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RR: Colorado Trail (Part 5)
Days 6 and 7: Continental Divide
I pitch my tent on Kenosha Pass. I have gotten pretty well acclimated to 7,000 feet, but at 10,000 I am winded by the smallest activity. My legs are totally shot, aching and wobbly. I take a rest day. I left my car parked on the pass the week before, so I have fresh supplies and clean clothes. I drive down into Fairplay and load the cooler up with ice and BEvERages, and have a hamburger for lunch at a roadside bar. It's sublime. Dinner is macaroni and cheese -- no more of that freeze- dried backpacker **** for me. I'm living large. I celebrate with a huge campfire and lots of cold beer. The next day is the last leg of the trip, up to the Continental Divide at Georgia Pass. I have decided not to do the descent into Frisco, but instead do the pass as an out-and-back. I leave the trailer behind. On paper, the stats for the trail to Georgia Pass are pretty intimidating: 25 miles round-trip and 4,000 feet of climbing, all at altitudes where pilots are required to use supplemental oxygen. (Or, in JD-speak, "a hoot".) But I am hugely fit now. Without the trailer, the bike is light as a feather, and I climb through the Aspens and descend across the grassy valley in the early morning sun without a care in the world. I take the climb carefully, stopping regularly to eat. I know how quickly things can go from wonderful to dire above 10,000 feet, and I am taking no chances. But everything is smooth and wonderful. The climb is challenging, pretty technical in places, and as I ascend above 11,000 feet, the snow begins to thicken and finally congeals into a mass, blocking the trail about two miles below the pass. This is the end of the road. 134 miles point-to-point from Denver. I turn around and let it rip on the descent back to Kenosha, sailing through the aspens on the smooth, twisty singletrack like Luke Skywalker. I return to camp, and prepare for the drive home. Sweet. |
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#2
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RR: Colorado Trail (Part 5)
On Jul 1, 4:19*am, Corvus Corvax wrote:
Days 6 and 7: Continental Divide I pitch my tent on Kenosha Pass. I have gotten pretty well acclimated to 7,000 feet, but at 10,000 I am winded by the smallest activity. My legs are totally shot, aching and wobbly. I take a rest day. I left my car parked on the pass the week before, so I have fresh supplies and clean clothes. I drive down into Fairplay and load the cooler up with ice and BEvERages, and have a hamburger for lunch at a roadside bar. It's sublime. Dinner is macaroni and cheese -- no more of that freeze- dried backpacker **** for me. I'm living large. I celebrate with a huge campfire and lots of cold beer. The next day is the last leg of the trip, up to the Continental Divide at Georgia Pass. I have decided not to do the descent into Frisco, but instead do the pass as an out-and-back. I leave the trailer behind. On paper, the stats for the trail to Georgia Pass are pretty intimidating: 25 miles round-trip and 4,000 feet of climbing, all at altitudes where pilots are required to use supplemental oxygen. (Or, in JD-speak, "a hoot".) But I am hugely fit now. Without the trailer, the bike is light as a feather, and I climb through the Aspens and descend across the grassy valley in the early morning sun without a care in the world. I take the climb carefully, stopping regularly to eat. I know how quickly things can go from wonderful to dire above 10,000 feet, and I am taking no chances. But everything is smooth and wonderful. The climb is challenging, pretty technical in places, and as I ascend above 11,000 feet, the snow begins to thicken and finally congeals into a mass, blocking the trail about two miles below the pass. This is the end of the road. 134 miles point-to-point from Denver. I turn around and let it rip on the descent back to Kenosha, sailing through the aspens on the smooth, twisty singletrack like Luke Skywalker. I return to camp, and prepare for the drive home. Sweet. Sweet indeed. (Anyone who missed the links, Part 4 has the pics. Really added a lot to an already splendid narrative.) Thanks again, CC. Great stuff. |
#3
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RR: Colorado Trail (Part 5)
On Jul 1, 4:19*am, Corvus Corvax wrote:
Days 6 and 7: Continental Divide Corvus That's quite an adventure. I really enjoy your writing. thanks for posting , it reminds me of the good old days on AM-B. Pauli |
#4
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RR: Colorado Trail (Part 5)
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