Ringing the Bells- Maroon bells 4 pass loop, Aspen, CO

We'ed initially planned to do the famous Maroon bells 4 pass loop over the July 4th long weekend. But there was still too much snow at the passes from the last winter and so waited for some more weeks, and finally decided to do it Mid August over a weekend.

The drive from Boulder to Aspen on Friday was pretty uneventful  - going by the independence pass route and the scenery everywhere was nice and lush green. We reached the Maroon lake trail head at around 630PM and started hiking, our destination for the night was a couple miles in and 1000ft up past Crater Lake. We found a good spot, setup camp, ate dinner under the stars and went to bed

Next morning we had an early start and started hiking upwards and onwards to our first pass- Buckskin pass. The Maroon-Snowmass trail wound up the valley steadily. After rising through the forests of pine and aspen, the views started to open up. Everything was lush green with lots of wildflowers and a sweet scent in the air. The pass started to come into view high up following the steep switchbacks. Finally we found ourselves on the top of Buckskin pass 12500ft.- the pass out of the four with the maximum elevation gain! The views on either side were amazing. Behind us was the valley and maroon bells range from where we had started, Beyond us was the vast expanse of backcountry wilderness, with the Snowmass lake and valley visible in the distance backed by the Snowmass peak, Capitol ridge and other 14er's.

After taking in the views, we descended steeply into the valley and then the trail slowly mellowed into open meadows and after the first basin the trail dropped steeply again and we were soon at the bottom of the valley we had seen from the pass. The trail continued though forests and by a creek and in a couple hours we were on the banks of the Snowmass Lake at 11,000ft. We lunched on the banks of the lake under the towering Snowmass Peak. Stocked up on energy bars and some chocolate and then continued on the trail past the lake.

The trail climbed up moderately through the trees. While climbing, on our right was the azure blue colored waters of Snowmass lake that just continued to take our breath away higher and higher we went. Past the tree line we were in a vast grassy meadow with amazing views all around us and the steep switchbacks going up to Trail Rider Pass in the front. The top view of snow mass lake was amazing as i continued to huff-and-puff to get on with the steepest climb upto the Pass 12420ft. On the pass there were a bunch of social people talking about their adventures. Most of them were on the loop in clockwise direction and were going down the trail we'ed come up and were camping at the Snowmass lake. After a photo op on the top of the pass down we went on the other side. This side was grassy and open meadows. Past the steep descent from the pass the trail flattened out for a mile or so and we stopped by a small quaint little pond for a while and then continued onwards.

On the edge of the meadow the trail started to drop into the Fravert basin valley. The switchbacks were many and steep. Luckily we were going down on them. We descended fast. It had been a long day with lots of elevation gain and loss and were eagerly waiting to reach the campsites in the valley. At around 630 we reached the campsite in a clearing in the woods with amazing views of the Maroon Peak to the East and by the banks of the Crystal river, We ate, relaxed and stretched out  our tired feet ,and waited for sunset that was gorgeous. Soon we retired into our tents and sleep was upon us very quickly.

On Sunday- our last day - we got ready, ate and started the hike to the last 2 passes. Both of them were not as much in steep elevation gain and the elevation change and distance between the two was not as much as the previous day.. encouraged we started hiking though the Fravert basin along the Crystal river and were soon greeted by a wonderful waterfall.The trail climbed up steeply for a while on switchbacks and then leveled out though some trees on one side and an open meadow and creek on the other. And the slopes of the Maroon bells ranges visible in the distance. We covered the miles at the good pace on the mostly level trail until the trail opened out in a vast expanse of grass just below the backside of the Maroon peak.

Here on the trail climbed steadily and steeply. Again i huffed-and -puffed and pushed myself up the steep rocky switchbacks and after a while was on top of Frigid Air Pass (12,415') The view of the Maroon peak and the vast meadow and basin underneath was amazing. On the other side of the pass was another expanse of wilderness- the Crested Butte side with vast valley full of grassy meadows and wild flowers. After taking inthe views at the Frigid air pass, we descended down the trail and into the valley.

