Richmond Hill
We thought we might have time to do all of Taylor Pass before heading for home, but it wasn't meant to be. We headed up Express Creek Road on the western half of the Taylor Pass trail, and when we got to the pass we stopped to have a discussion. We just didn't have enough time to do everything, so we decided to skip the rest of Taylor Pass. We'll just have to come back.
We also didn't have time to do the section of trail that went south from that big intersection. We were hoping to do that bit because it ended at the other side of the saddle from the end of Cement Creek, a trail we did the day before. There's never enough time.
The other half of Monica's sway bar link had come off, so Bob removed it completely. Would the JK "reconnect" the sway bar if half of it was missing? We wouldn't know for a little while.
We turned to do Richmond Hill and head into Aspen. The start of it was pretty and we followed switchbacks that replaced the old trail that used to go straight up the hill. The repairs looked good, but without much vegetation they would probably never look like they once did before the trail was there. Still, the switchbacks were a smart change.
The sun was setting, and what was left of it was peeking through the clouds to spread a bit of sunshine on the peaks in the distance. It was gorgeous and difficult to photograph. Sometimes you can really only see things in person because a picture won't cut it.
The weather was still nice even though we were pretty high in elevation. There were a few bumpy spots but it wasn't anything serious. We were mostly just enjoying the big scenery as we went up and down the hills.
When we moved into the trees the shadows took over. It was cool to look at the GPS and the contour lines as they marked the drop off on both sides of us. It was definitely a ridge.
There were lots of markings for snowmobiles so this trail must be popular in the winter. The wilderness area was right next to the trail and we were on a thin ridge, so they must have to stay on the trail. It would be a pretty trip in the snow.
We found a little muddy section, but otherwise the trail was dry. It wasn't long before we were passing the end of Annie Basin, and then we found the end of the trail at the ski area. It was a nice trail and a nice way to connect to Aspen.
