journeyvision

Zuni Mountains

I had a lovely time camping in the Cibola National Forest outside of Gallup New Mexico. I had a good feeling about this area when I was planning my travels and knew about a 12 hour mountain bike race called the 12 hours of Enchanted Forest that was held each August. That always seemed intriguing to me. Upon exploring the area there’s a mountain trail system called the Zuni Mountain trail system, and then a lower desert trail system. I ended up camping right next to the mountain system and rode three different 20 mile rides within the week I stayed here.

Starting the day with a power omelette.

Here I am climbing up Quaking Aspen Trail. It’s one of the original trails in the area and follows it drainage with lots of black slickrock and neat little rock features and cow gates.

Eventually made my way to this overlook that looks like a crew spent a good time building. There’s even an area where you can pitch a tent if you wanted to backpack out here.

One of a handful of cow ponds that came across. In the southwest they seem to want to call these tanks.

I also came across this alcove that on the map was called Bear Den. Don’t worry I never saw any bears.

Cruisin along I had great weather for the most part 70 degrees and sunny. Not bad for early April.

On my ride I came across this rock structure that from a distance look like a lean-to or maybe an ancient dwelling. Upon further investigation it was just a rock that look like roof slats.

I ended up randomly coming across this Forest Service lookout tower. A wind storm was coming and they were on high alert.

The forest service man was kind and let me up into the tower and I was able to enjoy the 360 degree views. I met his dog Zack and we chatted about 45 minutes about my travels and his job with the forest service. It was great to meet both of them.

Coming across some hoodoos in the desert trail system. I didn’t get to ride the entire trail system but this will leave me something to come back to.

Fun little slick Rock bits. The trail builders did an excellent job taking advantage of the natural terrain.

Great views and there was even a sundial. You can’t see it very well but it’s just beyond my bike mounted on top of a log.

They even had Roadrunner figures. They weren’t real but they were cut out of steel and I thought they added a little class to the trail.

One thing I learned while my stay in the New Mexico is that they love their carins. This one was extra tall and stacked with care.

From here I will be making my way into Arizona and will plan a few stops along the way

Free camping on the rim of Mills Canyon, NM

Mills Canyon Vlog – Vanife

I really enjoyed this campground. It is located in the Kiowa National Grasslands just an hour east of Raton NM. For a free campsite its pretty fancy. This one had level slips, pit toilets, picnic tables, fire rings and a grill. Also the site was very easy to get to. There is a lower National Forest campground in the bottom of the canyon but the drive was rough, narrow, and to steep for my 2wd minivan. I would recommend a 4wd if you want to camp at the one in the bottom. I did ride my bike down there and truthfully I liked the one on the rim better and that one’s a piece of cake to access.

I went for an off trail hike and explored the rim of the canyon near the campground after getting camp set up. The canyon rim twisted and turned until I finally got some good views. I love hiking canyon rims.

Views of the Mills Canyon.

So it turns out this place is a rock climbers destination. Here is a layback bouldering wall that clearly had chalk marks. You can see the criss cross of logs to allow them to put down a bouldering mat. The thought of bringing my climbing shoes did go through my mind but didn’t bring them. Who would have thought my second destination had some amazing bouldering?

Another one of the bouldering rocks I found. The rock was very high quality wil lots of pockets and crimp holds.

So It turns out there is some history in this area. In 1881 there was a thriving fruit orchard in the bottom of the canyon that was built by Melvin Mills. The Canadian river flows below and supplied water for apple, plum, apricot, cherry, and walnut trees. There was a massive flood in 1904 and destroyed the orchard for good. I could see some fruit trees remaining but its early April so no leaves or fruit on the trees yet.

I took my bike to the bottom of the canyon and explored the remnants of the Mills Ranch. Knock.. Knock. Anybody home?

Ruins of an old bunk house.

A couple of bedrooms at one point.

I thought this old brick was cool. I wonder if they are still in business?

