Three Days in the Rockies
Observations and thoughts following three great days of riding in the Cortez/Durango bit of SW CO:
* It's not a terrible drive from Phoenix -- 7 hours, really. It's funny that I can trick myself into thinking it's a 2 hour drive to Flag, then a 3 hour drive to Gallup, then a 2 hour drive to Cortez. Wish I'd had tunes with me. Instead, I spent the entire trip hunting for NPR only to have the repeater get overwhelmed by Jesus-freak radio.
* Next time I'm building time into the drive to ride in Gallup. I regretted missing the loops up there both coming and going. Next time! But I was really more excited about getting into 75F weather and pine trees.
* Cortez is a great place to visit. Maybe one of my favorites. Don't know if I could live there. But it's like one of my 2-3 favorite road trip destinations. Ditto Durango.
* The whole Cortez/Mancus/Durango zone feels like ur-Flagstaff. You can totally feel the CO influence in Flag; not so much that I'd seriously call Flagstaff "Baja Colorado" or anything. Actually I might. In fact I think I did, but only after a lot of beer in Durango.
* Funny: the Durango locals call their town "a Texas state park." And it's true! Frigging Texans are just everywhere, driving their big honking vehicles, talking too loud. I can see why they're resentful. And on my Flag note above, I have a greater appreciation for the deep dislike Flaggers have for Phoenicians on kind of that same wavelength.
* Also funny: you need to own one or more Subarus and/or Toyota Tacomas to gain residency in the Cortez/Mancus/Durango corridor. Bonus points if you're part of a couple, one of you works for Osprey Packs and the other is some kind of teacher. Bonus bonus points if you wear cargo shorts, hiking boots and a hunting vest, the official uniform of southern Colorado (optionally accessorized by a knit beanie, tasteful gold earring, and/or scraggly beard).
* I turn really, really dumb at 9000'. Like, inconsolable. The littlest shit wigs me out, my energy runs hot and cold, I'm slightly headachy and dizzy the whole time. One of my worst-ever wrecks, on 10K Trail down the backside of the Sandia Mountains above Albuquerque, was a result of 9000'+-induced stupidity. I'm incredibly grateful that didn't happen again on this trip -- and it sure could have!
Anyway, on to the rides!
Friday, June 5: This was going to be a quick shake-out-the-legs ride after the drive, but it turned into a two hour throwdown around a bunch of new trails at Phil's World. I rode PW at last year's 12 Hours of Mesa Verde race, but they left out a bunch of the more challenging stuff in favor of a faster/safer race course. So my buddy Dave Mathews, who just happens to live right on the trailhead to PW, showed me the goods, specifically the Ledges Trail, which lived up to its name. Great little ride. Got lucky with the weather, which had left me drenched in Shiprock on the way up but ended up passing to the north of us and soaking the San Juans instead.
Sadly, no pix. We were kinda-sorta racing against daylight to get stuff done, get dinner into us, and work our way through Dave's burrito-making assembly line for the next couple days' worth of high-calorie trail food. Had one high-speed, low-consequence crash which made me laugh. I've had a bunch of these spills lately, and have gotten extremely lucky about just walking away from them. I think my improved full-body fitness is helping protect me from the typical sprains and strains that have plagued me in the past.
Saturday, June 6: Hermosa Creek. So this is the insanely hyped must-ride trail out of Durango. Dunno what the stats ended up being, but we drove above Purgatory and began our descent, first down six miles of high-speed dirt road and then several miles of fun, fast doubletrack alongside and above the creek. So pretty. Not technical. This ride got me wondering if the baseline riding in AZ is such that we automatically equate hard = fun. The second half, where the trail becomes singletrack and towers high, high above the creekbed (hundreds of feet, maybe more, of exposure in many spots), becomes significantly more challenging but, happily, no less fun.
First picture is of a nice little sign set up right where we disembarked. Considered lining up old Gatorade bottles along the top of it for the photo op but we ended up declining. If you can't quite read it, it says:
"Let no one say/and say it to your shame/that all was beauty here/until you came."
Here's the trailhead sign. CO has it going on when it comes to official signage.
So we begin the trail at pretty high altitude, maybe 9000ish? I don't know. Here's Dave beginning the descent.
Just looked up some stats: while we lose 3000' total, we also gain 2000' total. NOT a downhill ride. In fact there's no discernable "downhill scene" in Durango, despite the presence of Durango Mountain Resort and the humongous mountains everywhere. I'm not convinced bringing DH to Durango would be a positive development -- the epic XC crowd has ruled the roost here for decades.
Sadly not a lot of photography once we hit the super-skinny singletrack. Here's a shot of Dave and Stephen Barnes posed above the creekbed below. No idea how far down, maybe 400' at this point. Not the highest point. This whole section involved very, very focused riding to keep from shooting off the skinny trail and into the abyss.
