Four-Pass Loop Clockwise or Counter-Clockwise???

[sad2]

Hi:

I'm planning on hiking the Four-Pass Loop as a long day hike. For those that have done it before or have information, what are the advantages of starting with West Maroon Pass v. Buckskin Pass, i.e. clock-wise v. counter clock-wise?

I've done considerable reading on this, but thought I would put it out there for those with past history? Again, no backpacking and no trail running. Just a longer day hike.

Finally, is it possible to drive to Maroon Bells parking lot via Maroon Creek Road? I see that the road is open to vehicular traffic (personal vehicle) between 9:00 pm and 5:00 am for a $10 fee. Since I will be starting this hike at 4:30 or so in the morning, will I be able to drive up then and park in the overnight lot? Or day-use lot? I am assuming I would just self-pay since there likely will not be a person manning the booth?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

[jefwerner]

If I were doing the Four Pass Loop as a single day hike, I would go counter clockwise and start with Buckskin. The reason being the steepness of the descents of the two passes. After a long day I'd rather the more gentle descent of West Maroon to Crater Lake over the steeper descent of Buckskin.

You can drive up Maroon Creek Road to either the Overnight Lot or the Day Use Lot. I'm not sure where there is a self pay station, but I would imagine it is near the entrance station.

[sad2]

If I were doing the Four Pass Loop as a single day hike, I would go counter clockwise and start with Buckskin. The reason being the steepness of the descents of the two passes. After a long day I'd rather the more gentle descent of West Maroon to Crater Lake over the steeper descent of Buckskin.

You can drive up Maroon Creek Road to either the Overnight Lot or the Day Use Lot. I'm not sure where there is a self pay station, but I would imagine it is near the entrance station.

Thank you!. I did a double-take when I saw your peak list. Quantity of peaks (both 14ers and 13ers is nearly identical), although you have done many of the more difficult ones.

[sarahw]

Hi sad2,

A friend and I ran/walked the Loop July 14th. We chose counterclockwise because there is less elevation loss and regain between Frigid Air and W Maroon passes, and we figured this would be a good thing later in the day when we were tired. We were not sorry to have gone this way and would probably choose this direction again, but a couple of pieces of info are that 1) we found a lot more mud and water crossings after W Maroon Pass, which feel worse on tired legs. The water here proved to be an OK thing, as we stopped taking off our shoes to cross the streams only to find that they dried really quickly and the cold water felt amazing soaking through our shoes and socks. 2) There are way (WAY) more people on the leg from the Maroon Lake TH to W Maroon Pass than anywhere else on the Loop. Late in the day we got a bit tired of stepping aside for those coming up the trail, but that is the nature of the beast and you'll encounter the same thing from Crater Lake to Maroon Lake regardless of which direction you hike. It is kind of fun chatting with everyone anyway, and you'll meet all kinds of folks.

Others might have reasons for choosing clockwise...both have their advantages, I think.....

As far as parking goes, you can drive your car to the Maroon Lake TH anytime as long as you park at an overnight lot. If you arrive before 7 p.m. you will need to stop at the entrance station and they will give you a permit to put on your rearview mirror; after 7 p.m. there is a self-service fee station just past the entrance station booth.

Hope this helps; if I can answer any other questions or you need more info please let me know! Have a GREAT time; this was one of the most fun and rewarding things I've ever done!!

[sad2]

Sarah

Thanks for the informative post. Looks like two votes for starting with Buckskin Pass. Two other questions, about how long did it take? I'm thinking a conservative estimate is 25 minutes a mile - so about 11 hours or so + 1 hour total time for breaks. Also, how many crossings require one to get their feet soaked? A handful or too numerous to count!

[jomagam]

Most people do it CCW. Yesterday there was only one crossing that required getting your feet wet, between TrailRider and FrigidAir, but I stepped into a dozen to get cool off. It feels so good for 10 minutes afterwards.

