can be done in either direction and requires some car shuttling, but if you want to sleep in and not deal with the hassle you can take a bus to the start and another one back home from the finish. We opted for the ‘sleep in’ option so with our coffee and breakfast burritos in hand, we hopped on the tourist bus to Maroon Lake. The ride is nice, so long as you’re OK listening to the driver try to deliver value in the $6 bus ticket by sharing everything he knows about the Maroon Creek Valley. Avalanches, marmots, forests, beavers, Aspen, glaciers, flash floods, wildflowers– you name it, he covered it– with the tone of a certified expert and all in the time it takes to make the short seven mile drive.
Christy, a.k.a. The Marmot Whisperer, chats with a friend below East Snowmass Pass. After exchanging chirps she said his name was "Sammy," he wished me a happy birthday and, as usual, wanted to know if we had any food.
Once through the tour, we headed up the busy trail with all of our newly gleaned knowledge of all things Maroon Creek, jogging up towards Buckskin Pass and taking the right fork off the trail(signed) up around treeline to Willow Pass. The ‘Sunday drivers’ disappear at this point. From Willow Pass, descend towards Willow Lake, and search for a faint, unsigned left hand fork which goes up to East Snowmass Pass. Many unsuspecting hikers miss this turn and wander down Willow Creek only to find themselves in heavy timber and ultimately on the private property of the T Lazy 7 Ranch. If it isn’t bad enough to spent the night out lost, you’ll also be in a mess of trouble as the ranch owner forbids anyone to be there, mistaken or not, and is often waiting with someone from the Sheriff’s department when you finally get out. Don’t miss the turn.
On the East Snowmass Creek descent. Willow Peak and the pass are behind, to the left and right, respectively. Click all photos to enlarge.
After finding the left turn, a short switchbacking hike uphill took us up to the pass and revealed the expansive East Snowmass Creek valley on the other side. The trail descended for 7 miles or so and lead us through meadows, wildflowers and stands of trees and with hardly another person encountered. Eventually, we came up on a sign for the Snowmass Ditch Trail which, after crossing the creek on a good log bridge, took us back to the Snowmass ski area. After finishing what we estimated to be 17 miles, the beer and slice– but particularly the beer– hit the spot.
Check it out, it’s a cool linkup.
I forgot to tell you that Sammy the Marmot also told me your legs were going to feel strong in time for the 100! I just booked us a room for next weekend and bought an unsold magnum of Benzinger Sonoma County Cab ($25) for afterwards! Not bad…..
THIS SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT BIRTHDAY FOR AN “OLD GUY”.HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!
Nice! Hope you stopped to pay your respects to Red…. can’t believe we carried him up there for a proper burial. Good luck next weekend. You need pacers???? I know a few runners in this office who might be up for the challenge!
$25 for a magnum.. oh happy day! d
Many happy returns and what a great way to enjoy a birthday. I’m really jealous. I trust the beer was a good one. I was up in the general vicinity of your run last year with my son and nephew and it’s really magnificent up there. Cheers.
Fry- We didn’t have time to poke around looking for Red’s burial site, but Christy did take a moment of silence.
Happy Belated Birthday Ted!!
Has anyone else noticed that Christy names all the small animals she encounters Sammy?
Ted and Christy,
We just discovered your awesome page – LOVE the photos and your recent race reports. We found this run description from Maroon Lake to Snowmass Village and may try to come up in a few weeks to try it before winter hits. Is the route description you gave here good enough to get us from Point A to Point B, terminus Snowmass Village? We were wondering about “the faint, unsigned left hand fork” to East Snowmass Pass – any idea about the mileage from the start to this turn-off? We don’t want to get lost! Thank you!
Kathleen- Glad you like everything.
A map would be great to have along with our simple overview. And check the bus schedule too, unless you plan on doing some car shuttles.
The faint fork is sometimes missed by unsuspecting day hikers but if you’re in tune to where you’re headed it shouldn’t be a problem and is another reason to have consulted a map. The section by Willow Lake between the two passes is short, and you can see them both from near the Lake so just taking a minute to look around and get your bearings rather than simply barreling down the trail would make all the difference. And if you actually get to the shore of Willow Lake, going in either direction, you’ve gone too far. The lake should always be off in the distance unless you’re making a side trip to get closer.
I think you’d have an easy time of it, email me if you have any more specific ??? I’m happy to help.
ted
THIS SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT BIRTHDAY FOR AN “OLD GUY”.HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!