One of the wider spots of singletrack on Hermosa Creek. Another issue: so much of this trail is so fast that I didn't really want to stop and document it. Really I'd rather have just brought along a photographer (actually Stephen took a LOT of good pix, since he's way-faster than me and was able to race ahead and get set up at the good photo op spots -- hoping he hooks me up with more pix!).
So, thankfully, the ride ended about five hours later without incident. They've done a ton of trail work this season (June 2009), with lots of nicely built up stream crossings and reinforcements. My local buddies said the trail was in absolutely the best shape it's ever been in. Sure enough, there's plenty of climbing along the way -- very glad I didn't bring a bigger bike for this. The RIP9 performed spectactularly the whole trip -- plenty of cush, and I could still climb it.
As great as Hermosa Creek Trail is, the rest of the day just got better and better! Once we exited the trailhead, we rode...maybe 12 road miles back into town and into the Trimble Hot Springs parking lot. For $12, we got showers and access to a big community hot spring. Oh man, that's how I want to end every ride from now on. After we baked our brains in 102F water, we headed over to the infamous Steamworks for too much high-grade beer (at high altitude, ouch) and great food. Staggered around lovely Durango for a couple hours trying to sober up and not really succeeding. Loved seeing a town where the cyclists clearly run the show -- townies, roadies, singlespeeds and mountain bikes as far as the eye can see. Ex-pros tooling around with their kids. I'll be back.
Sunday, June 7: Stoner Mesa Trail. My local buddies were all giggly and hopped up on this sorta-secretish, little-used local gem. They wouldn't tell me much about it other than "oh...I think you'll like it." And then get all secretive. After being kind of worked over from the previous day (and still recovering from my overdose of Steamworks' Lizard Head Red Ale), I went into the ride with trepidation. When Stephen showed up in even worse shape -- undaunted by his own Steamworks experience, he continued partying at the Dolores River Festival -- I regained some confidence.
The ride starts with eight miles of pavement through some of the most absolutely beautiful rolling mountains and valleys you've ever see. Here's a shot I took from the saddle. Multimillion-dollar ranches every couple miles.
The warmup was excellent and I felt terrific. And then the dirt road climb began in earnest, starting above 7000' and ending at a little above 9000'. The stats say the trail tops out at 9606', which is way into stupid-Paul zone. Here's a shot from about halfway up the climb, down into the same ranch I just shot above.
We stopped for burritos and trailside napping a couple times, but the threat of snow (!) and alternating freezing/broiling temps drove us forward. Another observation: high-country riders haul around more clothes than anyone I know. The correct way to dress, apparently, is a base jersey layer, arm warmers, a windproof vest, and an optional wind/waterproof jacket. My buddies were constantly swapping layers. Stupidly I had just my basic jersey and a heavy-ish jacket: way hot while climbing, freezing cold if I took it off and I got snowed on. Ugh. Rookie mistake.
The ride started out so promising. Let me just say that up front, in advance of what you're about to read. Aspens towering above us, wicked-fast singletrack descending from dizzying heights, roots and rocks to keep us honest.
And then we hit the deadfall. Probably 200 trees down all along the top of the mesa, making flow truly impossible for more than a few hundred yards. Stephen kept repeating, maybe by way of apology, "This trail is so fast when it's clear!" Arms and shoulders got a heck of a workout.
Once we got accustomed to the constant hike-a-bike, our next treat was an endless mud slog. The springs were overflowing and the mountain was still recovering from snow. We battled nonstop for hours, sometimes entirely cut off from the singletrack by standing water. Combined with some deadfall-and-mud-induced mechanical issues and constant labor at 9000'+ feet, I was on the urge of a meltdown. But Stephen and David, ever the optimists, were happy to point out "But this trail is so fast when it's clear and dry!"
I don't think we were the first people on the mesa that season -- there was one set of bike tire tracks and one set of moto tracks.
The trail wasn't entirely in ruins. Here's a nice little spot we stopped at to view the snow-capped peaks in the distance. Beauty shot of the best bike I've ever owned, after most of the mud had fallen off.
The next part of the ride, very sadly, has no photos. It is the descent off Stoner Mesa, and it was incredible. It's currently my favorite descent anywhere, even blowing out the awesome Sixshooter Canyon Trail. While the rest of Stoner Mesa was a shambles, the descent was packed in, tight, fast as hell, scary...one amazing rollercoaster ride dropping a couple thousand feet in maybe 4 miles, maybe less. The switchbacks are both tight and bermed, making them barely rideable at speed if you posted out a foot for balance. The ferns and undergrowth were so dense and green that you couldn't even see the trail at some points. I rode just about as fast as I ever have on a trail I've never been on.
Highest possible recommendation, especially since it is a typically well-maintained trail and, according to the locals, the conditions at the top were far from ordinary.