 It was pretty level with the open wilderness slopes on our right hand side. Soon we were at the fork and took the left to the final pass the West Maroon Pass. I refilled water in the stream from fresh snowmelt, and braced myself for the final climb. It was pretty steady and not as steep as the earlier ones and soon was on the last set of rocky switchbacks and on top of the pass. The view again was amazing. Behind us was the crested butte valley and dark clouds were starting to roll in over there. On the other side was the west maroon valley, that we descended down following the trail. There were no switchbacks so soon we descended and were into the valley ... We continued on the trail admiring the views of Maroon peak on the left and the creek and valley on the right.Lots of wild flowers

Winding trail continued past the campsites in the West Maroon valley, and soon were passing the campsites past the Crater Lake that were closed for some time due to recent bear activity there. After a final photo op at crater lake we continued past the final mile of the trail and were back at the Maroon Lake trail head.

We soaked our tired feet in the col waters of the lake for a while amid a crowd of people. Maroon Peak and Lake is supposedly the most photographed location in the US- it was indeed beautiful (and easy to get to) Soon we were on our way back to Boulder after gorging on delicious cheesy pizza in Aspen. It was a Killer backpack with killer views. Im glad and proud that i did it - and managed it in 2 days !

Cirque of the Towers: Backpacking the Winds

Over Labor day weekend 2014, our hiking group from Boulder, CO did an amazing backpacking trip to Cirque of the towers in the Wind river range, WY. Here is a short glimpse of our adventure:


Friday afternoon we started the 7.x hour drive from Boulder to the trail head hoping to reach there by before midnight. But we had a car oil leak somewhere around Sinclair,WY and ultimately decided to stop for the night at Rock Springs, WY hoping to get it fixed early next morning. After much talk about where to lay that night, we ultimately succumbed to the hippy spirit imbibed from Boulder,CO i guess and slept out in the open under the stars on a small hillock by the I80. Next morning luckily the car got fixed early and we were on our way once again much relieved. enroute topics ranged from backpacking adventures, wyoming, investing, dumpster diving , Boulder. etc. and in no time we were at the Big Sandy trail head and started hiking by around 12:30pm. 2 of our party were supposed to meet us at the trailhead but due to our delay we missed them and hoped they hiked in and would catch them at the Cirque.

The trail began through pine and aspen forests gently gaining winding up a gently flowing river. It opened up on a couple of meadows that gave us panoramas of the stream, forests and the mountains. Twas a very grey day. With a couple of stops for pictures of huge mushrooms and water breaks, we were at the Big Sandy Lake at 6mi. and the weather had started to turn looking very ominous.

While debating about whether to continue up to the pass or wait for the weather to clear, we talked about going by being stuck by lightning, out in the wilderness and death and what lies beyond

Being out in the wilderness with random people tends to bring up very interesting subjects to talk about...

Ultimately deciding to get closer to the pass and then reconsider the weather and make a decision, we continued past Big sandy lake up to the intersection with the Temple peak trail and the Jackass pass trail. Here we took shelter between a bunch of trees as it was too windy and there was a heavy onslaught of rain-ice. Here we ate and saw a huge group with around 5 or 6 lamas pass by. They were planning to be in the wilderness for a week, and the Lamas were carrying their climbing gear. Another first for me... had not seen lamas ever before. After about 30-40 minutes the rain receded and there was a patch of blue sky over the direction of the trail we were supposed to be ascending.

Encouraged, we started the climb up towards Jackass pass. The trail ascended quickly and we got a panoramic top view of big sand lake. Then the trail continued steadily past a valley and after a stream crossing pictured below, it started ascending again through a very rocky terrain.

