Day 2: Aspen Mountain and Devil's Punchbowl

By Gaby -
On Sunday morning we drove into town to start our hike up Aspen mountain via the Ute/Ajax trail.  Initially, I was pumped as I naively thought I was prepared from the previous day's hike at Hanging Lake.  Wrong.  Aspen mountain was 20 times harder.  I'd say the first half was harder simply b/c of the narrow dirt trail that had me slipping and nearly tumbling down the mountain several times.  Ryan kept pushing me so we passed a lot of locals who were taking their time on the trail.  I still thought we were slow, but when we got close to the top and started a conversation w/ an older couple who were experienced hikers, they seemed impressed that we finished the hike in under 2 hours.  I'm not sure if that's average or not.  At any rate, it did feel great to reach the top!  We took some pictures outdoors and then went inside the restaurant to check out the bluegrass band that was playing and just rest for a bit:





Taking the gondola back down!
Once we got back down, it was lunch time and Ryan was dying to try the J Bar.  He had read somewhere that Emeril Lagasse recommended the J Bar for their burgers.  We also tried their Jim Bean milkshakes along w/ the burger and fries.  The burger was PERFECT and the fries were good, too!


Afterwards, we drove to Devil's Punchbowl b/c Ryan wanted to jump in.  It really wasn't that hot out, so I had no interest in jumping in myself, but I still wanted to see it.  When we got there, there were a few other people who were getting ready to jump, too.

There he goes!

water was around 38 degress F!!

Ryan jumped 3 times! Had to make it worth his while, I guess...
We went back to our room to take showers and change and then decided to head back into town for dinner.  We went to New York Pizza where they have HUGE slices and are relatively inexpensive (for Aspen).  We also visited Paradise Bakery where Ryan got gelato.  I was too stuffed to get my own, but I tried his cone and it was pretty good.  We visited that bakery quite often throughout the week.

Oh, I miss walking through the town of Aspen and seeing those gorgeous mountains!!  My roommate from college is getting married next summer in Boulder, so at least I'll get to go again! Can't wait.

Day 3: Maroon Bells, next!

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