And that was my trip. Full set of photos available at my Flickr album.
* It's not a terrible drive from Phoenix -- 7 hours, really. It's funny that I can trick myself into thinking it's a 2 hour drive to Flag, then a 3 hour drive to Gallup, then a 2 hour drive to Cortez. Wish I'd had tunes with me. Instead, I spent the entire trip hunting for NPR only to have the repeater get overwhelmed by Jesus-freak radio.
* Next time I'm building time into the drive to ride in Gallup. I regretted missing the loops up there both coming and going. Next time! But I was really more excited about getting into 75F weather and pine trees.
* Cortez is a great place to visit. Maybe one of my favorites. Don't know if I could live there. But it's like one of my 2-3 favorite road trip destinations. Ditto Durango.
* The whole Cortez/Mancus/Durango zone feels like ur-Flagstaff. You can totally feel the CO influence in Flag; not so much that I'd seriously call Flagstaff "Baja Colorado" or anything. Actually I might. In fact I think I did, but only after a lot of beer in Durango.
* Funny: the Durango locals call their town "a Texas state park." And it's true! Frigging Texans are just everywhere, driving their big honking vehicles, talking too loud. I can see why they're resentful. And on my Flag note above, I have a greater appreciation for the deep dislike Flaggers have for Phoenicians on kind of that same wavelength.
* Also funny: you need to own one or more Subarus and/or Toyota Tacomas to gain residency in the Cortez/Mancus/Durango corridor. Bonus points if you're part of a couple, one of you works for Osprey Packs and the other is some kind of teacher. Bonus bonus points if you wear cargo shorts, hiking boots and a hunting vest, the official uniform of southern Colorado (optionally accessorized by a knit beanie, tasteful gold earring, and/or scraggly beard).
* I turn really, really dumb at 9000'. Like, inconsolable. The littlest shit wigs me out, my energy runs hot and cold, I'm slightly headachy and dizzy the whole time. One of my worst-ever wrecks, on 10K Trail down the backside of the Sandia Mountains above Albuquerque, was a result of 9000'+-induced stupidity. I'm incredibly grateful that didn't happen again on this trip -- and it sure could have!
Anyway, on to the rides!
Friday, June 5: This was going to be a quick shake-out-the-legs ride after the drive, but it turned into a two hour throwdown around a bunch of new trails at Phil's World. I rode PW at last year's 12 Hours of Mesa Verde race, but they left out a bunch of the more challenging stuff in favor of a faster/safer race course. So my buddy Dave Mathews, who just happens to live right on the trailhead to PW, showed me the goods, specifically the Ledges Trail, which lived up to its name. Great little ride. Got lucky with the weather, which had left me drenched in Shiprock on the way up but ended up passing to the north of us and soaking the San Juans instead.
Sadly, no pix. We were kinda-sorta racing against daylight to get stuff done, get dinner into us, and work our way through Dave's burrito-making assembly line for the next couple days' worth of high-calorie trail food. Had one high-speed, low-consequence crash which made me laugh. I've had a bunch of these spills lately, and have gotten extremely lucky about just walking away from them. I think my improved full-body fitness is helping protect me from the typical sprains and strains that have plagued me in the past.
Saturday, June 6: Hermosa Creek. So this is the insanely hyped must-ride trail out of Durango. Dunno what the stats ended up being, but we drove above Purgatory and began our descent, first down six miles of high-speed dirt road and then several miles of fun, fast doubletrack alongside and above the creek. So pretty. Not technical. This ride got me wondering if the baseline riding in AZ is such that we automatically equate hard = fun. The second half, where the trail becomes singletrack and towers high, high above the creekbed (hundreds of feet, maybe more, of exposure in many spots), becomes significantly more challenging but, happily, no less fun.
First picture is of a nice little sign set up right where we disembarked. Considered lining up old Gatorade bottles along the top of it for the photo op but we ended up declining. If you can't quite read it, it says:
"Let no one say/and say it to your shame/that all was beauty here/until you came."
Here's the trailhead sign. CO has it going on when it comes to official signage.
So we begin the trail at pretty high altitude, maybe 9000ish? I don't know. Here's Dave beginning the descent.
Just looked up some stats: while we lose 3000' total, we also gain 2000' total. NOT a downhill ride. In fact there's no discernable "downhill scene" in Durango, despite the presence of Durango Mountain Resort and the humongous mountains everywhere. I'm not convinced bringing DH to Durango would be a positive development -- the epic XC crowd has ruled the roost here for decades.
Sadly not a lot of photography once we hit the super-skinny singletrack. Here's a shot of Dave and Stephen Barnes posed above the creekbed below. No idea how far down, maybe 400' at this point. Not the highest point. This whole section involved very, very focused riding to keep from shooting off the skinny trail and into the abyss.