This old ranch for the orchard was at the bottom of the canyon. I did a bike ride down to the bottom of the canyon on my mountain bike to check it out. Definitely worth it.

Panoramic of the rocks behind the ranch. There was an alcove back there.

So this is what I’m talking about! Ever since I started living in my van the sunsets have been my favorite part! The further south I go the longer the sunsets are. Mills Canyon campground you did not disappoint!!

Here I am taking another stroll down to the rim of the canyon in the morning. There was a little bit of wind but other than that I had great weather.

Better shot of the campground where you can see the picnic table, and fire pit. There was firewood all over the place but th a stage 2 fire ban was in effect and I was unable to take advantage.

I got up early and made my way to Albuquerque NM, to meet my friend Paul Chen. I got to see this gorgeous sunrise on my way out of the grasslands.

Time to hit the Road!

For at least 10 years now I have been dreming about a new lifestyle and ways live more freely and minimally. I needed to wait for my son to graduate college and free up my final responsibilities. I had my son when I was 21 and that made my timeline in life very different than most people I know my age. My son Seth who is an amazing person graduated debt free and landed a lucrative Software Engineering job immediately after graduating. Now its time for me to make a change. A BIG CHANGE! The picture above is me in my driveway of my old house before I left for good and started Vanlife!

I wanted to live a life that was less about buying things and spending money and instead live my life more deliberately, more in the moment, more in tune with nature, and my well being.. I got rid of almost everything I owned and ended up storing just a few things at my dads house.. Everything else is in my Van. I have no debt, barely any bills, and my biggest expense now is food and gas. I am hoping by living a simple, minimal lifestyle I can elevate my spirit and wellbeing and do more of my favorite activity…. Exploring!

Ok don’t laugh at my first real attempt at making a YouTube Video. Please watch, like, and subscribe to my channel. I plan on adding more videos as my adventure progresses.

I only planned my first 2 campsites and this abandoned ranch home was an interesting site along the way to my first free camp on the rim of Cucharras Canyon outside of Walsenburg Colorado. I have been using Freecampsites.net to find free dispersed camping on BLM or National Forest land.

Here is the campsite and my van set up and ready for living. If you are interested in my van build you can read about that HERE. I had this place all to myself and it was great to try out my setup. Everything worked great!

This is the view 30 yards from my campsite. I have backpacked this canyon before. You can read about that adventure here.

Cucumber Salad, Salmon over Jasmine rice. I plan on keeping my cooking game strong on the road.

I went for a little hike along the canyon rim and had a great time hiking off trail.

And found this old dilapidated outhouse.

And a lonely tree…..

More randon off trail hiking.

My mountain bike is along for the adventure and is a great tool for exploring deeper into the areas around my campsite.

This time I took a ride to the bottom of the Canyon.

Turkey burger with salsa, sweet potato hash browns, fermented carrots, and an avocado! Bring on the power of Paleo!

Another trip to the canyon bottom on my bike.

Ahhh the sunsets! I love them and get to be part of almost everyone now.

Thanks for reading along. And more posts to come!

I bought a minivan and converted it into a camper!

My magical minivan!

Beautiful free campsite outside of Buena Vista Colorado and the interior of my converted 2003 Honda Odyssey.

Here is a picture of the van when I first got it. I am not sure when I exactly got the idea that I would convert a van but by the time February of 2017 rolled around I sold my trusty Subaru Impreza RS.2.5 and bought a mini van with the intention to convert it to a camper. My friend Pdubs just did a conversion on his Toyota Sienna and got me thinking that a minivan could make a great camper. I considered a full size van or even a mid sized but decided to go with a minivan to get better gas mileage and reliability. Also I backpack quite a bit and learned that I do well in small spaces with the time spent in my tiny ultralight backpacking shelters.

I came across this 2003 Honda Odyssey that was from a single owner with about 145k miles and was purchased for only $2900. The van came from a very nice Canadian family and was very well taken care of and extremely clean.