Up up and away we went on a rocky trail guided by cranes when the trail was not clear for a while, then the trail descended slightly to a beautify lake with the panorama of mountains we had just left behind in the background. The weather too had stared to clear with the sunny blue skies and puffy white clouds being a welcome sight as compared to the stormy weather before. Past the lake the trail again climbed steadily and now the trail was "opening up" giving us views of rocky slopes on one side and a forested valley on the other. We were getting closer! Soon we got the first peek of the prize... the Cirque of the Towers (picture below)

 It turned out that that view - although very gorgeous was not the pass. Soon the trail descended again down and we were at an intersection with the Arrowhead lake on one side (below) and a steep 800' ascent to the actual Jackass Pass. We climbed steadily and reached the top. It was intensely windy. And it was against the direction of motion... so we had to exert ourselves even more. Soon past the pass the trail once again and finally descended to the Lonesome lake - our destination for the night.

We descended quickly- the grey clouds were building up again over the Cirque. Filled up water at the lake and went to the nearby woods scouting for a camping spot. Soon it started to drizzle and we setup camp on a good spot before the rain got stronger. The rain receded again and we ate and talked by a campfire. By around 1030 we were getting sleepy and the sky was getting lit by some distant lightening far away. We called it a night and crept into our tents and into our warm sleeping bags.

No sooner than i was about to fall asleep the sky was alit with brilliant flashes of lightning and strong thunder. Rain was on again. As the thundering and lightning continues into the night the temperatures fall and soon rain turned to hail and ice. But tiredness took over and the thunder wasnt strong enough to keep me from falling asleep.

We awoke next day to a close to freezing morning with low fog and clouds hanging over the cirque. The condensation had frozen through the night making our campsite even colder. Slowly in the cold we ate, cleaned up and got ready. Our plan for the day was to explore the area around Texas pass and lakes .. but due to weather it wasnt a good idea and we decided to go down the open valley and explore some of the unnamed lakes.

We started off the gentle trail going past thick forests, some streams and started getting warmed up. The sun too peaked out of the clouds for a short while and with our quickening pace it was time to shed some warmer layers. After a while we were in a vast open meadow with gorgeous views of peaks all around us. The Cirque behind us was still covered with the low hanging clouds that seemed so heavy that they had just settled comfortably over the Cirque. But on either side and beyond we could see the beautiful dusting of fine sugar on the mountains. The first coating of snow on tall granite blackish peaks looked amazing. While still in the meadow, the weather turned again and it started raining-snowing. The wind too picked up. We pondered that the area was so aptly named.

We continued on the mellow trail though the forests, over a couple stream crossings, stopping for lunch in a forested area full for wild mushrooms of all different sizes and colors. After a while we crossed a stream hoping to get to a lake on the other side. But no sooner after crossing we came across another huge stream that was flowing in the opposite direction to the one we had just crossed. Confused, we huddled up and debated what was going on and being engineers came up with plausible theories. Ultimately we crossed the second stream as well and after some thick tress we came to the shore of the beautiful lake (pictured below) with glistening blue water, tall pine trees on the bank and 12000' granite towers  with a fine dusting of snow in the background. The clouds were moving here making the sunlight come and go. When the sun was out the water turned into an incredible shade of blue. After a good photo op and jumping around the rocks to get better views, we turned around and were soon back on the trail heading back.

The weather going back was much better. Still cloudy but not as much and no rain. The sun was out too over part of the valley and blue skies that we had eagerly awaited over some of the peaks.The weather made much of a difference and were able to quickly re-trace our steps back to our campsite near Lonesome lake. After moving our tents to a further location following a note from the ranger that we were less than 0.25mi from the lake, Two folks were tired and retired and decided to build up a campfire - which was going be challenging as it had been raining all day and everything was very dank. The three of us continued past the lake up the trail to a waterfall we had seen on our way in.

On our way we strolled though open meadows with some wild flowers, many wild mushrooms, pine trees and some streams. In an opening we saw a white tailed deer and two moose. Yay! Soon winding up the trail we were right at the base of the Cirque, with the towers right up in front. The weather too had cleared and we got amazing views of the towers with wispy clouds flying past slowly. The view from the waterfall was amazing.

