I would like to plan a fall run in the Aspen area for Sunday, September 28th to catch some fall colors and fresh air. This will be a long one-day trail run from Marble to Crested Butte to Aspen:

The trails would include:

Lead King Basin (clockwise from Marble) (9.2 miles)
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=43


Schofield Pass (4.5 miles)
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=45


Italian Creek Road (16.9 miles)
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=117


Taylor Pass (8.5 miles)
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=118


Richmond Ridge (12 miles)
(Sorry, no link, but it’s easy/moderate following the ridge from Taylor Pass to the face of Aspen Mountain/Ajax)


I ran this last year and it was a 16 hour day with the TTT and 12 rigs stopping for lots of photo ops. It’s 50+ miles on trail, plus travel time to and from the trail heads from Carbondale, Crested Butte and Aspen. It would be prudent to get on the road from Carbondale at 8am and shoot for arrival in Aspen around 9pm. Depending on how many rigs and people we have, I might be able to provide some lodging the nights before/after in the Carbondale/Basalt/Aspen area, or there are camping options at both ends, either outside Marble or several locations outside Aspen.

I would recommend arriving in the Carbondale area on Saturday evening and planning to return home on Monday morning, which is what I plan to do. If it is still open, we could also take the scenic route over Independence Pass on the way back to the Front Range.



Vehicle qualifications:

A good stock rig can make it on all of these trails, but for the purposes of avoiding delays and minimizing potential damage, I recommend the following basics:

33” tires (something that can take abuse, the talus and shale is unforgiving of sidewalls)
Skid plates (factory will suffice)
Sliders
Front and rear tow points
Rear locker
Basic recovery gear suitable for your vehicle
All-weather clothing (literally, it can be 80+ degrees, then snowing in the same day!)

Because of the amount of time we will spend in the rigs with minimal down time, a CB will be essential if you want to keep up with what’s next, when we’re stopping, potty breaks, and details about the trail as we progress (e.g. watch out for the pumpkin buster there… this is Lizard Lake, it’s freakin’ beautiful!)

 

Attendees to date:

1. ajax (cottora)
2. Colin (Co4x4)
3. Don_G (cottora)
4. fjcruzer123 (cottora)
5. Ike (cottora)
6. jwh86 (FJ)
7. march2304 (cottora)
8. RockyMtnHigh (FJ)
9. SP!N4L T4P (cottora)
10. Stagecoachco (FJ)
11. Traylortrash (cottora)
12. TwoDogs (Co4x4)

Maybes:

1. 92regcab
2. AxleIke (Yota)
3. Canito (FJ
4. extremepaint
5. Hurley (cottora)
6. Jade (cottora)
7. JimD (FJ)
8. mrdoug
9. ocr14a (FJ)
10. OrangeCrush
11. Quick Draw (cottora)
12. RedRunnertc (cottora)

 

This is where we will be meeting at 8am Sunday morning:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...=UTF8&t=h&z=16

It is the City Market parking lot, north end next to the Ace Hardware. There is a 7-Eleven gas station across the street and a Napa on the south end of the strip mall.

If anyone wants early breakfast, the Red Rock Diner is at the north end of Hwy 133 on your left just before you hit Hwy 82 and they are open at 6am.

For those camping near the trail head we will meet you on the east end of Marble where you will see this sign...

... but hopefully not that much snow

We will run the north leg of the Lead King Basin loop clockwise, and then head up Schofield Pass.

A point of note: taking this route we will NOT go by Lizard Lake, the mill, or Crystal City. If there's a demand for it, we can alter our route to take the south end of the loop instead and it is considerably shorter. Lemme know.

We will have a brief lunch in Crested Butte here...
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...=UTF8&t=h&z=17
... and can also fuel up before heading to Cement Creek, Reno Divide, Italian Creek, Taylor Park, Taylor Pass and Richmond Ridge.

Food will be scarce in Aspen if we arrive late on a Sunday night, so plan accordingly.

 

Last post before heading out this evening. Look forward to seeing a few folks up there Sunday. Looks like beautiful weather and peak aspens await us! Drive safely.