Thur. Sept. 1, 2016
Start - ~7874'
High pt 11910'
Lo pt 7874'
End Elv ~9800'
Climbing 4800'
Miles 44
Total time 9:00
Ride time 6:45
Day with BOB 30
This the BIG DAY; the most climbing in any given day to the high point of the route. I think this os the highest I have been on a MTB. The highest the BOB has been.
I got up early today and packed up. Mostly to partly cloudy, though the clouds retreat quite a bit with the growing reach of the sun. A good sign. No cooking as I grab a coffee and a yummy breakfast burrito at The Perks on my way out of town. It is about 24 miles from town to the summit of Indiana Pass. It is about half paved, half good gravel road, but most of the climbing is on dirt. I did have to ride in the ditch for a mile on the paved section due to fresh tar road work. Nice ranching valley followed the pavement, with the valley narrowing and getting quite a bit steeper as the pavement ends, and it stays climbing for 12 miles non stop after that point. I can see there are dead groves of conifers up higher. As I reach those lofty elevations, I can see that spruce genocide has occured, at least for a certain age tree.
I crest the pass, which is right at treeline at this latitude, having escaped the dark clouds that were building during my ascent. But breaching the pass, it is quite clear I will not escape their fury for long, as there is a large rainstorm occupying the basin further down. This does put some square top mountains in ever fading relief until they are drowned in grey, not too far distant I am afraid.
I change to dry and warmer clothes and rain gear and head on down. I get a mile or two before I need to hide under a friendly group of firs. I have lunch to bide the time and wait out the heaviest of the rain.
I restart and start peddling down toward Summitville, an old gold campsite and current superfubd site. This leg of the route it is advised to carry extra water since a long strech of the route is contaminated. Don't see much of the devastation other than the brightly covered creek as I a in the middle of 2.5 hours of steady rain, and my reality has narrowed to the road and the odometer mostly. There are a couple of modest climbs out of the Summitville basin, and I am actually glad for them, as they help keep me warm and hypothermia at bay. I soon reach the top of the climb, close to the continental dividen near Elwood Pass, and the long downhill to Stunner begins, and so does a growing chill. The bike is showing the aftermath of a long wet ride, everything has mud or grit on it.
Setting up camp in the empty campground helps get the blood flowing good again. Despite reports of a pump, I can't find it and it looks to me it was removed. The local portion of the Alamosa river is contaminated as well, in part due to natural breaching of heavy metal ore, and also some mining. Good thing I hauled the extra water, as I have just enough to make dinnet anf breakfast work.
Partially cloudy as I prep dinner and go to bed, but I detect 4 or 5 rain showers over night. The next morning, the sun breaks through as oft as not, helping warm my body and spirits. Cool clouds are born in the forested ridges and set free into the morning light to drift to their destiny (likely to rain on me layer 😉)
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