We continued past the meadows over the waterfall hoping to get to the greenish lake right at the base of the towers. On our way there we saw a couple of tents and wondered how it would have been camping up there with thick clouds and furious thunder and lightning on the previous night. Gazing awestruck at the rocky peaks towering over us, and after a short scramble over some gigantic boulders we reached the lake but turned around quickly as it was too windy and was starting to drizzle again.

Retracing our steps to the campsite and the warm and welcoming campfire, we finally relaxed, changed from our drenched socks and shoes and settled down by the fire for food drink and talk. We made a drying rack close to the fire and hung out our socks and shoes. Soon our clothes, socks and shoes were steaming and were pretty dry and warm. We stoked the fire and chatted for a long while and retired to bed at about 10:30pm after having a tentative timeline for the next days plan to head out

Next morning was warm and nice with clear blue skies and no sign of rain nor storm. It was a totally different scene now. Perfect for our journey over the pass. We ate, refilled water at the lake, took some pics and were off , upwards and onwards on the climb back over the pass.

This time we took a slightly different trail form the intersection at Arrowhead lake... that turned out to be shorter and avoided the 2 going up and downs over the pass... although it was very rocky in some sections and involved scrambling. Past the pass and arrowhead lake, we rejoined the old trail that we had taken going up. It was a pretty easy hike out ... all downhill and soon we were past the lake and were having lunch on the Big sandy lake overlook from the top.

The weather was incredible and the blue skies with fluffy white clouds gave us some good pics with nice contrast. Soon we were past big sandy lake on the flat and final 5 miles out to the trailhead. It dint take us long to do the final miles but they sure felt long.. Finally we made it back to our cars, stretched out for a bit and were on our drive back. The talk now ranged form god and atheism, driving , driving habits, more past adventures and experiences and finally we found ourselves back in Boulder, tired but happy !

mushy musing!

cold evening pastimes
acting on lazy enzymes,
playing around word by word
o what a nerd!

fed, watered..
warm and tucked in...
venting words unheard.
letting your head spin.

pondering. wondering. dreaming.

corrugated by the vagaries of the earthly,
innocence lost dumbly
somewhere in the tides of time.
Yet in moments sublime
with child like glee
cherish everything left behind by thee.

come fly with me

clickity clack clickity clack
churning on the spokes...
mile after mile go back
riding though the oaks.


sliding through the gears
up and down; up and down
air whizzing through your ears
flying around town

huff and puff
and huff and puff
getting a little tough
sure enough

biking up a slope
with even more panting,
end in sight; a constant hope
the journey quite enchanting

soaking in the outdoors
sun wind and rain
cooler climes one always adores
finally all pulled up, on the well greased chain

basking in the feat
resting your trusty feet
and your tired seat
while grabbing a bite to eat

the ride just begins to thrill
as you let go downhill
totally free with simple glee
so come fly away with me ...

What do you think v/s What do you feel ?

"kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hai"

"dil ka khel dimaag se khelo"

A Bollywood person would surely be familiar with these phrases. But if not and for others- loosely translated in English they read:

"sometimes a thought comes to my heart"

"play heart games with the mind "

What comes to the mind on the first glance of these phrases?

These seemingly ordinary and poetic phrases appear to be quite normal, but are infact quite deep- and now that i think of it - the reason for all the psychology, psychiatry industry and research.

Looking closer the two seem to be opposites of each other.

First, the song claims that a 'thought is coming to my heart' . Medical folks will be totally against this because science dictates that the brain thinks and perceives. But on the other hand, the second one suggests playing games affecting the heart with the mind. Can one really isolate and decide consciously what to do in such matters ?

