A Stock Photography Fail: My Scary Solo Female Camping Trip in Aspen, Colorado - Part 2

When we left off, I had just arrived to Lost Lake Campground with no where to stay. It was too late for me to find shelter elsewhere, and I honestly didn’t know my options. Could I park on the side of a road and sleep in my car? Would I risk getting in trouble with local law enforcement if I wasn’t authorized to sleep where I parked? Would I be safe if I wasn’t within the boundaries of the campsite?

By providence, or grace of God, I struck up a conversation with a man who had a campsite there. I’m not even sure why we started talking or what brought him my way, but seeing my situation, he allowed me to park in the extra parking space in his campground. Because it was so cold, I decided to camp in my car, but not without sharing stories and dinner around a campfire with this kind, fellow camper.

Not sleeping well because of the cold, I rose early in search of a few morning shots before the sun rose too high. Afterwards, I swung back by the campsite, and was greeted with one of my favorite views of the trip - the mountains nestled along-side that glorious, lost, lake. I’m not sure if life will ever permit me to return to this spot, but it was quite possibly one of the most incredible things I’ve woken up to.

Lost Lake Campground near Crested Butte, Colorado at sunrise.

After grabbing a few photos, I brushed my teeth in the sunshine (a personal favorite camping activity) made coffee, said my good-byes and thank yous to my camping neighbor, and went on my merry way.

My next destination was the famous Maroon Bells just outside of Aspen, Colorado. Not knowing exactly how to get there, I made my way through more windy roads, incredible forest views, and eventually to a highway I recognized on the map.

After a pit stop in Carbondale, Colorado for local coffee, a stroll through a farmer’s market (which was kismet!), and the purchase of a warmer sleeping bag at a local used outdoor gear shop, I headed into Aspen to find my campsite. Aspen, if you haven’t been there, is a quite fancy, quite shiny, Colorado town. It’s very polished, and full of all types of tourists. Unlike Lost Lake Campground, it was quite populated. My campsite in White River National Forest was surrounded by changing Aspens, whose leaves were gleefully wiggling in the breeze. I read for a while at my campsite before driving a couple minutes down the road to the parking lot for Maroon Bells so I could see it in time for sunset. Much to my delight, it, as many things seemed to do on this trip, exceeded my expectations.

Maroon Bells in fall with sunburst.

When I returned to my campsite, I had dinner, and, due to the cold temperatures and eerie feelings that I wasn’t quite safe, I decided to sleep in my car instead of my tent. The campsite lacked the friendliness and hospitality that I felt at the previous one, and some of the fellow campers seemed… dodgy at best. Being a solo, female traveler who was car camping without anything to cover her windows, be it anxiety or intuition, I decided to flee in the middle of the night.

I drove 30 minutes back into Carbondale where every hotel was fully booked. Then I continued to Glenwood Springs and experienced the same situation. I was beginning to get very nervous, and, being as late as it was, I didn’t know if I could safely sleep somewhere. Unsure what to do, I continued down the interstate and decided to sleep at a somewhat occupied rest stop which had fellow travelers such as myself. There were cars, campers, and RVs alike. We all had the same idea, but my fears did not diminish. After covering the windows with tin foil (I didn’t have window covers), and then waking every few minutes for fear someone was going to knock on my car or try to rob me or worse, I decided after a couple hours there, that I would just drive home to Kansas.

By dawn I was in Denver, and while I was tired, my anxiety was diminishing. I got gas station coffee, and followed the highway safely home with the company of Brené Brown and Annie F. Downs podcasts. Thank goodness for those ladies.

Now, at this point you might be asking yourself, why was this a stock photography fail? Well, while I certainly got many beautiful photos and I had the loose idea of a plan, I came home and felt my photos were kind of… lacking. If I did something like this again, I would want to go with a shot-list in mind and possibly research other stock photos of the area. Then, everything after that is a bonus. I’d also bring my dog. And a large… can of mace. 100%.

Hopefully you enjoyed my stressful, interesting, and at times fun telling of my very interesting camping-stock-photography story.

Also, please don’t tell my mom about this.

For the expanded edition of my experience, be sure to check out the video over on YouTube!