One of the wider spots of singletrack on Hermosa Creek. Another issue: so much of this trail is so fast that I didn't really want to stop and document it. Really I'd rather have just brought along a photographer (actually Stephen took a LOT of good pix, since he's way-faster than me and was able to race ahead and get set up at the good photo op spots -- hoping he hooks me up with more pix!).
So, thankfully, the ride ended about five hours later without incident. They've done a ton of trail work this season (June 2009), with lots of nicely built up stream crossings and reinforcements. My local buddies said the trail was in absolutely the best shape it's ever been in. Sure enough, there's plenty of climbing along the way -- very glad I didn't bring a bigger bike for this. The RIP9 performed spectactularly the whole trip -- plenty of cush, and I could still climb it.
As great as Hermosa Creek Trail is, the rest of the day just got better and better! Once we exited the trailhead, we rode...maybe 12 road miles back into town and into the Trimble Hot Springs parking lot. For $12, we got showers and access to a big community hot spring. Oh man, that's how I want to end every ride from now on. After we baked our brains in 102F water, we headed over to the infamous Steamworks for too much high-grade beer (at high altitude, ouch) and great food. Staggered around lovely Durango for a couple hours trying to sober up and not really succeeding. Loved seeing a town where the cyclists clearly run the show -- townies, roadies, singlespeeds and mountain bikes as far as the eye can see. Ex-pros tooling around with their kids. I'll be back.
Sunday, June 7: Stoner Mesa Trail. My local buddies were all giggly and hopped up on this sorta-secretish, little-used local gem. They wouldn't tell me much about it other than "oh...I think you'll like it." And then get all secretive. After being kind of worked over from the previous day (and still recovering from my overdose of Steamworks' Lizard Head Red Ale), I went into the ride with trepidation. When Stephen showed up in even worse shape -- undaunted by his own Steamworks experience, he continued partying at the Dolores River Festival -- I regained some confidence.
The ride starts with eight miles of pavement through some of the most absolutely beautiful rolling mountains and valleys you've ever see. Here's a shot I took from the saddle. Multimillion-dollar ranches every couple miles.
The warmup was excellent and I felt terrific. And then the dirt road climb began in earnest, starting above 7000' and ending at a little above 9000'. The stats say the trail tops out at 9606', which is way into stupid-Paul zone. Here's a shot from about halfway up the climb, down into the same ranch I just shot above.
We stopped for burritos and trailside napping a couple times, but the threat of snow (!) and alternating freezing/broiling temps drove us forward. Another observation: high-country riders haul around more clothes than anyone I know. The correct way to dress, apparently, is a base jersey layer, arm warmers, a windproof vest, and an optional wind/waterproof jacket. My buddies were constantly swapping layers. Stupidly I had just my basic jersey and a heavy-ish jacket: way hot while climbing, freezing cold if I took it off and I got snowed on. Ugh. Rookie mistake.
The ride started out so promising. Let me just say that up front, in advance of what you're about to read. Aspens towering above us, wicked-fast singletrack descending from dizzying heights, roots and rocks to keep us honest.
And then we hit the deadfall. Probably 200 trees down all along the top of the mesa, making flow truly impossible for more than a few hundred yards. Stephen kept repeating, maybe by way of apology, "This trail is so fast when it's clear!" Arms and shoulders got a heck of a workout.
Once we got accustomed to the constant hike-a-bike, our next treat was an endless mud slog. The springs were overflowing and the mountain was still recovering from snow. We battled nonstop for hours, sometimes entirely cut off from the singletrack by standing water. Combined with some deadfall-and-mud-induced mechanical issues and constant labor at 9000'+ feet, I was on the urge of a meltdown. But Stephen and David, ever the optimists, were happy to point out "But this trail is so fast when it's clear and dry!"
I don't think we were the first people on the mesa that season -- there was one set of bike tire tracks and one set of moto tracks.
The trail wasn't entirely in ruins. Here's a nice little spot we stopped at to view the snow-capped peaks in the distance. Beauty shot of the best bike I've ever owned, after most of the mud had fallen off.
The next part of the ride, very sadly, has no photos. It is the descent off Stoner Mesa, and it was incredible. It's currently my favorite descent anywhere, even blowing out the awesome Sixshooter Canyon Trail. While the rest of Stoner Mesa was a shambles, the descent was packed in, tight, fast as hell, scary...one amazing rollercoaster ride dropping a couple thousand feet in maybe 4 miles, maybe less. The switchbacks are both tight and bermed, making them barely rideable at speed if you posted out a foot for balance. The ferns and undergrowth were so dense and green that you couldn't even see the trail at some points. I rode just about as fast as I ever have on a trail I've never been on.
Highest possible recommendation, especially since it is a typically well-maintained trail and, according to the locals, the conditions at the top were far from ordinary.
And that was my trip. Full set of photos available at my Flickr album.