2 Weeks ago Bit and I loaded up a borrowed Subaru Forrester (thanks Mom) with camping equipment, dogs, food, books on CD and 1 bike for a week in the high country of good ol Colorado.
Got up Early on July 8th and drove till night fall to reach Crested Butte. Our friends Sean, Kelly and Seamus Burns had secured a sweet little campsite up Slate River Road Gulch in National Forest right next to a raging mountain stream. Within 24 hours our little spot in the woods became a full on refugee camp of temporarily dislocated Midwesterners. Andre, Jeanie and Erin Dory joined us as well Sean's friend James Alexander and Kelly's friends Amy and Kristin. For the next 5 days we enjoyed wonderful camp meals, with picturesque day hikes. Several days the guys weaseled some sweet single track rides in.
The first day we joined the Burns Clan for a short jaunt up Oh-Be-Joyful enjoying the views of several waterfalls and tons of wild flowers
Bit and Kelly happy not to be in the Midwest
The next day the whole crew headed to the Snodgrass Trail. The guys rode out and back on their mountain bikes grabbed the cars then drove around to pick up the ladies at the end of the trail. We ended the day in the town eating delicious pizza at the Secret Stash.
Day 3 Bit and I took the mutts up Gothic Gulch and did a day hike up one of the canyons that became a bush whack and was probably the worst hike of the trip despite. A majority of the trail was double track open only to hikers with mediocre views, bummer! That evening I rallied for a ride after the afternoon showers had passed. Sean, Andre, James and I arrived at the 401 trail around 6:00 pm and it started to sprinkle. Because of the weather we decided to ride up the trail as far as rain or time would allow then turn around and ride back. the standard route is to ride up Gothic road to Schofield Pass then climb a mile of single track for 7 miles of descent. We ended up making it about 7 miles up the trail with lots of gorgeous single track and unrelenting climbs. Sean and I were duking it out with the uphill grades on our single speeds and did surprisingly well. The descent was fast and flowey. By far the best trail I have ever ridden, and with a great group of friends. And yes the rain did let up.
The following day we all went up to trail 403 hiked up to the high point to enjoy the views and take some photos.
Afterwards Bit and I took a lift up Mt Crested Butte then hiked the summit trail to the top for great views of the Maroon Bells and surrounding mountains.
We went into town so Bit could get take a nice hot shower at the lodge the Dory's had just checked into. James and I snuck out for a quick spin on the lower and upper loop trails just outside of town, enjoying the nice rolling single track.
The following day we packed up and headed to Telluride for 2 days. We camped at the city park, which paled in comparison to our Crested Butte campsite, and got several hikes in that left from town. All the hiking was steep with exquisite views. The first afternoon we did a 3 mile round trip hike with 1600 ft of elevation gain.
The view was worth it!
Our final day we hiked up to Bear Creek Falls then headed back to the front range.
Our last day I took the dogs on 2 steep short trail runs/hikes to wear them out for the drive home.
It worked! Well!
That evening we stayed with Aaron and Becky Broyles at their newly purchased home outside of Evergreen. They have a cute house with great views, in a secluded yet accessible location. It was a perfect end to our trip, hanging out with some friends that we hadn't seen for quite some time, before making the drive across the plains.
Had a great time, and are already talking about going back next year.
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