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| SGT Clark, SGM Chin, SSG Morgan, CPT Keeton, SFC Largent, Chief Maybon |
Participants:
CPT Steve Keeton on his Titus Moto Lite full suspension bike. He did most of the organizing of the trip. A strong aggressive mountain biker.
SGM Henry Chin took his Raleigh 800 hard tail, but in Cortez, CO found a Gary Fisher full suspension 29" bike that with a few adjustments took him over the mountains. In my opinion the toughest guy on the trip. He’s a regular runner, but his training plan included only about 50 miles of bicycling this year, a plan that brought him some discomfort. He’ll be headed to Iraq late this summer.
CWO2 Kevin Maybon- a marathon runner and general fitness guy who seldom bicycles. He was on a borrowed Raleigh M80 hardtail. He went to Durango with panniers, but after a trial run up the first mountainside, dumped half his gear and bought a backpack in Durango. He was our Chief Navigator under whose leadership we never got lost. He was initially on the list to go to Iraq again this summer. During the ride we thought he was would miss the upcoming mobilization, but soon after the trip was over he learned is he is headed to Iraq late this summer.
SFC Steve Largent- your author- a tourist- member of that select breed that loves to load down his bike and tour the country seeing everything- be it from a road touring bike or a mountain bike. I was on a 29" Mountain Waterford hard tail. Very conservative rider- the only one not involved in some kind of wreck.
SSG Terry Morgan- regular riding companion of CPT Keeton, aggressive, and unafraid of wrecks- which like most real mountain bikers he views as learning opportunities. He was on a Kona full suspension bike.
SGT Kyle Clark- definitely the junior member in military seniority as well as age. We weren’t sure he was old enough to enjoy a beer after each ride, but he had the personal skills to relate well to his seniors, express himself confidently, and was eager to learn about all kinds of bicycling. He has done some down hill riding. His training plan included the 50 mile option on a recent century-race, and while discussing that with co-workers, he heard about one position opening on this ride. He’s also a natural athlete. He rode a blue Specialized Rockhopper hardtail with panniers, and was nicknamed the “Blue Bunny” or sometimes “the young’n”. He will be headed to Iraq late this summer.
Craig- a civilian and another aggressive mountain bike and former bike mechanic who was immediately named team mechanic. Wrecks don’t intimidate him either, and while he spent a lot of time adjusting the SGM’s new bike, he worked on several bikes during the trip. He rides a Marin Quad XC
Jayci- an RN- immediately declared team nurse. Some of the aggressive riders thought it their duty to give her nursely duties to perform. She’s also an aggressive rider and rode a full suspension bike, but I missed its brand name and model. Both Jayci and Craig do some road riding too, but they signed up to ride single track.
Several days offer two choices in the ride- standard route over jeep trails/back roads or an optional single track. I agonized over which route to take. I knew I had the endurance to keep up with the group on the uphill, but I wasn’t so sure about my speed on the downhill where I tend to be cautious. Although we had two days at the lodge before the ride began, most of that time was consumed shopping though CPT Keeton, the Blue Bunny, & I worked in a quick motorized trip to Silverton. The entire military group took time for a very brief shake down ride the evening before departure- two miles to the main lodge on seldom used single track that was overgrown with high grass making the trail almost imaginary at times, with a few rocks and other obstacles thrown in plus a few muddy springs to cross. CPT Keeton set a fast pace with almost everyone keeping up- some with considerable effort, which caused them to return via the highway. Although I enjoyed this short trail, I didn't give it my hardest effort- so I brought up the rear, but I returned on the trail. This little ride did lead me to choose the standard route- at least on day one after which I'd re-evaluate.
