Colorado Trail II: Heat and Smoke

It was a typical cool mountain morning as I broke camp before the sun reached camp, eager to get an early start on the Trail. Five minutes later I was pushing the bike, sweating up a steep hill. After cresting the hill, I reached a burned-out treeless stretch and the day was already heating up. I don’t do well in heat and the next few days the forecast places temps in the mid-eighties. I finished off my first segment of the Trail, then joined by hikers and cyclists out enjoying Labor Day weekend. Still fresh to the Trail, it was nice when I left the crowds behind at the trailhead. At the end of segment 3, I stopped beside the creek and chatted with Tumbleweed from Austin, TX. It was a cool spot so I took a siesta to avoid the mid-day heat.

After the nap, I began the first bicycle detour of the trip (cyclists follow the Colorado Trail, except for detours around wilderness areas, where motorized and mechanized vehicles are prohibited). The Lost Creek Wilderness bicycle detour is the longest: seventy miles along dirt and paved roads, with over eight thousand feet of climbing. I pedaled onwards, putting in a few more hours of riding before night set in. Exhausted, I found a great camping spot near a grove of Aspens and settled down for the night.

Day two of the wilderness detour, and within a few miles I was cycling on pavement, thirty miles of it, the longest stretch of pavement the whole trip. Fortunately, traffic was light on County Rd-77 and I made good time, stopping only briefly at a campground for water and Tarryall Reservoir for scenery. Just before the route turned back to gravel I passed a small outpost and enjoyed a cold chocolate milk. It was delicious on such a hot day! Then the route climbed on the gravel roads and I was dismayed by the heavy recreational traffic that coated me with dust as vehicles sped past me. Ten miles of this and I was relieved to be back on Trail, where another mid-day siesta was in order. Awake from my nap Tumbleweed walked by, fresh out of the Wilderness area. The mid-day heat having past, I cycled above South Park Valley, a wonderful combination of high plains and surrounded by mountains. I regretted not lingering longer to take in the views; low on water and wanting to cross Kenosha Pass. Oh, the descent through the Aspen grove was surreal!

The next day began the climb up Georgia Pass, my first crossing of the Continental Divide, and where the Colorado Trail and Continental Divide Trail joined paths. The view from the top was beautiful, yet obscured by smoke from Western wildfires. After a morning toiling uphill, the seven-mile flowy descent was one of the most incredible stretches of mountain biking! It was followed up by a steep thousand-foot climb and then camp outside of Breckenridge. With smoke hanging dense in the valley the sun burned red above my camp beside the local Blair Witch Trail. The night had an eerie feel…