Backpacking Loop Showdown! Colorado vs New Hampshire

Hello my people!

Today we’re comparing Colorado’s Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop to New Hampshire’s Pemi Loop. 

Covering about thirty miles of trail each, 

both loops attract trail runners and backpackers alike. 

That however, is where the similarities end. 

In this post we will take a look at important details of each hike including differences in hiking terrain, flora and fauna, overall difficulty, in addition to things like frequency of water sources, campgrounds, epic views etc . We’ll also compare the experience of what it's like to spend time in New Hampshire’s Pemigewasset Wilderness in White Mountain National Forest versus Colorado’s Snowmass Wilderness in White River National Forest. 

Growing up in New England, I have spent a ton of time hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. I have hiked over half of the state’s fourty-eight 4000-footers, some of them more than once, in addition to a few hikes outside the White Mountains and in other states around New England. 

Bondcliff Trail from the Summit of Mount Bond - Pemi Loop, NH - July 2017

Although it does come with some auxiliary benefits, I’m not telling you this to toot my own horn. As many of you know from my last post (or the corresponding video), this past August, I had the privilege of joining my dear ole friend Bumba for a thirty mile hike around Colorado’s Four Pass Loop in White River National Forest. So today I thought I’d take the time to share a New Englander’s perspective on the differences and similarities between hiking in Colorado versus hiking in New Hampshire. 

In terms of the actual ground you’ll be walking on. The trails in the White Mountains of New Hampshire are significantly more challenging than those on the Maroon bells Four Pass Loop in Colorado. While hiking the Pemi Loop, you often have to scramble up boulders and hop from wet slippery rock to wet slippery rock all while constantly staring at your feet to keep from shattering your ankles. 

I found it much much easier to pick up momentum with a consistent, even stride on the Four Pass Loop in Colorado. The difficulty in Colorado is the altitude, which really shouldn’t be an issue if unlike me you actually take the time to let your body adjust before the hike. 

Aside from the avalanche fields, and the occasional river crossing, the trails on the Four Pass Loop are mostly just dirt paths that are probably smooth enough to ride a road bike down if you tried. 

This brings us to…

Trail Maintenance. 

The trails on the Pemi Loop, and in all of White Mountain National Forest for that matter, are beautifully maintained and well marked.

Colorado’s four pass loop is an entirely different story. As I mentioned in my last video, there were several stretches on the trails surrounding the Maroon Bells that were completely obliterated by avalanches. And in certain areas, specifically along the Maroon Snowmass Trail, there were hardly any signs or trail markers. I guess the lack of signs could be a workload issue because we did see a ton of spots where it would probably take teams of people working for days to clear all the scree, trees and snow off the trails, but New Hampshire’s white mountains are the clear winners when it comes to trail maintenance. Everything is well marked with signs, mile markers and color coded blazes. The worst I have ever encountered in New Hampshire is a sign indicating that a trail has been rerouted and maybe the occasional fallen tree that I needed to walk around. 

Even though they don’t use trail markers on the Four Pass Loop, there were signs at most of the intersections we encountered during the first two days of our hike, but on the third day, when we hiked out from Snowmass Lake along the Maroon Snowmass Trail, there were several times we encountered forks in the trail that had absolutely no signs. It happened so many times that day that I started to lose my mind a little bit. 

Camping Areas

When it comes to camping, the Four Pass Loop in Colorado is the clear winner. There are way more spots to camp and they all operate on a first come first serve basis.

While New Hampshire’s Pemi Loop does have a couple campgrounds like this, they are all formerly monitored by live-in campsite wardens that keep track of who is staying in which site. While there are lots of quote unquote “stealth sites” along the trails, you can be sure that you’ll get a visit by a ranger or warden if you’re not up and out of there by dawn. 

There are alternative options along the Pemi Loop, including the AMC Huts and associated campgrounds, but those have to be reserved and paid for in advance. This can seem like a bit of a bummer at first but there are pros and cons to this system. 

Even if you don't plan to stay there, the huts are a great resting place to do your business, refill your water, and stock up on trail snacks. Plus, having people living and working up there all summer ensures that the trails are kept clear and well marked. 

My only issue with this system is if you plan your trip weeks or months in advance and for one reason or another you end up hiking faster or slower than you predicted, you can easily end up missing your reservation entirely, or wasting half a day just sitting around when you could have kept on hiking. 

And now, my people, the time has come for me to discuss the pièce de résistance, the single reason mountain climbing ever became a thing that people do, conveyed in such beautiful simplicity as the primary motivator for the fabled bear that went over the mountain…

That is, of course, the epic views. 

It is undeniable that in terms of sheer magnitude, the views from the top of the rocky mountains are some of the best in the world. When hiking the Maroon bells four pass loop, you are continually presented with ever changing, jaw-dropping vistas, made possible by the sheer height of the peaks and the vast expanse between them. 

While you do get some of this effect in parts of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, much of the Pemi Loop is traversed below the tree line, highlighting the reality of what many Appalachian trail thru hikers refer to as “the green Tunnel.”

Although hiking in New Hampshire is quite a different experience, the beauty of the Appalachians is undeniable, both in and above the green tunnel. The plant life is significantly more diverse compared to the Rockies and when you do pop out above the tree-line, the shocking reveal can be just as rewarding as the views in Colorado.

Although they both pose their own challenges, in terms of overall difficulty, these two loops are pretty evenly matched. And just FYI, I hiked clockwise around both loops, though I will say that the Pemi Loop is probably easier going the other way around. 

So there you have it folks. 

I want to wish a very warm welcome to those of you who are new to this blog, if this is the first video of mine that you’ve seen, I just want to let you know that I also make gear review videos in addition to the travel guides like this one. If you're planning your next trip or looking for new gear, don't let the small details stress you out. Remember, life's an adventure. So relax, breathe in the outdoors and don't forget to appreciate the finer things in life! See you out there. Peace.