North Independent & Hunter

North Independent: 6,765 acres (10.6 square miles)
Hunter: 2,513 acres (3.9 square miles)
TOTAL: 9,278 acres (14.5 square miles)

How to get there
These proposed Wilderness Areas are located immediately east and southeast of Aspen.

• The access road for both the proposed Wilderness Areas is the Smuggler Mountain Road (FS 131; 4WD) that climbs the steep hill east of Aspen. This road ascends Smuggler Mountain and ends at the Warren Lakes. It separates the two units. There are no maintained trails in either area, although there is an illegal single-track that mountain bikers occasionally descend through the proposed North Independent Wilderness Area. It branches off of FS131 about a half mile below Warren Lakes and stays west of the road.
• The USGS 7 1⁄2’ quads for these roadless areas are Aspen, Hayden Peak, Thimble Rock, and New York Peak.

Setting
The proposed Wilderness Areas mostly occupy the northwestern portion of the massive, hulking plateau of Smuggler Mountain. The proposed Hunter Wilderness Area is situated on the Hunter Creek side of this plateau and features gently rolling spruce/fir forest that drops steeply north to Hunter Creek where it transitions to aspen forest. The proposed North Independent Wilderness Area is situated on the Roaring Fork side of the plateau and consists of a broad shield of gently sloping forest that plunges steeply 1,500 feet down to the Roaring Fork River. Minor creeks inhabit the surface, but do not form deep drainages. The proposed North Independent Wilderness Area also occupies the long strip of very steep south-facing hillside that looms above the Roaring Fork and below the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness boundary. These slopes feature numerous outcrops of gray granite (popular with climbers) interspersed with meadows, conifers and aspens.

What’s special about them? 
The eastern half of the proposed North Independent Wilderness Area is largely important as a buffer that lessens the impact of heavily-developed areas upon adjacent Wilderness Areas. The very steep terrain of these proposed Wilderness Areas prohibits serious recreation or development. The steep sections of the proposed North Independent Wilderness Area unit feature numerous rock-climbing areas that receive fairly heavy use in summer.

The portions of these units that are on Smuggler Mountain are valuable as large areas of continuous forest. Wildlife are drawn to the fens of Warren Lakes, and travel through these units extensively. Big game are present in the summer. The Benedict Huts of the 10th Mountain Hut Association are at Warren Lakes just outside the proposed Wilderness boundary, and are a popular winter destination for backcountry skiers. The Warren Lakes receives most of its traffic during the hunting season, is generally a very quiet place, and has recently been recognized for its unique peat bog ecosystem.

Potential threats
Illegal motorized periodically occurs off of the Smuggler Mountain Road. A recent brainless 'bogging' incident left virutally permanent scars across a beautiful sub-alpine wetland (fortunately the perp was apprehended, convicted, and sentenced). The Smuggler Mountain area has the potential to be a timber-harvesting area, and there is also a potential mineral extraction site in the North Independent unit.

Other info
In addition to acreage recognized by the USFS, conservation groups have identified 4,501 more acres of roadless are associated with these units.