Epi/Prologue

Hey there, I'm Matt, and in August and September of 2008, a group of 3 hardy and ballsy mountain bikers decided to through ride the Colorado Trail. I took notes every day on trail, so here's how this is going to work - I'll post my notes on this here blog, and you can follow our progress in retrospect. This is sort of both an intro to the blog and an end, as we obviously didn't die on trail. Each entry will have a location, and when I feel like it, I'll add placemarks and trip stats so you can have some idea of what we were up to. If the other two guys want to make some posts, they might appear here too. The posts have been timestamped for when I actually wrote the entry in my notebook, so if you want to follow from the very beginning, go back to August 23 and read up. Anyways, here goes.

Pictures from the trip

If you are interested in just viewing the pictures from the trip, Isaac posted them on Picasa. Enjoy.

http://picasaweb.google.com/idinner/20080907ColoradoTrailPublic

Holiday Inn, Durango

We left the Colorado Trail at about 3:45 PM yesterday. It was just a bit too far to be able to make it the full length of the trail today and have enough time to pack up our bikes. It sort of feels like losing in the World Series, sure, we made it to the end, but we couldn't seal the deal.

I had a really shitty day when I needed to be sharp, and that was the last straw. The night up at Molas Pass was really cold and I don't think I got a good night of sleep. I woke up feeling about as physically tired as I did when I went to sleep. The trail was gorgeous and mostly rideable, but I wasn't up to task and spent a lot of time hiking.

At Bolam Pass, we made the decision to take the Hermosa Creek trail to cut short the trip. We started on that trail at about 5 PM and figured we'd be in Durango by 9ish. Unfortunately for us, the trail was a little longer and tougher than expected. My seatpost rack with the shitty clamp finally gave out around 7 PM as the bolt that holds the clamp together completely sheared off. Eventually the sun set and we were hiking in the dark. Unsure of our remaining distance, we set up camp on trail.

In the morning, we got up and headed out of the park. We were probably 2-3 miles from the trailhead. Upon arrival in town, we hit up the diner for a much needed breakfast and then scoped out the bike stores for boxes. It is kind of a bittersweet end to the trip, but I'm glad to be finally off my bike and my ass is glad too.

Isaac up near Bolam Pass

Location: Durango, CO
Distance Covered: somewhere north of 500 miles
Elevation: 6500 feet

A few miles past Molas Pass

We made it up the big climb today in about 5 hours. First, we got out out the door around 8:30, stopped by a store to pick up snacks, and got going up the pass around 9. About an hour in, my body was ready for some stretching, and Brian was ready for his morning BM. There is a lot of private property out on the road that borders the public lands. As soon as we left private property and got on public land, it was time to find a spot to stretch and poop. We found a suitable little pull-off, I did some stretching, and Brian did some back-country fertilizing. Satisfied with our break, we took off, and not 10 yards down the road was a public bathroom. Damn.

The climb started off fairly gradual, but once we reached American Basin, the road took a steep pitch upwards that required a little bit of hiking. We topped out at 12,640 feet at about 2 pm. The descent was windy and rocky, and on the way down we passed through a ghost town called Animas Forks. Apparently it was an old mining town where they built the largest, most expensive mill in Colorado. It lasted something like seven years. They had a lot of foresight back in the day.

Upon arrival in Silverton, we had a late lunch at the Silverton Brewery. After lunch, we looked around town for a spare bike tube. We stopped at the local outdoors store, where we were directed to go to Ron's house around the corner. It was just described as the brown A-frame house. The visit to Ron's house was ... interesting. Ron is an older guy, looked like he could have been about 80, though I wouldn't have been surprised if he were just a really grizzled 70. He had a plethora of bike parts in a trailer behind his house. Opening the door to the trailer, we could see piles and piles of deraileurs, cassettes, and chains for all sorts of bikes. First we looked through a pile of used bike tubes outside, then he pulled another pile from inside the trail. No luck. He also didn't have any new bike tubes that fit our bikes. We thanked him for his time and rode off, kind of confused by our Ron experience.

On our way out of town, we restocked on food one last time, and headed up the pass. Tomorrow we will be facing the decision of whether or not we can finish the full Colorado Trail, or if we will have to take a faster route into Durango.