Here is the view of the back after I first purchased the van with the mid section seats removed and the rear seats folded down.

Quickly the demolition process started. Everything was ripped out from the front seats back. Here is my friends son Steele. Steele loved helping out an was a joy to have around during this project.

One of my very first projects was installing LED lighting that will run off the second battery system. I was planning on removing the rear heater/AC core (that you will see later on) to make extra space in the back. This meant that the vents for the rear climate system were going to be useless and could make a great place to recess some lighting.

So what I did in place was install LED lights into the fixtures to make a really cool recessed light with blinds!

LED lights strips were installed where seat belts used to mount on the pillar between the rear quarter and the sliding door.

This picture does not do a good job showing the final result but I cut a piece of light diffusing material and glued it to the inside of the trim that covers the pillar.

Here is a good shot showing the lights installed and working! Its really cool that you can open and close the vents to adjust and direct the light. The lights on the headliner and the lights on the pillars are on separate circuits so I can turn them on and off independently.

So this was a big surprise in the demo process. After removing all the rear trim I was left with this huge heater core tucked away in the back quarter panel. I consulted with my mechanic and we were able to remove it and cap off the lines.

Here is the core removed.

Lines Capped. I had to have the lines by the front AC core capped off by a tig welder. Sorry I did not get a picture of that. These are the lines running to the back that my mechanic closed off that were no longer being used.

My next project was to cover the rear metal with sound deadening material called RattleTrap. Once this was put down we could start the floor.

The floor was a HUGE project! After everything was removed from the back there was an endless sea of uneven bumps, curves, nooks, and crannies. It took hours and hours of cutting, trimming, and sanding to get these large pieces to fit snugly and create a flat surface. Many nights at my friends Nick house were spent crafting this floor. Thanks again for your help Nick!

Here is a shot of the first stages of wiring the second battery system. I went with a CTEK Charge controller, and my friend Keith gave me a very nice AGM 12v battery. Next to the charge controller is a cut off switch to the front battery and then a fuse block. This system uses both the alternator and solar panel to keep the auxiliary battery charged. I had to run a 0 gauge wire all the way from the front battery to the rear of the vehicle. Let me tell you that was fun!

I insulated the crap out of the van using a combination of Reflectix, denim style insulation, and foam board.

Renogy 100 watt Renogy Solar Panel installed on the roof rack and my Thule Cargo Carrier I got off Craigslist.

Nick and I are anchoring the braces and setting them at the right elevation for the wood floor to be secured. It is always nerve racking drilling screws into the sheet metal of your vehicle not knowing if there is a gas or brake line on the other side!

The next step was to fill the spaces between the braces with foam-board insulation.

Here is the completed wiring. Many hours were spent getting this right. Truthfully I knew nothing about Solar setups but thanks to YouTube University and a little trial and error I quickly came up to speed.

Another shot of the Renogy 100w Solar Panel installed on my roof rack.

Access panels cut into the floor.

Adding a nice dark stain to the floor. Out of all my projects staining the floor was the most stressful due to me not really knowing what I was doing.

Alright! Making some serious progress here. The floor is finished and installed for good.

Even though I did a nice stain on the floor I covered it with a coin grip vinyl floor covering. The grey flooring is not glued down so you can lift up the vinyl mat and have access to the compartments below. Also you can see the blue futon I purchased in the back. I am glad I decided not to build a permanent bed in the van and instead go with this futon mattress on the floor. It allows me to configure a sitting area or sleeping area with this nice and comfortable twin xl foam mattress I got off Amazon. The futon cover also comes off so it can be washed.

Taking the Van out for its maiden voyage to go mountain biking in Fruita CO. The van was purchased in February and now it’s late April. It only took a couple of months to get a functioning camper van but still there is lots of work to do.

Enjoying a lovely spot that I discovered in the San Luis Valley over Memorial day weekend.

