Maroon Bells Pt 1 – Roadtrip! Philly to Aspen in 29 Hours

It’s 4:30 PM on a weekday. Can Mike and I make it from Philly to Aspen, Colorado by tomorrow night for a hike the next morning?  Hop in and join us for the drive. 

For this multi-part adventure, we’ll be faced with two challenges.

Phase 1 (seen in this video, Pt 1): Driving on a substantial time crunch from the east coast to Colorado, without any hotels or road food purchases.  This will not only keep the budget low, but will also save us a ton of time by not having to check-in/out, be tempted to sleep in, decide where/what to eat, stand in lines etc.  Sleeping will be done in the car (while the other person drives) and all meals will be comprised of cooler-stored left-overs and pre-purchased beverages.  The only stops allowed: bathroom breaks and gas pumps.

Phase 2 (covered in the next video, Pt 2) will be a multi-day hike of the Four Pass Loop, within the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness, located just outside of Aspen Colorado (about 3 hours west of Denver).

Departure time:  4:30 PM, after work on 8/30/16.

Total Distance: 1,900 miles (one way)

Time allowance: (yes, without speeding):  32 hours, which would get us to the trail head before midnight the next day.

States traversed: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado

Vehicle: Honda Pilot equipped with queen size air mattress and Igloo Wheelie Cooler.