Matt ponders how much climbing is left

Isaac at the top of Cinnamon Pass

Descending down to the ghost town

Sunset from Molas Pass

Location: A few miles past Molas Pass
Distance Covered: about 450 miles
Elevation: 11,100 feet

[Post ride note - this was another good picture day, check out pictures 102 to 128 in the gallery for the day's photos]

Wheel Wagon Cabins in Lake City

We slogged through the tougher-than-expected detour to Lake City tonight. The descent from Slumgullion Pass down to Lake City, though on road, was pretty damn awesome and completely unexpected. Brian had the elevation of the pass at 8800 feet, but that is about the same elevation as it is here in Lake City. We figure we lost about 2000 feet in 7 miles, definitely exceeding the posted speed limit of 35 MPH. Not to shabby on weighed down mountain bikes with big, knobby tires.

Tomorrow we tackle a really difficult climb - Cinnamon Pass. We are down at about 8600 feet in Lake City; the pass is at 12,600 feet. Hopefully, tonight's fried chicken, chicken fried steak, hush puppies, and pie will fuel us up the 4000 foot climb in the morning. We are beginning to wonder if we will be able to make it to Durango on bike.

Location: Wagon Wheel Cabins in Lake City
Distance Covered: about 400 miles
Elevation: 8600 feet

[Post trip note - we found out that Slumgullion Pass tops out at 11,530 feet, making the descent closer to 2700 feet. Wow!]

Near McDonough Reservoir on Cty Rd KK14

It got below freezing some time last night as we awoke to a frost covered campsite. We got out as fast as possible, which ended up taking as long as normal because it was so damn cold. The climb out was a nice warmup for a couple of miles, then had a short hike-a-bike section. After that, we've been on unpaved road. The weather is very pleasant today, sunny but not too warm. We hope to make it to Lake City for dinner tonight. Lunchtime today is pitas with mashed potatoes and salmon. Delicious.

Starting the La Garita Detour

Location: Near McDonough Reservoir on the La Garita Detour
Distance Covered: About 360 miles
Elevation: 9600 feet

A couple of miles into segment 18

Today was mostly miserable. The segments were loose rocks that climbed up and down a lot. I fucking hated most of it. I hiked at least as much as I biked, probably more. Today really tested me and I kind of feel like I failed. I spent a lot of the day pissed off at being on trail, and cursing the fucking trail for being a piece of shit.

The day was somewhat redeemed by the kindness of strangers. As we had wrapped up the shit segment, we had at most 40 oz of water between the three of us. We bumped into a friendly couple from Colorado Springs who had just finished up their weekend trip. They had several gallons of water left over that they let us use. At this point it was getting pretty dark outside. I don't know what we would have done without that. Then, about a mile into the next segment, someone left a cooler full of soda on the trail. I took a root beer. We rode another mile up, in the dark at this point, to the campsite.

A little backtracking now - Last night it started to rain as we made our way to camp, and continued through most of the night. The tent was water-proof enough, but my shoes got fairly soaked. It was cold this morning and the trail was wet and muddy. Not exactly a great way to start the morning. We also bumped into a group of through hikers headed north, two girls and a guy probably about our age. Tomorrow we do some trail and then get on the road for a long detour.

Matt prepares some beef teriyaki for dinner

Location: Somewhere early on segment 18
Distance Covered: about 345 miles
Elevation: about 9650 feet

Lean-to on trail just beyond the pass

It looks like the rain has wrapped up. I think we'll be able to make it down to camp tonight.

Lean-to on trail just beyond the pass

We're caught in a rainstorm up on the ridge. Fortunately, there is a small shelter up here that seems to be pretty waterproof. Also caught up here are Carol and Wayne, who are out hiking with two llamas, named Pahlone and Obllama. The climb out after lunch started off OK, and got progressively steeper. Towards the top, the trail was almost unhikeable, absolutely the steepest section of trail we've encountered. We are waiting out the storm, hoping to get to the end of the section tonight.

Isaac at the top of the pass as the weather rolls in

Matt hikes up the impossibly steep last section

Location: Greens Shelter Lean-to by the pass
Distance covered: about 305 miles
Elevation: 11,500 feet

On trail by Fooses Creek

We started off a little late this morning, making it to the trail around 9:30. Before heading out, a woman at the campground gave us some delicious brownies. We wrapped up the shitty shitty segment, and celebrated by eating the aforementioned brownies. The next segment climbs up to the Continental Divide, and the trail has been quite enjoyable so far. It is mostly hard packed dirt with a few semi-submerged rocks and roots. The trail is very rideable with just a little hiking. We've gained about 1500 feet on this section so far, and it hasn't been too bad.

