Colorado Trail III: Mountains & Mountain Towns

I slept uneasily in the eerie nightscape. In the morning it was a short ride into Breckenridge, where amidst the hustle of town I did the various rituals of necessary chores and featured enjoyments. At City Market I bought more food than planned, cycled thru town with a quart of chocolate milk in one hand, bought a huge bearclaw pastry at Daylight Donuts, sweated in my rain gear while doing laundry, listened to a local transient man chat up strangers in the town square, almost fell asleep over my beer at Breckenridge Brewery, took a nap in the town park and waking up enjoyed another beer at Broken Compass Brewery on my way out of town. A few miles up the Trail I came upon Tumbleweed and with night approaching we decided to camp together. Across the fire’s embers we traded tales of past outdoor adventures. Five days into the trip and it was nice to have someone to chat with.

The next morning the Trail continued to climb up into the Ten Mile Range. Oh gosh! in my estimation this was the worst sustained climb of the whole Trail! 3,500 feet of elevation gain and above treeline the Trail was nothing but large rocks, forcing me to push and shove my loaded bike uphill. The climb dragged on and left me exhausted. When I reached the crest, the wildfire smoke filling the valleys made the views look more like the Smokey Mountains. It was a nice downhill though to Copper Mountain where I couldn’t resist the urge for a quick detour to a nearby gas station for treats. Then I cycled past the ski resort, resisting another urge to veer off-trail two hundred yards for a burger and beer. The gentle grade up the alpine meadow along Guller Creek was incredibly scenic! I fully enjoyed it, taking a mid-day nap beside the creek, before cycling over Searle and Kokomo Passes before making camp.

The next day was a quick descent into historic Camp Hale, training grounds of the 10^th Mountain Division during WW II. Then up Tennessee Pass before a much too long three miles (by trail thirty minutes, where the road would have taken only five) before beginning the bicycle detour around Mt. Massive Wilderness. In the valley I cruised along the pavement trying to outpace the dark clouds looming overhead.  In Leadville (my first place of residence in Colorado back in 2004) I ate lunch at the infamous taco truck, before heading to the hostel. After a much-needed shower, I wandered about town, seeing the familiar sights. Later when Tumbleweed got into town we had pizza and salad at High Mountain Pies, drank beer in the historic and eclectic Silver Dollar Saloon, and finished the night at Periodic Brewery. The next day was a full day of the bike, resting and eating and enjoying this amazing mountain town.