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Tag: schofield park

East Fork Loop: Frigid Air Pass to Hasley PassEast Fork Loop: Frigid Air Pass to Hasley Pass

East Fork Loop: Frigid Air Pass to Hasley Pass

Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness | Friday – Saturday, June 26-27, 2026

This weekend I returned to the western side of the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness near Crested Butte so I could get in a nice alpine day hike on Saturday morning. Although I was initially planning to hike in a different area of the Wilderness at first, when I saw that the weather forecast was calling for rain overnight I though it would be a good idea to change up my plans and hike into the East Fork of the Crystal River just below Schofield Pass so I could quickly get up above treeline since I hoped that there might be some low clouds surrounding the peaks on Saturday morning at sunrise. Unfortunately, this weekend was a good reminder of why I usually avoid heading over to the Crested Butte area before Labor Day since getting around before and after the hike was kind of a pain in the ass, but since that’s probably not going to be an option for me this summer I thought I would make an exception and try going earlier in the season.

CONTINUE READINGEast Fork Loop: Frigid Air Pass to Hasley Pass
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West Maroon Pass & Geneva LakeWest Maroon Pass & Geneva Lake

West Maroon Pass & Geneva Lake

Saturday & Sunday, August 9-10, 2014

Since Diane and I have been spending a lot of time this summer hiking in the San Juan Mountains I figured it was time to get in a weekend of hiking in the Elk Mountains, before it was too late. We left home bright and early on Saturday morning and drove around the Grand Mesa to Marble where we followed the Crystal River past the Crystal Mill and Devil’s Punchbowl towards Schofield Pass. Diane was not a fan of this narrow and rough road, especially when we drove over the sections of large moving rocks. We stopped at the trailhead in Schofield Park so we could start our hike up to West Maroon Pass. Unfortunately, driving over Schofield Pass took a little longer than I remembered, so we arrived later in the morning than I would normally like to start hiking during monsoon season in the mountains. Since we weren’t attempting to climb any peaks on this hike we decided to give it a shot and see what the weather would do. Some darker clouds moved into the sky early on during our hike and we got rained on a few times, but there were no thunderstorms nearby. While there were still plenty of flowers along it trail, it was obvious that wildflower season is definitely coming to and end as many of the flowers were wilted and dying. I bet this hike would have been an amazing sight a few weeks ago!

CONTINUE READINGWest Maroon Pass & Geneva Lake
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