Brian and Matt grab some lunch by the creek

Location: By Fooses Creek
Distance Covered: about 300 miles
Elevation: about 10,000 feet

Angel of Shavano Campground

Today's trail thoroughly sucked. A lot. Worst trail so far. There was a ton of hike-a-bike; it almost seemed like we spent as much time off our bikes as we did on them. There were a lot of short unrideable ups and downs. Horse traffic has really damaged this section of trail, as it was excessively rocky and covered in horseshit. I am very glad to be off the bike for now. Today we met a through hiker heading north (the first one going in that direction). He was traveling very light, it looked like his pack wasn't much larger than mine and that is all he was carrying. We also met another northbound through hiker at the camp ground. His name is Chris and he claims both Durango and Charlottesville, VA as home. He tells us that he once played Magic the Gathering professionally. Tomorrow's going to be damn tough too. Two last things - it was pretty funny when the cows blocked the trail today, and the stars are absolutely incredible tonight.

Matt does some hiking

Location: Angel of Shavano Campground
Distance Covered: 290 miles
Elevation: 9200 feet

Great Western Motel, Buena Vista

Following an afternoon with more climbing than expected, we rolled into Buena Vista around 5:15. Today was full of through hikers, we met three after only seeing one over the first few days. We also had our first encounter with horses, right before lunch.

Anyways, the bike shop in Buena Vista replaced Brian's shifter, bled Isaac's brakes, and put in Isaac's spare brake pads in the front. The place was called the Trailhead, and if you are ever in Buena Vista and need biking or camping stuff, it is a must stop. While the bikes were being fixed, we walked over to the Lariat (aka the Rope) for burgers and a beer. We settled into the motel after picking up our bikes. As we are about to spend three days in the middle of nowhere, we stocked up on food at the grocery store next door. We've got a lot of food and it looks pretty heavy. Tomorrow is going to be rough. BTW, while the motel might not be the most modest in price, it is definitely the most modest in amenities.

Location: Great Western Motel in Buena Vista
Distance Covered: 250 miles
Elevation: 7950 feet

Sunnyside Day Use Area at Twin Lakes

We started off around 7:25 AM today, and when we arrived at what we thought was the trailhead, we found that it was the same as it was marked in the guidebook. We rode right past it and set ourselves back about an hour. For future reference, the trail picks up right across from the Mount Massive trailhead. The trail itself quickly became too steep to bike, so it was back to hiking. I found it pretty brutal and needed some help from the Ramones to make it up. We finally topped out on the section of trail and descended down to have lunch at Twin Lakes. At some point today, Isaac's camera broke, and as soon as I wrote that, the camera seems to be back in working order.

Location: Sunnyside Day Use Area at Twin Lakes
Distance Covered: 220 miles
Elevation: 9200 feet

Super 8 in Leadville

So Copper Mountain is fairly dead during the summer. There was only one place to get food that was not a Chinese buffet. The jacuzzi in the hotel was under renovation. The only place to get any sort of breakfast before 7:30 AM was the Starbucks across the highway, which seemed odd considering that Copper has a golf course and I thought golf people got up early to do their thing.

[begin beer related ranting]
In the evening, I managed to irritate 2 groups of people with my innate beer snobbery. The first was a group hanging outside of a bar that did not serve food, who told us hungry bikers that we should come in anyways because they serve Guinness, and Guinness is practically a meal in a glass. I can assure you that Guinness is not a meal in a glass, and is in fact a pretty light beer. It's just that damn nitro head that makes it seem filling. Idiots. We proceeded to the only place that had food, where we did order a beer. I ordered an Odell's 90 Schilling, a delicious and fairly common Colorado beer. Isaac asked about the New Belgium Skinny Dip, which the waitress described as a "lighter version of Fat Tire". I immediately butted in saying "I don't agree with that assessment." Just because New Belgium makes a ton of Fat Tire doesn't mean that all of their other beers are some version of that. As far as I can tell, Skinny Dip is in fact distinct from Fat Tire; I find it to be much more of a light pale ale than a lighter version of Fat Tire. Anyways the waitress probably spit in my food for my remarks, but I didn't care because I was still pretty hungry.
[/end beer related ranting]