Day 1 Purgatory Resort to Bolam Pass Hut (elevation 11,411)
18.6 miles 3:16 riding time Standard Route- SGM Chin, CWO2 Maybon, & SFC Largent
That mileage and riding time make this look like a cake walk, but I assure you, it wasn’t. It began with a 3 to 4 mile steep gravel grade to the top of the ski hill. Dust from one vehicle was rarely settled before another came by. About 5 miles into the ride a road branched off and we lost about half the traffic. In other five miles we turned off onto a jeep road, and thereafter saw few motorized vehicles. At that 2nd turn off we met a friendly Texan in a white pickup looking for his parent’s in their vehicle. However, at that branch the road began to steepen, the air continued to thin, and we were beginning to run low on water. Soon the SGM was pushing, and not long after he was joined by the Chief. I’d ride ahead and wait. I thought I saw the Chief coming around a corner, photographed him, but it turned out to be a stranger on an unloaded bike. When I asked him if he’d seen my companions, he replied “they’re back getting cold Gatorade from a guy in a white pickup”. I was sure they’d remember me, but they arrived without cold Gatorade and failed to mention the experience the stranger had reported to me! The road continued to steepen, and soon I was in Granny 1, a gear I think I use only on trails. Then I arrived at the steepest section where I saw a jeep very cautiously descending. I thought I had a route mapped out in my mind to make it to the top, but the bottom section was too soft; I dug out in sand and large gravel just before reaching the steepest section, and had to push 30 yards or so before remounting the bike. At the top was a flat spot with an old mine shaft and cabin. I took a break, and would have taken a nap but for a weird couple on ATVs investigating the cabin. When the SGM came into view, he was pushing the bike rather quickly, but his quads were cramping, forcing him to walk stiff legged. I ran back to the top of that steep section and got his backpack. The Chief was only a few yards behind him, obviously tired and pushing, but not stiff legged. I convinced the chief to lie down; he sprawled out. Why didn’t I photo that? The SGM refused to lie down because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get back up! We were carrying too little food, but CPT Keeton had left behind a pound of carrots which I’d thrown in my packs. I’d planned on applying a 50% carrying charge, but soon that turned into a 100% carrying charge. SGT Clark left behind a box of chocolate covered granola bars for which a 75% carrying charge was taken; he got some bars back! I gave the SGM my final bottle of water. It was only about a mile to a small mountain pond where we went skinning dipping. From the pond to Bolam Pass (elevation 11,400) was only ½ mile, and another ½ mile down to the hut (cabin)- where we arrived at about 1600 hours fairly clean after our swim.
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| Bolam Pass Hut |
The hut windows were shuttered with bear proof steel shutters that required the supplied ladder to reach its locks. We aired out the hut, cooling it down, and soon discovered how well stocked with food it was. Stew, soups, pastas, chips, some fresh fruits, many dried fruits and nuts, as well as several boxes of favorite candy bars- both the good tasting and healthier varieties. Despite his state of near exhaustion, the SGM announced he’d like to cook dinner. We assumed the trail riders would be about an hour behind us, but at 1700 hours they hadn’t arrived. By 1730 we had decided to start dinner, and they’d eat when they arrived. We also decided we couldn’t do much for them if they were lost- they had the only “alternate route map”. Our plan was to try to find one of the occasional passing jeeps and have them call the Hut to Hut number as our looking for them on the trails would only increase the number of lost people! About 1800 we started eating without them, and just as we finished they arrived- exhausted. I handed out dried fruit as they walked up to the hut. CPT Keeton who was sick with exhaustion asked me to get him a cup of water, but I didn’t recognize his exhausted state and replied “the water is right there (about 2 ft away from him), just fill up your own water bottle; no need to wash extra dishes”. He went in and lay on his rack; I think someone else got him water. He barely touched dinner. The SGM, Chief, and I had eaten a full pot of extra rich soup the SGM made. The other 5 were so tired, not only did they skip the swim at the nearby pond, the five of them ate only ½ the same sized pot of the same soup, as well as less snacks. The alternate route riders had had a few issues: including SSG Morgan's broken chain- it's good to have a mechanic with you if you literally stomp on the pedals! as well as going off route a couple times. We were at 11,400 ft altitude, so elevation played a role in the exhaustion, but this made my decision for the next day easy- I’d stick to the standard route tomorrow!
