Though we knew we wanted to camp one night, we had no idea where to go. The first afternoon we stopped at a sporting goods store and got some helpful advice from one of the workers about Maroon Bells, a place we were already planning on visiting, just outside of Aspen. We arrived at dusk and hiked in about an hour to the base of North Maroon Peak and Pyramid Peak, both above 14,000 feet. Under the moonlight, we set up our tents along the shores of Crater Lake, literally at the foot of the steep cone of the mountain. Since we were at 10,100 feet, it was a cold night, but we both had warm sleeping bags to keep us cozy. This was definitely the coolest place I have camped, being surrounded by aspen trees, a pristine lake, two huge mountains, some wildlife and a nearly full moon. As amazing as it was at night, it was even better getting up in the morning and seeing the sun come over the mountains, lighting the whole valley. Hundreds of pictures later, we managed to pull ourselves away and hike back to the car to continue our trip.

 

With a Subway sandwich in hand, I was ready to hike.

The sun began to set over Maroon Lake as we begin our hike.

We passed through quite a few aspen groves along the trail en route to our campsite.

As we got close to Crater Lake, we relied on the moon, a weak flashlight and a desire not to sleep on the rocks to guide us.

Crater Lake surrounded by North Maroon Peak on the right and Pyramid Peak on the left.

We were fortunate to find a fairly flat campsite, protected from the wind by some tall vegetation.

Early morning before sunrise, probably around 35 degrees.

Slowly, the sun made its way into the mountain valley.

Ah, the dichotomy of dark and light...so many good analogies that I could make, and I can't think of any of them.

A parting shot of Crater Lake as we made our way back to the car.

North Maroon Peak. Our campsite was right at the base of the pine trees and high grasses in this picture

Another one of the numerous aspen trees for which the adjacent city is named.

Note the classic U-shape of this valley, revealing it was formed by glaciers as opposed to a V-shaped valley formed by rivers indicating that....booooring.

"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason."

Paul and I make use of my tripod and self timer, offering proof that we were both there.

One more picture. Our campsite was just below the snow line of the peak, right in the middle of the picture.