The trail getting out of Copper Mountain wasn't particularly well marked, one of few sections of trail we've encountered so far where things were not extremely obvious. We finally found trail around 8:20 AM. About an hour after that, Brian had some trouble with his rear shifter. He putzed around with it for an hour or so, trying to fix it since we were about to embark on a fairly stout climb. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get it to work, so he picked a single rear gear and figured he'd fix it here in Leadville. The trail climbed out of Copper towards Searle Pass, and was rather steep and very rocky in some sections. Towards the top of the pass, we stopped above Janet's Cabin, on of the 10th Mountain Division huts, for a snack. We exchanged some Jim stories, mainly involving his forays in Jamaica. We pressed on and hiked to the top of the pass. Afer making it to Searle, we had to hike up some more. The views from crossing the Continental Divide were absolutely spectacular. We topped out a little over 12,000 feet, and then started descending towards Kokomo Pass. There, we encountered a gigantic flock of domestic sheep, grazing on the mountainside. Probably was a few hundred of them, out there baa-ing and eating. At the pass, we bumped into the grad student who surveyed us the day before. She was out biking with a friend. We chatted a bit and then descended down the pass towards the tree line. The trail was relatively fast and buff for a while before turning steep, loose, and rocky. I took a nice ride over the handlebars into a soft patch of grass and flowers. There was one particular steep and rocky section that I rode through that scared the shit out of me. I was way out of control, only clipped in with one foot, and riding way too fast. Fortunately, I remembered not to touch my front brake at all and was able to ride through. The downhill sections after that got a little steeper so I hopped off my bike and hiked down. At the bottom of the descent, Brian had some tire trouble that further set us back.

The next section was much more manageable, but we needed to push to get to Leadville for Brian's shifter. We wrapped up the section at about 4:45 PM, and crossed US-24 for the first time. Brian split off with hopes of making it to a bike shop in Leadville while Isaac and I rode the next section of trail. We saw a fox sprint and jump across the trail right after Brian split off. Otherwise it was a nice section of trail but nothing too amazing. We were still glad to ride it. The trail went a bit past Tennessee Pass, and then hit the road into Leadville. There, we met up with Brian, who was unable to get to the bike shop before it closed. We determined that we'd stay in Leadville for the night and that Brian would fix his bike in Buena Vista. So here we are in the motel, full of pizza, breadsticks, and salad. Tomorrow, we make it to Buena Vista, fix up Brian's bike, and load up for 3 days in the middle of nowhere.

Isaac and Brian on the Continental Divide at Searle Pass

A few of the many sheep of Kokomo Pass

Location: Super 8 in Leadville
Distance covered: 205 miles
Elevation: 10,000 feet

Pepino's Pizza & Subs in Frisco

We've had a stellar day of riding today. First off in the morning, we ascended Georgia Pass, which tops out at 11,880 feet. This was our first time above the tree line and also included a cross of the Continental Divide. On the way down, we bumped into Dan (the through hiker from Iowa) one last time. The descent was fast and a bit rocky and rooty, but a lot of fun. We took a break for first lunch at a stream and cooked up some Mountain House chicken a la king and chicken and rice. After the break, we continued on segment 6 for some climbing, followed by a long, buff descent. It was a blast and I could have ridden that section all day. Towards the end of the segment, we bumped into a grad student from Denver University who asked us to take a quick survey. Turns out she works for the parks and recreation service, and the survey was to collect data about trail usage. Naturally, we voiced support for more mountain biking (she agreed, she bikes too). We made it to Frisco a little after 3 and took care of a few little things. Hungry for some grub, we are now at Pepino's for some lunner. Once we consume the food, we'll head out on the Tenmile bike path over to Copper Mountain for the night.

Isaac riding at Georgia Pass

Location: Pepino's in Frisco
Distance Covered: 158 miles
Elevation: 9100 feet

Jefferson Creek Campground

After finally wrapping up the first detour, we found ourselves back on trail. The portions of Segments 5 and 6 were a very welcome change, and were a lot of fun. We had some exhilarating rolling single track through groves of aspens, definitely the group favorite. [Post trip note - check out a video here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Rm-UEF-hTSACTopHKC5j6Q]. The day's riding included our first foray into 5 digit altitude. Following the rejuvenating single track, we decided to stop at Jefferson Creek Campground for the night and leave the climbing up Georgia Pass (about 12,000 feet) for the morning. On the way over to the camp at Kenosha Pass, we met a couple from Fort Collins who kindly offered us some water, and a German couple who had just finished some mountain biking who also offered us water. We bumped into the through hiker on trail again, who we initially met not too far from our camp on the first day. He strolled into the campsite a few hours after we did. The camp host told us that there is a black bear who lives in the area; we figured as long as our food was hung in a tree it would be harder to get to than the food left in a cooler on a picnic table at the campsite across the path.