I took 3 months off from working on the van to focus on other things and camp in it a bit before making the finishing touches. Here is my friend Nick helping with the small cabinet on the driver side.

Small cabinet done now time to work on the large cabinet. These pieces were even more difficult to cut and shape into the sides of the van than the floor was.

Large cabinet done! I decided to make these cabinets as simple as possible and went away with cabinet doors and drawers and instead made simple storage cubbies!

Switch panel complete and a 600w pure sine wave power inverter installed.

Rear cabinets stained.

Ventline 12v roof vent installed.

Dometic 12v refrigerator and water jug with pump.

Mr Buddy Heater and 1lb refillable propane tank.

Coleman single burner stove and GSI cookware.

Another shot of the switch panel, USB socket, 12v socket, and 600w pure sine wave power inverter.

Bed Mode with my down quilt.

Living space mode. Looks cozy huh! Check out the cool Hike, Bike, Ride, Live sign my friend Jeremy made on his 3D router.

So this year is going to be a big year filled with a lot of this!!! In addition to the conversion I had the suspension completely replaced and beefy springs installed in the rear to keep it from sagging with all the extra weight. I also installed an ARB awning that mounts to the passenger side of the roof rack. Stay tuned to this blog for more adventures in this van to come.

#VANLIFE

Blodgett Open Space Night Hike 2.21.18

So winter decided to show up after a very warm and mild December and January. Nick gave me a ring and suggested the idea. I didn’t have any of my hiking winter shit together but still wanted to go. Nick and I hit the trail around 7pm with it being a butt freezing 18 degrees!

We brought our micro spikes and hiking poles as the trail turns incredibly steep. (2100 feet of elevation gain in 2 miles steep!) There was a chilly wind striking my face and there was anywhere from 1-3inches of untracked snow. Nick brought his black lab Able and he was an excellent hiking dog.

Such a great night with the city lights shining, crescent moon and twinkling stars. Good friends and a little weed

An overnight in Cucharras Canyon 4.3.2016

cucharas canyon..

What a gem this place is. I really feel like I discovered this place for backpacking. With a 2 hour drive from Colorado Springs you will find this place all to yourself. I have backpacked this area 3 times and only every r saw 2 hunters. You start at an old ranch and drop down into the canyon floor on a very faint trail cut into the side of the cliff. . Once you get to the bottom its just crisscrossing cattle trail and intermittent flowing stream.

The campsite in the photo I have so named Raptor Cove! It’s this beautiful cove off the side of the canyon with a nice flat spot to pitch your shelter. It’s surrounded by birds of prey and its wonderful to relax and observe their activity around you.

The Dream Continues: Ten more days of bikepacking the Colorado Trail

It was almost 5 years ago that it came time to make another attempt at the Colorado Trail. So much has changed since then. My buddy Mike who I did it with last time is now married, raising a young boy, and has a full plate that wont allow him the time required to ride this distance. Maybe another time Mike. Things have also changed for myself. My son Seth is away in college and I have found myself with lots of time, freedom, and the ability to do the outdoor things I love. Lately its been 20-30 nights of camping for the past few years. All of this backpacking and bikepacking I was doing for the past several summers helped get me the experience and refine my bikepacking gear that was much needed for an adventure like this. It would have been cool to have a friend along the way but I ended up doing it solo.

In 2010 the goal was to ride from Waterton Canyon to Leadville completing the first 180 miles of this 550 mile long trail over 5 days. You can read about that adventure here. Back in 2010 my gear was not nearly as light and I carried all the weight on my back. Mike and I even decided to take our bikes apart and carry them through the 6 mile Lost Creek wilderness section instead of taking the 70 mile dirt road detour. The math made sense at the time.,, I was such a beginner back then.

Major Gear list is as follows
Bike: Specialized Stumpjumper 29
Bike Bags: Jpaks
Tarp: Gossamer Gear Qtwinn Cuben
Sleeping Bag: REI 20deg Sub Kilo
Air Pad: Sea to Summit Comfort Plus
Stove: Jetboil Sol Ti
Water Filtration: Sawyer Squeeze

As usual I like to tell my story with pictures.