Day 2 Bolam Pass Hut to Black Mesa Hut (elevation 10,625)
Standard route 28.3 miles 4:22 riding time
The first morning the other portion of our group left part of their food in the condo- so I loaded it in my panniers, planning to charge a small carrying charge, but as we got hungier, the charge went up! Both groups had gotten hungry the first day, so everyone really loaded up on generously supplied snacks, and the SGM made breakfast and then made sandwiches for everyone and volunteered to be the cook for the rest of the trip which we gratefully accepted. We had set up a cooking schedule we were more than happy to abandon. SGT Clark, with his panniers, was assigned to carry sandwiches for the alternate route riders since there was no room in their backpacks. We departed together for the 1/2 mile back to Bolam Pass where we’d have group photos- in uniform with Craig and Jayci acting as photographers. After photos we separated into yesterday’s groups. Everyone seemed to have awaken refreshed despite the five’s inability to eat much last night. They all wanted to stick to the single track despite their exhaustion of last night. We standard route riders descended a rather nasty jeep trail- many fist-sized loose rocks and some sand/loose dirt making breaking difficult for a couple miles. At the bottom was an old cabin where we talked to some ATVers without maps. The SGM arrived bleeding pretty good- having just taken the nastiest crash of the trip- missing a chuck of hide out of his knee with a nasty patch of road-rash nearby. The Chief was carrying disinfectant and some medical version of super-glue and got him patched up. The SGM’s confidence on the down hill would suffer for a few days as he began riding the downhills considerably slower than I do. After passing that cabin, the road improved making the rest of the downhill pleasant and fast along a beautiful creek. We rode 100 yards of pavement before turning up another steep mountain grade. Up into the aspens again, and we were on the spur of a large mountain. Thinking we’d follow the ridges was a mistake; down again, and up a long steady but reasonable grade. Here Chief Maybon removed and threw-away his borrowed handlebar extenders thinking he didn’t need the extra weight! I believe the Chief and SGM both did some pushing along here, though I found the climb moderate enough and enjoyed the “zone” (a state of effort roadies enjoy). The single track people would climb this same hill, and found it long and tiring after their experience the day before.
The view from the Black Mesa Hut was incredible, but black flies and mosquitoes are everywhere in the high Colorado mountains, and if I failed to mention they spoil almost every break, they do! They make the huts all the more desirable! The SGM had his cooking routine down by now, had started dinner, and was organizing breakfast by the time the Chief and I had the hut fully opened- remember the steel shutters on the windows need opened with ladders and keys. Recalling the late arrival of the rest of the team the prior day, we started to eat without them, but four of the six arrived just then. CPT Keeton and the Blue Bunny would ride 3.5 miles beyond the cabin before turning around to join us.
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| SGM arrives at Black Mesa Hut |
Day 3 Black Creek Mesa to Dry Creek Basin (elevation 6,000 feet)
34.7 miles 3:14 riding time
There were no single track options today, so the entire crew traveled together which was enjoyable. We found a photo op at the beginning of the descent. Then descended a very pleasant jeep trail. The SGM was still suffering from the confidence steeling wreck of the day before, so we waited for him a bit. CPT Keeton had a flat at the bottom.
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| CPT Keeton's well supervised flat |
The SGM suffered the first bee-sting of his life. It swelled large and suddenly, so our nurse was called back. She used the snake-bite kit to extract most of the poison (interesting to watch a smudge of yellow pop out of the swelling) which immediately reduced the significant swelling. For the rest of the ride the bee sting would bother the SGM more than his nasty road rash he received on day 2. We now found ourselves in the high desert, then over another mountain and down into the real desert. There was a lake with a pleasant swim enjoyed by all- the first time the single trackers had gotten clean since the start! Then over a big hill cresting at the North Mountain Wildlife Ranch. Then more downhill and to the cabin 1/4 mile off the road in the hot desert. It was extremely hot, but at least the desert offered relief from the mosquitoes and flies of the high Colorado Mountains. The bungie cords on the steel shutters were either broken or replaced with bigger rubber cords. Maybe wind was an issue down here? We could see clouds off to the North, and foolishly wished, hoped, and prayed for rain to relieve the heat- we got rain- in spades that night. Grand Junction TV reported the rain was heaviest in the Dolores River drainage- where I believe we were, but their viewing area generally got 1" of rain. I awoke that night (as did others) sitting straight up in bed as a the wind blew the steel bear-proof shutters closed with a big BANG! It made thunder seem quiet! I’d left my bike leaning on a juniper shrub above the cabin. At least it was still standing in the morning, but by the time I pushed the bike 10 feet to the cabin, clay had stopped the wheels from turning. The cabin contained instructions for an alternate route should heavy rain fall, but it involved pavement and staying in a motel which none of us relished. Hut to Hut management knew this clay couldn’t be ridden after even reasonable rains.