Brian and Matt bike up Segment 5

Brian rolling through the aspens

Stopping to chat with our through hiking trailmate

Location: Jefferson Creek Campground
Distance Covered: about 130 miles
Elevation: 10,000 feet

[Another post-ride note: This day was a great day for pictures, check out pictures 19-38 in the Picasa album for all of the day's photography]

Ute Trail River Ranch

We ate some fantastic pancakes and eggs for breakfast this morning, courtesy of chef Brian. We are ready to finish the detour. We hit the road at 7:20 AM.

Ute Trail River Ranch

Brian with all our biking crap in the dining area

We decided to stay in Tarryall for the night at the Ute Trail River Ranch. The ranch is right on the river (as the name suggests) and is generally used by people looking to do some trout fishing. The UTRR has cabins (ours is called Shavano), with a shared shower, toilet, and a general store. When we first stopped at about 4:45, I was pretty ready for food and promptly ate 2 hot pockets and a frozen burrito. For dinner, we had some delicious mac and cheese and hard boiled eggs. This has been a very luxurious stop. Jim and Deb were nice hosts, they usually ask for multiple night stays at the cabins, but they let us thru-bikers stop in just for the night. Jim is the kind of guy who likes to walk around the cabins in bare feet. There are reminders almost everywhere that bears like hanging out around the grounds, and apparently they have even gotten locked in the bathroom. Total mileage on the detour today has been about 50 miles. Tomorrow we finish the damn detour and get back to trail. I can't wait.

Matt takes a nap

Location: Ute Trail River Ranch
Distance Covered: 85 miles
Elevation: 8750 feet

Hopefully close to Tarryall

The detour has been fairly brutal. It seems like it is almost entirely uphill. The road itself has been an entirely exposed dirt road through a burned down forest. I took my first spill of the trip, as I misjudged my speed approaching a downhill corner. I managed to scrape up my left arm a little, but otherwise bike and rider are in OK shape. It looks like there is a thunderstorm quickly approaching.



Location: Somewhere around here
Distance covered: approximately 70 miles
Elevation: about 8700 feet

Green Mountain Campground

We stopped at the Green Mountain Campground for the night, about 17 miles short of where we wanted to be. The altitude is a bitch. After setting up camp, a thunderstorm rolled through at about 6:30 PM, but it was fairly brief and passed through within about an hour. Today, the goal is to go as far as we can on the first detour, which goes around the Lost Creek Wilderness area. I left my wet jersey out on a log overnight to dry out, and found that it was cold and wet in the morning. Splendid. A large breakfast of oatmeal powers us this morning. We hit the trail at 7:55.

Location: Green Mountain Campground
Distance Covered: 35 miles
Elevation: 7600 feet

North Forks Fire Station

We rolled into the empty fire station at about 2:20 and ate some lunch. Pita and peanut butter is a tasty combination. After that we took short power naps and readied for more trail. The downhill segment through the burned out forest was fast and fun.

Location: North Forks Fire Station
Distance covered: 25 miles
Elevation: 7600 feet

South Platte Trailhead

We finished Segment 1 at about 10:30. One down, 27 to go. We took a snack break, refilled water, and were back on the trail at 11:05.


Location: South Platte Trailhead
Distance covered: 16 miles
Elevation: 6100 feet

Waterton Canyon Trailhead

Isaac got back at 9:30 PM last night, and the rangers closed off the trail before we could embark. They also said they would call the sheriffs if we went on the trail. So we camped at the trailhead. The trip officially began at 7:05 this morning.

Location: Waterton Canyon Trailhead
Distance covered: 0 miles
Elevation: 5500 feet

Waterton Canyon Trailhead

Well the campground where we were going to be spending the night is hosting a hot air balloon event this weekend and is completely full. As is every campground in about a 10 mile radius. So we are hitting the trail tonight. The plan is to bike in and take the first available camping spot, which should be about 7 miles in. It was raining some on the drive from the airport, but things have cleared up a little. Brian and I are currently waiting for Isaac to return the silver Jeep and take a cab back here. In the meantime, we've assembled our bikes and packed our bags.

Location: Waterton Canyon Trailhead
Distance covered: 0 miles
Elevation: 5500 feet