Hard to guess how long it'll take you. It was 12 1/2 hours for me if I take out time to socialize after West Maroon, but included one hour total of going the wrong way.

[sarahw]

Hi! We completed the loop in 11 1/2 hours. We ran as much as we could, mostly the downhill sections, and tried to keep a steady pace otherwise. Our longest break was at the top of Maroon Pass, maybe 20-30 minutes.

I'm noticing that people are mentioning creek crossings in different places, so I think the number and location of them may change with snowmelt? There are 3 that you will definitely encounter though: One about halfway between TR and FA passes, and 2 between WM and Maroon Lake.

Best of luck! Keep 'em coming if think of more questions; I'm happy to help if I can!

[jomagam]

Sarah is right, I forgot about the crossings after West Maroon.

[climbing_rob]

Having done it 5 times now, and the last time very recently, I think there are more people doing it CW than CCW; I passed more going my way, CW, than folks I passed coming the other way (CCW), and naturally you would pass way more going your opposite direction ("against the grain") if there were equal numbers. In any case, this awesome loop is getting more and more popular, so for that reason alone, you'll have to deal with fewer people going "with the grain", meaning CW. Having done it both ways, I really don't see any effort advantage either way. the real trump card, already mentioned, is the hoard of folks you'll be stepping aside between WM pass and the trail head if you go CCW. Seems to be fewer folks (though still plenty!) between BS pass and Crater lake.

Really, overall it's either six or a half a dozen!

11-13 hours seems to be a good average time for mortals, though lots of folks are more like 8 hours; the last time I did it in a single day was 12.5 hours, but I'm kinda old, though it took right at that same time about 10 years ago.

[jomagam]

Having done it 5 times now, and the last time very recently, I think there are more people doing it CW than CCW; I passed more going my way, CW, than folks I passed coming the other way (CCW), and naturally you would pass way more going your opposite direction ("against the grain") if there were equal numbers.

From what I heard people tend to go CW when doing it as a multi-day hike, but mostly CCW when running it in one day. Yesterday I got passed by 7 runners going CCW, and saw only 2 going opposite to me who did not have a backpack, so they prolly did it in one go.

[climbing_rob]

Having done it 5 times now, and the last time very recently, I think there are more people doing it CW than CCW; I passed more going my way, CW, than folks I passed coming the other way (CCW), and naturally you would pass way more going your opposite direction ("against the grain") if there were equal numbers.

From what I heard people tend to go CW when doing it as a multi-day hike, but mostly CCW when running it in one day. Yesterday I got passed by 7 runners going CCW, and saw only 2 going opposite to me who did not have a backpack, so they prolly did it in one go.

Well, if you have ties to the trail running community, you would know better, I finally gave up trail running a few years ago... But I still maintain that the greater total number of people go CW, so if you want to have fewer people to pass, going with the grain (CW) would be slightly better, and again, I sure cannot think of any physical-effort reasons why one is better than the other, again, having done it 5 times now (4CW, 1 CCW).

Really, probably makes very little difference.

Just as an alternative: Last weekend some friends (training for Leadville 100) did it from Geneva Lake, pretty good idea really as it totally avoids the Maroon-->Crater lake crowds. Just over 11 hours from the Lake itself, add a bit if from the Geneva Lake trailhead. I think they went CW, in this case just to get Trailrider pass out of the way right off the bat.

[jomagam]

Well, if you have ties to the trail running community, you would know better, I finally gave up trail running a few years ago... But I still maintain that the greater total number of people go CW

Fashions must have changed since you quit trail running. The Strava segment for the loop CCW from Maroon Lake was ran 35 times (http://www.strava.com/segments/3392438" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Could not find one for the opposite direction, but just the segment from Snowmass Creek up to Buckskin was done only 15 times (http://www.strava.com/segments/2229596" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Clicking thru them, only 3 were CW 4 Pass Loops from Maroon Lake.