The Colorado Trip: Day 7-8

Day 7 Crested Butte - Deer Creek Trail 568

14 miles - out and back

Riders- A B S M E

Today we all decided on a trail that was foreign to all of us. The Deer Creek Trail starts roughly 1 mile shy of Trail 401 but heads south along the range. The terrain was a mild ascent from the rolling valley floor up through the pines and Aspens then popping out into lush fields of shrubs and flowers.

A very pleasing trail at first glance.....then out of nowhere a steep climb rears it's ugly head, then another and another. It levels off for a bit and then another climb. Out of all the trails,

this had the steepest climbs. Some were short, some were long, but very challenging. Throw in a couple of water bars to keep it interesting and we're havin' fun. Then came the "skull gate". We passed through without any interference from the locals hiding in the tree line, time to move on before there's trouble.

There was one section that was very intimidating at first....it was a descent down to a creek and then back up the other side.

We all were gassed at that point and wondered how much of a pain in the ass it was going to be to come back up. The vote.....let's do it! So on we went, rolling along the mountain side. Views for miles and climbs for smiles. The last steep climb was through a super lush canopy of Aspens. It had a number of turns and lots of roots trickling across the trail to make it that much harder. Once at the top, we took a much needed break to fuel up and cool off. The descent was quick and fierce, no need to ride the brakes on this one. Then came the up hill that we had taken a vote on earlier. Much to our surprise, it was long but not nearly as tough as it looked from above. (see vid at the bottom) After it was all said and done, 3 hours up and a half and hour to get down. Nice ride to end the week full good fun with some great friends. A great experience to share with great people. Thanks Steve And Micki for the invite and the accommodations.

Day 8 - The return home - 12 hours of fury

8 a.m. We broke down camp and headed out of Crested Butte and headed toward Montrose, Ouray and then on to Silverton so Steve could get his highly desired sweet potato french fries. Yes, they were worth the trip. Plenty of switchbacks and mountain passes. It was a very scenic drive through Ouray. Waterfalls, sheer cliffs and canyons cut by millenia of water and ice. On to Durango. Spotted lots of trails and mountain bikers as we passed through, I can see why it's a good place to ride. Through the "reservation", that was boring drive, but played Indian Trivia on our way through to keep the mutany at a minimum. Went through Farmington, NM (armpit) and hit the I-40 to take us back to Flagstaff and onto Chino Valley. We arrived @ 8:45 pm and did some loving on the girls and they were happy to see us. Jessi was a little miffed by our "vacation" and was pouting a little, but she couldn't resist the belly rub. That always gets her.

Looking back down on Ouray