My roomate Chris Kuhn drooped me off in Leadville at the local Pizza Hut. This Pizza Hut is where my adventure ended in 2010 on the Colorado Trail with Mike. In this picture I was full of butterflies!!

I rode from the town of Leadville up Halfmoon Creek Rd and joined the Colorado Trail for the first time since my 2010 trip. This was also my first encounter with a CT confidence marker. A confidence marker is a trail sign that says you are going the right way.

The trail between Half Moon Creek Rd and Clear Creek Road on segment 11 was really fun and well groomed single track. I would recommend this section to any mountain biker that wants to do a MTB friendly section of the CT. As I was on a fun flowly descent to the Twin Lakes, I intersected with the Leadville 100 race and spent some time watching the races while I drank water and ate some food.

I didn’t get picture but my first night of camp was off of Clear Creek Road and Hy 50. Last year when I hiked Oxford and Belford, I found lots of good car camping off Clear Creek road.

The next morning I made it to Buena Vista in no time on my first mountain bike detour of the trip. The Collegiate Wilderness Detour was really easy as it follows the Arkansas River all the way down to Buena Vista. On the way down I realized my pedal bearings were shot and luckily got new pedals replaced at the Boneshakers bike shop in town. Boneshakers was a killer shop! I got a horrible breakfast from Panchos that consisted of frozen hash brown triangles, and crappy scrambled eggs. At least they had free WiFi and bacon. You may have seen this city park right off the highway and is a popular spot. Lots of tourists hanging out and asking me questions about my trip.

I love this picture….. I stopped and grabbed a trail beer before leaving town…. This would be the only trail beer acquired in the 360 mile trip.

The trail was very green with tons of wild flowers, even for mid August. Check out my bar ends I stuck on the inside of my grips and controls. What do you think??? This little add on turned out to be really nice. I had different hand positions on my bars while riding but what I really used them for was hike-A-bike. It really made for good hand positioning while pushing your bike up hill.

Nothing to see here… Move along…

Most of the major creek crossings on the CT had some sort of bridge.

Chalk Cliffs by Princeton Hot Springs. I had heard about them, knew were they were here, and it was cool to finally see them in person. One of the great benefits of a trip like this is you will see places otherwise not possible.

The best trail food I had the entire adventure was at the Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort. Their burger with truffle fries and side salad were to die for. I had a couple good beers too.

Camp for the night overlooking the Chalk Cliffs and Mt Princeton.. This is when I started to get how it is to be part of every sunrise/sunset experience on the trail. My belly was full of burger and beer and I was ready to get some sleep for the night.

The next morning I was treated to some fine CT single track and some cows (See video).

Water Filtered by Gravity. My water setup worked great. (Zoom in to see)

Sorry for the Trail Selfie. Yes I has happy, scared, excited, and nervous all at once in this picture.

Moments like this need to be better captured somehow. This is somewhere on segment 14 of the CT. After this I descended to Hy 50 and climbed 3 miles to the Monarch Mountain Lodge to grab my first resupply package. On the way to the lodge the sky opened up and I got rained on pretty good climbing up the highway.

I didn’t get photos of camp this night along the Fooses Creek section of the CT. Probably because I was focused on keeping my gear dry and getting a good nights rest. It rained hard all evening!! This is the Fooses Creek trail on segment 15. A very amazing section indeed. Some day I want to descend this section.

Getting higher up Fosses Creek trail. Almost to the pass. you can see the top off in the distance.

There was a steep push up to the saddle where I would climb on top of the Continental Divide. Oh the Contentintal Divide, little did I konw that later on I would become very familiar with this beast! The pic above of course does not show the steepness of the push on this final leg of Fooses Creek on segment 15.

