Trip Report: Four Pass Loop Attempt
[This is a delayed post I originally drafted in October 2022]My running goal for 2022 was not a race—it was to complete a trail run: the Four Pass Loop in Colorado, the #1 ranked trail run in the world according to trailrunproject.com.
Due to knee issues, I had to reduce my grand plans from completing the whole loop to completing about 1/3 of it. It still became probably the most beautiful trail run/hike I’ve ever done in my life. I wholly recommend visiting the Maroon Bells if you can. I can definitely see why it’s #1.
The Route
The Four Pass Loop is a circular route near Aspen, CO around the Maroon Bells—two 14ers which are the most photographed mountains in Colorado. The loop is 27 miles with 7265ft of climbing. The route starts at an elevation of 9000ft and the passes reach 12500ft, so altitude is definitely a factor. This route is most commonly done as a 2-5 day backpacking trip.
Planning
A lot of my excitement surrounding this trip was the challenge of planning a long run in the backcountry—specifically because there is a lot less room for error compared to running a road or trail race.
For this run, there are no diversion points along the way. The closest support at all times would be the ranger station at the start, which would be up to 13mi and 5000ft of vert away. This is where I want to give a huge thanks to my brother Jake, who advised me on all things backcountry to help plan for this adventure. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing it without his advice!
Gear
Here’s everything I took with me:
Navigation and safety
Physical Map
Small compass
Garmin InReach
Garmin Forerunner Watch
Headlamp and spare batteries
Sunscreen
Emergency blanket
Toilet paper/poop kit + hand sanitizer
Raincoat
Phone (with GPS on CalTopo), fully charged
Water (total = 3L)
2x 500ml Hydra flasks
2L water bladder
Emergency water filter
Nuun tablets
11 hours worth of food, plus emergency rations
Clif bars
Something solid and substantial for lunch (a sandwich)
Trail mix
Knee Mishap
Two weeks before this I ran the Double Dipsea. On top of that, I made the dumb decision to do leg day the day after the race The combination of 14mi trail race + leg day messed up my knees a bit.
I want to emphasize — knowing what I know now about proper training and recovery — I should not have attempted this at all. I should not have scheduled 2 hard trail runs within 2 weeks of each other.
As I got closer to the Four Pass Loop, it became clear that it wouldn’t be smart to try to run 13 miles into the backcountry on iffy knees, so I turned it into a hike and set out to do a shorter distance.
The Hike
I started at 5:12am — exactly the beginning of “astronomical twilight.” It turns out I had no idea what astronomical twilight means, because it was still pitch black on the ground. Right as I was starting my Garmin watch, I heard some rustling to my right and saw a deer with giant antlers in the tall grass staring back at me.
(I later learned that the presence of peaceful wildlife is a positive sign, because it means there’s less of a chance that predators are nearby)
I continued on in the pitch black into the mountains—to be honest, quite scared—but it was a very character building experience. Fortunately for this scaredy cat, a mountaineer came power hiking up behind me and we hiked together until the main fork a couple miles in. He was going to attempt to summit the full mountain—I hope he made it safely.
More wildlife appeared. A fox was hurrying down the path toward me. I made some noise, the fox went around me and then continued on the path after. He seemed annoyed that I was using his path.
As the sun rose, the Maroon Bells themselves lit up in a fantastic blazing red. It was such a treat.
Along the way up to the first pass, a group of trail runners passed me on their way to run the whole loop. They invited me to join them and I wish I had been able to do so!
After I rested and started my way down the backside of Buckskin pass, a couple hikers motioned for me to look over onto the hill facing us, where there was a momma moose and her calf making their way up the mountain. After taking a quick pic, I and the hikers near me made sure to get the heck out of there asap.
I eventually got to Snowmass lake around lunchtime and ate the sandwich I brought with me. Shout out to Jour de Fête in Aspen, their food is the bomb.
On my way back, the knee pain set in, and the return hike became quite slow and painful. I knew I probably shouldn’t have embarked on such a long hike with my knee situation, but the outdoors and scenery called me out. I was glad I went, despite probably adding a few weeks to my recovery schedule.
I hobbled my way back to the start, defeated but extremely happy to experience part of the loop.
Future Plans
Huge thanks to my lovely wife Elva for accompanying me on this trip, my running friends in SF for training and motivation, and to my brother Jake for all the advice.
I think missing piece this time was planning and executing my training better. Once I go back to the fundamentals and build a really strong base, injury-free, I vow to return (maybe next year) to attempt the entire loop and cross this off my running bucket list.