Day 4 Dry Creek Basin to Naturia, Colorado (elevation 5,423 ft)
24.4 miles 1:46 riding time
It was only about 100 yards to the dirt road and another 1/4 mile on to the graveled county road, but it’s a lot of work carrying a loaded touring bike that far! The tires would not turn, nor could we push the bikes turning the tires into skids; they had to be carried. Now for those with standard clip-less pedals (strangely we clip into clipless) this was a real problem. Most of them wore their flip-flops to the road- or at least tried to. Wet clay stuck to the flip-flops maybe better than the tires! Craig had rather even mud platforms at least 5" high stuck to the bottom of his flip-flops as I realized my problems could be worse (thank goodness for stirrup style touring pedals!) Most of them abandoned wearing shoes and went barefoot. I must have taken a half dozen rests as I carried my pannier laden bike thru the wet clay, and each carrying length was shorter than the one before. CPT Keeton abandoned his flip flops somewhere in that quarter mile and went barefoot like most of those with “clipless” pedals. Reaching the graveled county road brought only limited relief as we weren’t sure we’d be able to ride it either. We all scraped some of the mud off our chain stay’s triangles, forks, and a bit off the tires. Slowly as we rode, the bikes threw the clay off, much of it going onto the riders or grossly- even up our noses! Well, at least we had relief from the prior day’s heat! We were able to shed our rain gear by the time we arrived at our first rural store of the trip, but we’d lost interest in the ice-cream we had promised ourselves because it was cold Unbelievable as it may be- their grill was out of order- so they were serving nothing hot! Pavement awaited our next miles into Naturia (population 635- where it turns out all desirable services are located 5 miles up the hill in the town of Nucla). Now, these mountain bikers soon figured out that a paceline was helpful at increasing our speed and increasing the fun of road riding in this rather unscenic area. They did amazingly well considering their “orientation”, but, dear roadies, most of the rules we hold to for our safety were disregarded. Instead of maintaining a steady pace with the leader falling back in 1 or 2 minutes intervals (or 1 mile or ½ mile whatever order the pack decided), whoever in the back felt strong, looked under his arm at the road behind, and then leaped ahead of the pack. Sometimes two people had this idea at the same time. (When I pointed out the usual rotation rules, I was told “Guardsmen step up to leadership- they don’t fall back”). Someone amused himself by occasionally “kissing” the tire ahead of him- mountain bike tires make more noise kissing than do our road tires! Apparently, kissing mountain bike tires is safer than road tires as no one went down. Someone, who will remain nameless, was paying more attention to his bike than the one ahead of him, and noticed a small pebble sitting on his dirty derailer. When his efforts to reach it with his hand only caused his weaving out of the paceline, he came back into line and did a bunnyhop, hoping to knock it off. Although I’m not naming him, at his point his wife decided to fall back a full bike length. Since I wear a mirror even mountain biking, I had been given the enviable job of riding last- calling out “car back” occasionally- as there was very little traffic. This fortunate assignment allowed me to add as many bike lengths between me and the pack as I felt necessary for my safety! The SGM and SGT Clark each dropped the entire pack as they eagerly sought not to slow the pack under their leadership! By the time we arrived in Naturia, temperatures had increased to pleasant, so SGT Clark and I enjoyed our air-conditioning. Not everyone’s air worked. The motel allowed us to hose off our filthy bikes. Craig was eager for hamburger, fries, and a milkshake for lunch, so we were off to the Blondie Drive-in. Since CPT Keeton had thrown out his flip flops, he was wearing his soft soled fuzzy slippers around town. Someone's military bearing broke down so far as to call him “Slipper Steve”; some of us had missed the reason he was wearing soft soled slippers around town though the fuzzy slippers were immediately noticeable. I’d left my swimming trunks in one of the huts; SSG Morgan wanted a “T” shirt in addition to his jerseys, and others had lost stuff they thought we could replace in this, the only town of the tour- which is not on the standard “non-rainy” route. There were several small businesses downtown, but there was also a “Tourist Information building” so we headed there to find our shopping and entertainment options. The office was manned by a 70-some year old sweet Southern Lady. I asked if I could buy swimming trunks in town, and the answer was “yes, at the Co-op”. I asked where in town that was, and she replied in Nucla- 5 miles up the hill. CPT Keeton asked if he could buy flip-flops, and she told him the name of a store. He asked if it was in Naturia, and she replied “it’s in Nucla”. He said, “but we’re on bikes”, and without skipping a beat she replied to the Captain, as only a sweet elderly Southern lady could, “I know Pumpkin”. This term provided a further challenge to our military bearing! Since the day was so short, and the options in Nuturia so few, maybe we should have ridden up the hill or mountain to Nucla. In Naturia there was only one place for dinner- with a big sign “bar and grill”. It turns out this “bar and grill” has no grill. They served only liquor and frozen pizza, so it was frozen pizza alone for dinner.
