Aspen Mountain Hike

Started off the morning with a great hike up Mt. Aspen via the Ute Trail. The first part of the trail was tree covered and shaded, only a few other hikers on the trail that early, and they were coming back down! A sign at the trail head showed a formula for estimating caloric usage depending on how fast someone completed the trail. This was interesting, but did not pertain to our little party as we were headed all the way to the top of the mountain. The information did show that hiking, especially at elevation and on steep terrain, is a fantastic workout, which is what I'm always looking for.

On the hike up, we discussed the many Fit Expedition opportunities that Aspen has to offer with nearly year round mountain sporting opportunities, including skiing, hiking, and mountain biking, as well as the many sports competitions, like the Aspen MotherLode Volleyball Classic and the Aspen Ruggerfest. 

With the great views from the first stopping point, the entire town of Aspen was visible. I enjoyed seeing the rugby pitch and wished I would be around for the Ruggerfest. I also couldn't resist taking a photo of my Fit Expeditions wristband. I would love if anyone who has one took a picture with it and posted here or to the Fit Expeditions Facebook page.

The remainder of the hike up the mountain became more of a walk the wrong way on the ski trails, seeing the backside of black diamond and blue square signs. There were several other hikers converging from different feeder trails. There were great views of the surrounding mountains and a surprise flock of paragliders!

At the top of the mountain there were many surprising activities. The first found was a childrens' obstacle course, which was awesome. I'm going to have to build one in my backyard eventually! 

There were hula hoops, which are a surprisingly good workout. 

The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies even had guides at the top and today they had a snake! Apparently, Monday is reptile day. Their guides are fantastic and their knowledge really adds a lot of interest to being around the mountains. This was actually the second time we'd seen their guides. The first time was a guided hike at the base of the Maroon Bells!

During the summer, the gondola ride back down the mountain is free for those who hiked up. Labor Day weekend is the end of full week operations; after that, it's weekends only! I'm glad we didn't do this hike tomorrow!