Recently i read a book, Blink, which delves into the subconscious and analyzes the seemingly behind the scenes decisions we make in split seconds without us being consciously aware of why we chose to do/think in a particular fashion at the time. Im not into reading such types of books- self help, personal growth, management etc- mainly because i think (or should i say feel ?!?) they explain the same point again and again in a round about fashion. I found the same to be true with this book as well, although it couldnt be called self help or personal growth, it certainly did stress the same point with numerous examples. It was an interesting read though- exposing to the minutest detail what goes on in our subconscious in the split seconds we have to make decisions. Blink also got to the fore the notions of stereotypes, psychology and what one explicitly says one thinks v/s what one subconsciously believes. The difference was apparent even when one does not have mere split seconds to decide - but in a more relaxed leisurely setting as well.

It is these grey areas of our decisions where our subconscious mind has more effect than our conscious thinking mind. Is this where hunches and feeling may seem to take precedence ?

In daily conversations too this can be seen, people often ask; when talking about some issues or a discussion in a company group meeting for example, 'what do you think about xyz' ? on some particularly touchy issues it may be 'what do you feel we should do' ? Could one try to draw a line in sand and separate our responses to these two questions? Would your answers to the above be the same ? all the time ?

So, what do you do-- do you think? or do you feel ? :P

Food Theory

Shreekhand fresh from the cows, butter straight from the dairy, puran-poli and puri-bhajji steaming from the kitchens, fishfry or mutton masala cooked with care (read pain), fresh idli and dosa- fermented just right overnight, sarson da saag, aromatic biryanis cooked with authentic spices and formulae or the seemingly crude vada-pav and cutting -chai

pasta and lasanga with detailed concoctions of spices and sauces, the aroma of stew and chicken noodle soup, tossed vegetables in the blend of soy and chili....

slurp...

each dish painfully made with tender loving care, toiling hours in the kitchen, tasting and re-tasting to make sure its all just right... but at the end, the joy to relish... special occasions special food, good times good food, people and food, food and people...

So, having a heavily watering mouth, i meander back to the topic i have at hand..... i heard somewhere recently (pretty sure it was a movie, but cant remember which one, and so the garb of somewhe

re :\) ... that people or communities (or countries) who have an 'intimate relation' with food are typically those that have been through the tough times of drought and famine and poverty or slavery and colonization :P

.... for it is he who has lost and found knows what it truly means....

Having been born and brought-up in such a country myself (like a gazillion others here and elsewhere) (i think the long list of dishes at the top gives it away, hopefully) i cant help but ponder over, or perhaps dig deeper into; this with a thumping heart and an invisible smile...

Holiday !

I was in LA

on a holiday

amidst a welcoming company

time quite just slipped away.

reliving the good ole history

the years gone bye seem only yesterday...

a tryst with the city

without much of a mystery

a walk around Hollywood

and the day was all good...

gazing at the stars on the ground

and up in the sky- at the observatory

basking in sunshine on the beach

made me realize with a stride each

how much missed the openness was

that was until just over a year

so commonplace

the plush streets at Beverly

mouth watering clearly

PCH at its scenic beauty

downtown la for its staggering majesty

theres a word of caution

of oppression in the street

each one on the guard

keeping friendly greetings at bay...

quite foreign for a small towner each day

soaking in the year-end

amongst a sea of revelers

Universal merriment

laughter and screams

after what seems like ages

and to top it all

'home' made delicacies

and jolly company

concluded my tryst

with the city of angels?

StarShucks !

As i just sit by

using the free Wi-Fi

i happen to stumble

on a random rumble ( :P)

Starbucks

is bringing a high to billion lucks

The aroma of dark brewed beans

surely a connoisseur knows what this means

a whiff of chocolate in the air

here there every where

as coffee's largest chain

cozy and comfy thro hail, snow and rain

a nook in every US city

its a pity

i dont get royalty

for such publicity

but whom am i to complain?

it let me survive on exquisite coffee

and free net in bargain !

Comment OK Please !!

Okay, now if you haven't figured out from where the title comes...there you go. Actually...to be quite frank it came as a real revelation, a surprise for me too....