Getting to the top went something like this……. Push your bike 3 to 4 steps….. Stop…, catch your breath…., then repeat.

The top of the saddle and the Continental Divide attained! From here I got to ride the “Crest” section of the CT which I was very familiar with from day trips to Salida over the years.

On top of the crest where there is some very fine single track for mountain bikes. Unfortunately it did not last long. As soon as I crossed Marshall Pass and the terrain took a significant change!

This is called a Yard Sale. The night before I got rained on hard at my Fosses Creek camp and much of my gear was damp. With the wind blowing and sun out on this high ridge it made for a great place to air out my gear. I remember laying behind one of these trees and three older mountain bikers crossed by me and were commenting on my gear. Things like “looks like a yard sale” “wonder where he is at?” “probably running around naked back there streaking”….. lol… I could have said something back but it was nice to keep quiet and let them move along. Later I caught up to them and it was 3 old school mountain bikers from Salida and Buena Vista riding the Crest and they decided to try a new trail. I believe the trail was called Tank 7 that they were looking for. All 3 were very nice and gave me a heads up on how horrible the upcoming Sergeants Mesa section was.

I really appreciated the company and adventurous spirit these 60 something mountain bike dudes!

Here is my bike atop Sergeants Mesa. The Sergeants mesa section of the CT is widely regarded as the armpit of the whole trail which I found to be true. Basically there is about of 30 miles of trail that are shared by motorcycles. I appreciate my moto friends but motorcycles do a horrible job of chewing up the trail and leaving baby head sized rocks littered behind everywhere. You will see what I mean in an upcoming photo. I also remember a bloated dead cow up here that looked like it was about to explode. I didn’t take a picture of the god awful smelly rotting cow but sure do remember it!

Something magical happened this evening. The low pressure system that I was dealing with for the last couple of days moved out and dry air is moving in. This was at the end of day 4 for me and the lowest point mentally on the trail for. My brain was not doing well even though my body and bike were hanging in there. I was having second thoughts about finishing and was thinking about quitting in Lake City. I remember telling myself no quitting, get to Lake City, rest, and figure it out from there. This worked brilliantly. But some how even though my spirits were down, my endorphin’s kicked in and I just keep going on and on this day. I didn’t want to or what seemed like know how to stop moving. With the last bit of sunlight in the sky I finally settled on a campsite perched on a high point of the Confidential Divide. Late in the day I had debated on taking a detour down to Lake Baldy which is a very steep 1/2 mile off of the trail. Should I go for a campsite with water or push on and dry camp. I ended up dry camping at this amazing campsite and rationed my water the next day. It somehow worked. .

I found this spot on top of one of the 11,700 ft peaks of the Continental Divide to camp and was treated to the best sunset of the trip.

The next morning: This is what cowboy camping looks like on the Continental Divide. I love my lil bush that did a great job of airing out my bike shorts while sleeping (zoom in to see). I woke up this morning and took an extra hour to rest and get my shit together. The mental battle the previous days was taking its toll and really just wanted to relax. You think 10 days would be plenty of time to complete the trail but basically every day was a push to get up, get moving, and make as many miles as I ‘could each day.

This picture really captures what the Sargent’s mesa section is like. I remember I was starting to loose my mind and thought a scrape and bruise on my shin was a snake bite. I was thinking “when did I get bit by a snake” and started to panic a bit. I quickly realized it was just a scrape and moved on.

Thank goodness this was one of the last PUD’s (pointless ups and downs) of this grueling section. Up one rocky hill, reach the top, descend back down the other side of the rocky mountain, hit the bottom saddle then repeat over and over and over. I guess this is how I would summarize the majority of the terrain of segments 16 and 17.

On to segment 18! I just finished the Sargent’s Mesa Section and hit the Lujan Creek TH. This section was super chill and I really enjoyed of the simple railroad grade trail that you follow for about 10 miles along this segment.

This was it! This was when my attitude finally changed for the better.. Hope! I felt hope and hope filled me. For the first time I really felt like I was going to make it. ahhhhh hope!!