Day 5 Naturia, CO to Paradox Hut (elevation 5,240 feet)
30.4 miles 2:35 riding time
22 miles of pavement today on this mountain bike adventure! We left town a little late with a short day scheduled. Our paceline, roadies, didn’t improve from the day before, but again we arrived safe. We had a hill to cross, before rejoining the standard route at “Bedrock” where a country store usually sells ice-cream, cold drinks, and where the Dolores River offers a good swimming hole just a few miles short of the Paradox Valley Hut. Well, with our luck, the country store was closed- it may reopen and may not- the proprietor has some personal problems which caused its closure a week or two ago- although the sign out front shows it’s been operating since 1881 and a paper note promises its reopening the day after we were there! The Dolores River was nearly at flood stage and very muddy, so we lost interest in that swim though the temperatures were again high enough to make swimming before bed a desirable option. It was roughly 8 more miles to the hut, but here we got back on route, and the ground seemed to be slowly drying out. Paradox Hut was hot, but nearby is a “bed and breakfast” that is more of a condo rental operation. Craig and Jayci had rented a room- where we all went to soak up some air conditioning then back to the hut for another fine dinner prepared by the SGM. All the huts but this one had playing cards, and this was the only one we were in early enough we wanted them. The day before this one had been short, but with the mud issues, I think we were all glad it was short. Today was definitely too short a cycling day for me, I had extra energy that was wasted! It felt like we had a great warm up and then stopped. It cooled off enough to sleep in the sleeping bag liners we carried- if not enough to sleep in the provided sleeping bags. The “bed and breakfast” didn’t come with the advertized swimming pool- or breakfast, so Craig and Jayci rejoined us for breakfast.
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| mountain bikers pacelining between Naturia and Bedrock, Colorado |
Day 6 Paradox Hut to Geyser Hut (elevation 9,864)
24.4 miles 4:34 riding time
We were back on route for another day’s climbing with no alternate routes. The steep initial climb gave us very scenic views of the Paradox Valley (some irrigated hay and some desert in a very flat river bottom surrounded by mountains). Once on top of the grade, there was an ever so short descent, followed by more climbing, above the junipers and into the Ponderosa forest, and then a reservoir that looked amazingly like the south end of Soldier’s Meadows. Then more climbing. The SGM and I like being clean, so we stopped at a cold mountain stream a few miles before the destination for a dunk in the cold water. As we turned off the county road onto private lands, it began to rain again, and we were back in the clay! Fortunately, it didn’t rain so hard or long. Most of us were able to push our bikes although my tires briefly turned into skids. Then we passed through the storm, and the trail was again dry. In my opinion, the Geyser Hut has the most beautiful setting of all, looking directly at the nearby high mountain above the tree line. It offered a nearby cold mountain stream where pop and beer could be rapidly cooled. Everyone had an appreciation for the beauty of this place as well as some foreboding that tomorrow would be the last day of the ride.
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| Craig & Jayci arrive at Geyser Hut |
Day 7 Geyser Hut to Moab (elevation 4,026)
31.1 miles 2:24 riding time
Again, there was an alternative route which I considered- which included a descent on Porcupine Ridge, but those guys are faster down-hillers than I am, and I was on the crew to take the rental car back to the lodge north of Durango to get our vehicles. We all rode together out of the beautiful setting of Geyser Hut, up to the divide, where a van full of down-hillers were being dropped off for a ride down to Moab. It was a long descent back to Moab, but I probably enjoyed the bottom section most- where it appeared flat but wasn’t- where it was easy to sail along at 20 MPH on a loaded mountain bike. Then it was grab a motel that allowed us to leave the bikes there. The Rustic Inn cut us a great deal on a room they were remodeling (no carpet). Then off to the Purgatory Inn 30 or 40 miles outside of Durango and back to Moab. We were too late getting back to enjoy dinner as a group, but we did have a good final breakfast the next day.
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| Chief Maybon, SGM Chin, & SFC Largent enjoy the descent to Moab |
This was a great trip. but I wouldn’t recommend doing a self-supported variation of it. Supplies are too far away; the route is more difficult than the Owyhee trip we did in ‘09, and the flies and mosquitoes would be tortuous without those huts!
If this trip interests you, you might also enjoy this blog: http://forums.mtbr.com/blog.php?do=showentry&e=1355 (Copy & paste: when I post it as a hotlink it demands a password) Their best adventures were the two days we missed.
My photos
CPT Keeton's photos
Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!
Steve
