Backpacking Maroon Bells - Four Pass Loop | Day 3 | Trail Rider Pass | Storms to sunny skies

This video describes day 3 of my 4-day backpacking adventure in the Snowmass Wilderness hiking the Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop. I am backpacking with my wife, and we will be hiking one pass per day averaging about 7-8 miles per day. I think this is the best backpacking loop in all of Colorado and you should put it on your bucket list.
Day 3 started off earlier than usual. I checked the weather forecast and it was calling for storms starting around 9 am and lasting most of the day. We had only a couple of miles before we were over Trail Rider Pass, so we decided to get out of camp around 6 am and get over the pass before any severe weather hit. It was an overcast morning but the views from climbing the pass were still beautiful of Snowmass Lake, Snowmass Mountain and the surrounding mountains.
We got to the top of Trail Rider Pass around 8 am and it was stunning to see the light hit the top of the snowcapped mountains in the distance. However, you could see that a storm was moving our direction, so we decided to head down to the safety of trees.
The rain did hit as we were making our way down Trail Rider Pass and to the valley floor. Luckily, it was only rain. The forecast indicated lightning storms but we didn't hear any thunder or see any lighting. It was simply a steady rain for a couple of hours. But once we hit the valley floor, the sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful sunny blue sky day.
We continued hiking until we reached one of my favorite spots on the entire loop, the huge waterfall in Fravert Basin. This stretch in Fravert Basin is beautiful. Tons of wildflowers, beautiful mountain views and a not so strenuous water crossing. We had lunch at the waterfall and almost camped there, as there are plenty of good campsites with an amazing view of the waterfall, but it was only 12:30 and I knew of a great campsite at the top of the falls.
From the waterfall, there is a .5 mile climb straight up out of the basin. I figured it was good to knock this out this afternoon instead of tomorrow morning. We were early in the day and I was pretty sure that campsite would be open, but you just never know. I thought the same thing on Day 1, and we were left scrambling a bit. However, on this occasion, the campsite was open, so we setup camp early that afternoon. Definitely our best campsite for the trip.
It was a good but short day. I love the views coming down Trail Rider Pass and hiking down to the basin but unfortunately, the rain and clouds blocked all of those views. But we were glad that the sun did come out and it turned out to be a beautiful day. We thought that the storms has passed, little did we know that we would awaken to a severe hailstorm early the next morning...
Thanks for watching!
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