After nearly two weeks off the trail, which we spent day riding, working and catching up with friends, we loaded up the bikes and rolled out of Durango.
It was a long detour around the Weminuche Wilderness, but it meant we got to ride 74 miles of Colorado Trail. A good choice for a CDTbike route, methinks. A good choice for anyone!
Oh Colorado Trail. You are so lovely, so well maintained, so known. But that’s kind of the issue, the trail is too known. Bike access is well secured (thank you CTF, we LOVE you!). And the trail is too short. We long for something more challenging, less known and something that takes a serious commitment of time. Something you can really get into the rhythm of traveling by bike, by trail, on.
High point, reached at last! One thing the CT has plenty of is climbing!
Waterfall, still climbing out of Durango.
Pushing bikes to Kennebec Pass. Yeouch.
The big push up to Indian Trail Ridge. This is not a friendly reintroduction to life on the trail.
But the place more than makes up for any hardship. Simply knockout riding. When you can ride.
My favorite flower of the day, they look like little snowballs from far away. Believable because there was still snow on the ridge…
Note the trail below. We were on the good side of this one.
Columbines littered the Hotel Draw section of the trail. Eszter’s new shirt fit in well.
Descending from Blackhawk Pass, the rest of the CT calls us to continue riding, continue climbing!
Contouring to our Celebration Lake campsite that was foiled by a black bear sauntering by.
That pushed us higher, to witness this gigantic herd of Elk moving across the alpine meadows in the last moments of golden light.
And it gave us this incredible campsite, with views of Lizard Head, Engineer Mtn, and, well, just about everything else.
Engineer Mountain, we’ll be back for more riding, I assure you!
Blue glacial lake as we rejoin the Colorado Trail, full of snow.
Finally done contouring around the cliffs of Molas, it’s time to drop!
Good stay in Silverton.
Even if we weren’t quite ready for the giga climb up to Stony Pass.
We were ready for the treeless wonder of Cataract Lake.
Bluebells and Team Blueberry descending the snowfields in the background.
Not real.
Simply not real.
You know it’s cold when moving water freezes overnight. They need more knicks and side drains on the trail up there. They really work for keeping water off the trail.
We raced an elk down this valley. It was neck and neck until we hit a sketchy snowfield. Then we lost, big time.
Snow flurries combined and fog enveloped the deep canyons as we climbed to Coney Summit.
It did not last. Views were bigger than the imagination.
Not too early for plenty of wildflowers.
Riding on top of the world.
Downclimbing on top of the world.
Plenty early for snow, but nothing prohibitive.
Killer sunset from the yurt. An afternoon and evening well spent. We were so happy to be out of the wind.
Even happier to discover the magnifico trail that drops down from the yurt — if you can find it.
Zoom zoom!
An easy ride into Lake City for an incredibly fun nero day.
Bad ass!!