Anyways....now that you are done pondering and exclaiming over those three simple looking words...let me draw your attention to the topic i have at hand....

In the times of fb statuses, twitter updates and Buzz....blogging seems to be a thing of the past. Now, im still a newbie in the field of blogging and so will not take the been-there-done-that tone and dole out lamenting comments on the state of affairs. But really, with one being able to post thoughts, statuses, snippets, videos et al. in just a few clicks; in a matter of seconds- and be able to connect with a known/reliable audience, is surely more enticing than typing out figments of ones philosophy, thoughts on life etc into the world wide web and then also take efforts in drawing traffic to the blog.

Another aspect that sets apart the 2 forms of connecting is the feedback and comment system. Traditionally bloggers stay connected and get feedback and reader opinions through the comments for each blog or a new post on the readers own blog. While on the other hand inline comments, immediate notifications to all previous participants keeps the discussion alive and engrossing. Even though tools such as GoogleReader, RSS feeds and syndicates have simplified the blog discussion and made the updates much easier to follow for the reader by bringing the blog quite literally into the inbox, it doesnt quite much match up to the elegance of fb/ twitter and the lot.

But..hold on all you Twitter and fb buffs.....theres always a second side to everything...Blogging does have an edge and thats reach and readership. fb/twitter/buzz updates could be followed, discussed by only a bunch of people, though personally known to the 'poster'. A blog on the other hand is your very own personal space in the web, open to one and all(although a privacy protected registered readers blog exists as well). So a blogger stands to get readership and /or opinions from any prying eyes that care to wander over his page.This also enables one to engage in publicity strategies such as linking to other sites, signing up with traffic monitors and controllers like FeedJit, Digg, StumbleUpon etc, that inculcates a healthy entrepreneurial nature. ( Oh Gosh this sounds straight out of some B-school)

PS: So moral of the story: Comment OK Please ! ;)

Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears the Crown ? or does it?

'Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown'.

This is an age old adage that has been shown true time and again. In day to day activities too one might have subconsciously attested and or demonstrated this. Whether its the class monitor in school or the chairman/head of some local body or the President of a nation, each one wears their own symbolic crown and carry its burden. Now the term burden is relativistic. One may 'enjoy' all the perks/powers that indeed come with the crown and not display or hint at any of the associated burden. This case could imply two things. That the bearer is highly efficient and has dispensed off all his duties well or he is a smart little person who turns tables on all burdensome events and avoids facing them. Or on the other hand one may get literally /figuratively burdened down by the crown. This, in my opinion shows up immediately, and i feel is dangerous for all parties involved, however a very fast self correcting mechanism exists that definitely results in replacement of the bearer.

Now..now... there have been centuries worth of stories, real life incidents and personal memoirs on this topic. However my intention, dear reader , is to draw your attention to the Uneasy Head that doesn't wear the crown.

So having startled you,hopefully, and woken you up, not hopefully, from the monotonous rant above i present to you the uneasy, restless, burdened and troubled head of the uncrowned head.

To those; who wonder what i mean by head that doesn't wear the crown...i speak not of the vast majority, the public... but of each individual each human. There comes a time in every ones life when each moment is like a wait...a wait to being crowned. Crowned is not necessarily a public position...but i feel at an individual level signifies the personal goals or targets set both short term and long term. The uneasiness before a courtroom trial, restlessness for getting your first job, burden of the future, and troubled times before a crucial event happen to one and all. These manifest themselves in different ways such as changing sleep and food patterns, restlessness in day to day activities, loss of patience and lack of interest. The mind plays games....and the brain joins in too....and what happens next is what people call philosophy and/or psychology and/or emotional intelligence.

A cynic might say...uneasiness with or without the crown...so screw the crown! Yes, that too is a philosophy found in abundance on the banks of the Ganges and the tops of the Himalayas. But for the other vast majority... its part and parcel of routine life. Being in a similar state myself ...im sort of restless now...and need to do something else....