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Originally uploaded by Eric Nentrup.
The weekend before last, I was fortunate enough to get to head towards Aspen with two beloved brothers, Dave Ward and Rob Cupp (left to right). We went up to the Maroon Bells Wilderness, home of the most photographed peaks in the states. If you click the pic and follow it to flickr, you ought to check out some other folks photos by searching for Maroon Bells in the search field.
There we hiked the Four Pass Loop, 28 miles of serious hiking above 10,000 ft.! Oh, and we did it in TWO DAYS. Each of the four passes took us above 12,000 ft. and I now know I am truly acclimatized to Colorado.
This hike KICKED MY BUTT. I was suckin’ air BIG time. But as you can guess, I feel like a total trail monster now, having conquered this thing with the help and encouragement of Dave and Rob.
We each hiked with less than 30 lbs. on our backs — the lightest trek I’ve ever done. And NOW, I’m committed to ultralight backpacking. This very pack in the picture is now for sale on Craigslist.com and I hope to replace it with a smaller, super light pack.
In this picture, we’re standing at Buckskin Pass, looking towards Snowmass Peak and Snowmass Lake down at the foot of the mountain. I didn’t bring a camera on the hike, but realized that we’d probably be passing other hikers with cameras, and I was right! We were able to meet some NEAT people this way, stopping and talking with them while exchanging duties as “trail photographer” for each other.
This picture was taken and sent back to us by a guy named Don who teaches, of all places, at BALL STATE UNIVERSITY in Indiana! Can you belive that? We learned he is also the music director at his Presbyterian church and were able to talk a bit about working in ministry. Amazing. We have another picture or two that we hope to get back, and if so, I’ll likely post them as well.
I truly loved this hike. These men have challenged me in more ways than the obvious to a higher elevation. I am blessed to know them and to experience such a wonderful journey with them.
Eric Nentrup 