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Aspen Mountain 120812

August 12, 2012 by Monica

Aspen Mountain

Trail Run on August 12, 2012
Report and photos by Monica I., Trail Leader
View trail information for Aspen Mountain

Bob S.
Green 1997 Jeep Wrangler
Monica I.
Red 2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Walt S.
Gray 2022 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 392

We'd had a long and wonderful three-day weekend in the area, and Aspen Mountain would be our last trail before heading for home. We love ski mountain trails in the summer, and this looked like a good one. It wasn't long, but it sure was steep.

The top part wasn't nearly as steep as the bottom, but we didn't know that yet. We saw a family on dirtbikes but otherwise we had the top to ourselves. The gondola was running, and it was a peaceful area.

We got to a relatively flat area under the gondolas and spotted quite a few skydivers lazily doing circles nearby. We stopped there for a while, enjoying the quiet buzzing of the gondolas and the scenery in the fading light. We could even see Aspen far below us. Then, the previously empty gondolas had people in them who were heading up to the Sundeck Restaurant. We waved at them and they waved back. It was very relaxing and nice.

But we had a lot of highway miles yet to do so we headed down. It wasn't long before it started getting really steep. Bob detected a burning smell from his Jeep so he stopped, but it all seemed fine. We cut back and forth at the switchbacks and wondered how people could ski some of those slopes.

It didn't seem to take long to get to the trailhead in Aspen. We popped out into a parking lot for apartments. There was nowhere to air up and get ready for our trip, so we went through town until we saw the recycling center. We stopped in there to air up.

It was Sunday so there were no options for finding another bolt for Monica's sway bar link. It was off, but the Jeep thought it was reconnected and it was fine with it. Surprisingly, the Jeep did pretty well on the highway.

We stopped at the slowest Wendy's on the planet, had dinner, and then headed for home. Bob's Jeep was being squirrely and Monica's Jeep was being weird in the curves, so we drove 55mph on the way home. It was a less stressful drive but it took us a little while. It was well after midnight when we got home to Denver, but it was a great day and a great trip. We're already planning the next one.

across_the_slope
aspen_alps_parking_lot_at_the_trailhead
aspen_laid_out
aspen_view_from_above
aztec_sign
bellissimo_sign
bob_on_the_trail
chairlift
corkscrew_sign
deer
disc_golf_basket
getting_closer
guardrail_of_skis
last_dollar_sign
layers_and_skydivers
lazy_boy_sign
lift_over_a_restaurant
lift_tower
lift
losing_light
many_skydivers
near_the_top
northstar_sign
one_and_two_leaf_sign
restaurant
ruthies_run_sign
s1_sign
silver_dip_sign
silver_queen_gondola_sign
ski_area_boundary
skydiver
skydivers_and_lift
slope_with_a_trail
strawpile_sign
summer_road_rules
sundeck_restaurant
top_of_a_lift
top_of_the_mountain
top_of_the_slopes
trailhead_part_1
trailhead_part_2
walshs_sign
walt_on_the_trail
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