Colorado Trip: Day 3, Mt. Snitkau & Aspen!
Saturday morning, Ryan and I got up fairly early so we could go on our first hike up Mt. Snitkau near Breckenridge.
Unfortunately, I had to miss my newly-married friend's farewell brunch in Boulder, but it's always a good idea to get an early start if you want to hike up a mountain!
I brought a fleece to wear since it tends to get colder going up a mountain, but at some point, I peeled that thing off because I was working up a sweat! We caught up with a pair of other hikers who had done the hike before, and we descended along their trail. Saw a marmot (at this point, one of the only creatures I've seen in CO *sads*) but couldn't get a picture because it was too fast.
Somewhere along the way down, I had to put my fleece on again because we had to cross patches of snow! I slipped a few times, but each time I thought about whining over climbing down a mountain, I thought back to our climb on Mt. Elbert last summer, which is one of the highest mountains in Colorado. I survived that-- I could do this!
In reality, this wasn't a hard hike, but was still a good way to start out our trek towards Aspen. As we continued onwards, we stopped in Frisco at a Mexican restaurant (following a recommendation in our Fodor's guide!) that had great food. We were feeling indulgent and hopped into a bakery next door where I got a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, a cupcake (that I never got to enjoy--Ryan ended up eating it for his breakfast the next morning) and a rum ball.
A few more hours in our rental car (a Subaru Legacy that worked great in the mountains...plus, we blended in perfectly as everyone seems to drive Subarus around here, lol) and we finally arrived in Snowmass Village where our hotel was. We stayed at the Stonebridge Inn--not as high up as we were last year where we stayed at the Aspenwood-- but still had a wonderful view.
We unpacked, took showers and walked around the mall a bit before deciding to have dinner at the hotel's own restaurant, The Artisan. Ryan finally got some trout, while I ordered flat iron steak with a chimichurri sauce. Both were very good.
On a side note, I wish I had written some of this way earlier as I'm already beginning to forget some of the tiny details as all the days in Aspen are starting to blend in together! Ahhh, nooooo!
Ryan and I agreed, right off the bat, that this time around it would be wise to have an "easy" day and a "hard" day where we'd either do something physically intense or adventurous (and in some cases, pricey!) and then take the next day off and not feel guilty about not having something scheduled. It's the "easy" days that are starting to fade from my memory right now!
Up next-- the second day in Aspen...an EASY day. :)
Unfortunately, I had to miss my newly-married friend's farewell brunch in Boulder, but it's always a good idea to get an early start if you want to hike up a mountain!
I brought a fleece to wear since it tends to get colder going up a mountain, but at some point, I peeled that thing off because I was working up a sweat! We caught up with a pair of other hikers who had done the hike before, and we descended along their trail. Saw a marmot (at this point, one of the only creatures I've seen in CO *sads*) but couldn't get a picture because it was too fast.
Somewhere along the way down, I had to put my fleece on again because we had to cross patches of snow! I slipped a few times, but each time I thought about whining over climbing down a mountain, I thought back to our climb on Mt. Elbert last summer, which is one of the highest mountains in Colorado. I survived that-- I could do this!
In reality, this wasn't a hard hike, but was still a good way to start out our trek towards Aspen. As we continued onwards, we stopped in Frisco at a Mexican restaurant (following a recommendation in our Fodor's guide!) that had great food. We were feeling indulgent and hopped into a bakery next door where I got a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, a cupcake (that I never got to enjoy--Ryan ended up eating it for his breakfast the next morning) and a rum ball.
A few more hours in our rental car (a Subaru Legacy that worked great in the mountains...plus, we blended in perfectly as everyone seems to drive Subarus around here, lol) and we finally arrived in Snowmass Village where our hotel was. We stayed at the Stonebridge Inn--not as high up as we were last year where we stayed at the Aspenwood-- but still had a wonderful view.
We unpacked, took showers and walked around the mall a bit before deciding to have dinner at the hotel's own restaurant, The Artisan. Ryan finally got some trout, while I ordered flat iron steak with a chimichurri sauce. Both were very good.
On a side note, I wish I had written some of this way earlier as I'm already beginning to forget some of the tiny details as all the days in Aspen are starting to blend in together! Ahhh, nooooo!
Ryan and I agreed, right off the bat, that this time around it would be wise to have an "easy" day and a "hard" day where we'd either do something physically intense or adventurous (and in some cases, pricey!) and then take the next day off and not feel guilty about not having something scheduled. It's the "easy" days that are starting to fade from my memory right now!
Up next-- the second day in Aspen...an EASY day. :)
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