We set out for a long weekend at the Difficult Campground in Aspen. We hit the road around 2:30pm on Thursday and landed here to site 30, our reserved site for 3 nights just south of Aspen – some place warm, where the beer flows like wine & the beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano! Well… at least it was warm!
Our campsite was wonderful! We had never visited Difficult Campground, and historically have very rarely paid for a site, but this campground was perfect! It was nice knowing we had a site at the end of our long drive for sure. Most of the sites seemed nice, and the proximity to Aspen would be hard to beat. Site 30 was perfect, shaded, private and right on a little stream.
Friday we took off for Snowmass to ride the Rim Trail Loop. It was our biggest ride yet since our respective injuries last Fall. 11 miles round-trip and +1,700ft. When we got to the “trailhead” (the Snowmass rec center parking lot), we realized there was a big event going on – Ragnar – a long-distance team relay race. At the start we were concerned they would be running the same trail we were, but we set off anyways and glad we did.
It started with a steady climb up a paved path, perfect for getting our legs warmed up. After a quick spin, we headed off on fairly steep, switchbacked single-track heading ever higher up the mountainside. Quick note to future self, the earlier the better – this is a mostly south-facing climb with very light cover. It would be a scorcher late in the day. After the initial climb, it was mostly downhill until another surprise STEEP climb – and hot this time! Very exposed to sun.
All in all, it was good ride. The descent was mostly just a repeat of the climb, but in the other direction. Not the best use of 1100′ of descent, but there were a few little fun bumps things thrown in.
The next day, we headed out for a hike up to Cathedral Lake. We got a later start than usual, but it just worked out – we got the last parking spot in the little lot at the trailhead. Not that that stopped people from parking like jackasses anyways… but I digress.
It was a fairly short hike, but a good test for our legs again. If you’re sensing a theme, it’s that we are steadily bumping up our adventures trying to ease back into our normal distances. Getting there! The Cathedral Lake Trail was a 5.5mi RT (out’n’back’), with 2100′ of climbing. Steep, but worth it.
What a beautiful hike! But it wasn’t a complete success… poor little Moz shredded the skin on her front paw pads. She has done this a few times, and really it wasn’t too bad this time, but still a surprise because this used to be a real short hike for her. She’s really starting to show her age!
All in all, another great weekend of camping! After all these years in Colorado, this was the first time we mountain biked here in Aspen. And we got to watch Dumb & Dumber! The perfect movie for a relaxing evening in camp.
-Kyle