So I arrived at DIA, went to REI on my way home, got home, worked for a few hours and then packed up my gear. I drove out to Kenosha and headed East on the CT. After a week at sea level I felt pretty good at 10,000 feet plus. And then I just kept riding. Spinning through the North Fork meadows area on smooth singletrack with the sun getting low was spectacular, one of the great sections of trail around here. At the wilderness boundary I hit some forest service roads back out to the Lost Park road and to the Nate Stultz trail.
This trail has given me problems in the past (see here) so I wanted another crack at it. But it is even more overgrown than the last time, very few trail users on this one. After getting lost on the faint trail several times, I finally hit the old road section and pushed my bike up to the High Park meadow area in gathering dusk. This section had dead-fall before, but now it is a nightmare. I spent the last of daylight carrying my bike through two miles of downed trees and yelling into the approaching darkness to scare off any bears...awful!
Finally, it got dark enough to turn on the lights and I was through the dead-fall approaching the high point with a long, steep, fast decent back to forest service roads. But the trail was even more faint on this side, and I got lost in the dark contouring along the hillside trying to make out a trail in the dark. Slipping on the loose gravel and pine needles, not sure if I was too high or too low until eventually I made out the trail. It is still faint but easier to follow. Finally, I was down and back to dirt roads.
Flying down these smooth rolling dirt roads in the dark with my lights and some tunes going was a blast. Wide open country, stars blazing overhead, going 20 mph - exhilarating!
I hit pavement for about 5 miles (not one car out) and then turned off onto another Forest service road around 1030pm. I found a water bottle on the side of the road, and dumped its full contents into my surprisingly low camelbak (which has in-line filtration). That bottle was enough to get me through the night and the next morning! Thanks to the guy who probably didn't have enough water to get back!
I woke at 530 the next morning after some fitful sleep in my bivy listening to snorting elk nearby, and covered another 15 or so miles back to my car on a beautiful blue sky morning. I covered 55 miles total.
Some pics of the trip:
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