Thru-hikers were the best people to meet on the trail. I ran into a couple other random thru hikers and had a brief bonding moment with them at this watering hole. One of the dudes (can’t remember his name) snapped this pic and as I peddled off, Turns out the guy that took this picture was a writer for the Denver Post and did a long article after he completed the trail. Later on this day realized I was part of the trail community. Meeting the hikers on the trail was one of my favorite parts because they were always friendly and took the time to chat. Since I was on my bike I never did get to cross paths with the hikers again so I always made sure to make a good impression and enjoy my time with my fellow trail mates. Bikepackers seemed few and far between but I did run into what I counted 6 during my time on the trail. .

After leaving Hy 114 and joining the LaGarita Detour, I got to enjoy a large part of the Gunnison National forest on my way to Lake City. This detour was long (60 miles) but really enjoyed the faster pace of riding dirt road and bombing down the back side of Pinos Pass.

My campsite at the Hidden Valley Campground along Cebolla Creek. This was the only developed campsite I stayed at the entire trip and the last night I cowboy camped. My sleeping bag was one of the very few pieces of gear that did not perform well on the trip. I have had that bag for almost 10 years and it served well but its time to part ways. When I got back home I immediately ordered a Zpaks 10 degree bag. Baller!

Climbing up to Spring creek pass. I snapped a photo of the Caterpillar grading the road. I was really impacted by the huge amount of beetle kill in this area. Many areas of Colorado have been deeply impacted by beetle kill but Gunnison Natl. Forest was absolutely devastated by it.

Better look out for Cannibals!!

IThe Beetle Kills was so bad in this area. In Lake City I was told they can only access about 9% of the dead trees to cut down. Piles like this were common in the area. Every long trip I do I seem to come back with a new focus or something in my life I want to change. The mantra I found this time was I want to do more for the environment. I want to protect our forests………

Ahhhhh. Lake City! And my first Zero Day ever! This is the lil cabin that I stayed in right next to the Ravens Rest Hostel. I shipped my resupply package to the hostel and feel bad for not staying there but Lucky the owner of the hostel was very nice and held my package regardless. I wont recommend this cabin but will recommend Lucky and the awesome hostel called Ravens Rest right next door. Ohhhh these delicious IPA’s, blowing your shit up all over the place, a roof, doing laundry. What was really amazing was the shower I took here. I swear I sounded like the guy from the double rainbow video if you know what I mean. It was that good!!! Something I learned on this trip, if you want to really feel something again…. deprive yourself of it…. for a long time…..

So after my Zero Day in Lake City I was treated to a free shuttle back up the pass to the Spring Creek Trail Head. Segment 23 and off to the high point of the trail.

A little gif of me riding back and forth to the camera man. (aka really cute solo thru hiker gal) and this was the ONLY picture of me actually riding on my bike the entire trip.

No pun intended… Another “High Point” of the adventure. This one just happened to be at 13,271ft. The highest point of the CT.

Tarp life. Here is my campsite on Segment 23. The elevation is right at about 12,000 feet. Pics like this make me really miss those moments only the back country can bring.

I love this shot of camp. Carson Peak off in the distance on the right. One of the many Colorado 14ers I passed by on this adventure.

#coffeeoutside bitches!

Pass number 1 of what seemed like 2 dozen that I had to cross this day. Segment 23 is an extremely special part of the Colorado Trail. Also extremely difficult.

Again Segment 23 is a VERY special piece of the Colorado Trail. Of course the pics do no justice. But lets just say i spent the entire day riding my bike between 12,000 and 13,000 feet crossing ridge after ridge, saddle after saddle.

More pics of Segment 23! I ran into the final two bike packers that I would end up seeing on the trail. It was a couple in their 30s from Durango that said they have been riding the area for years but never checked out segment 23 of the CT and couldn’t believe how epic EPIC it was.

Since my last picture. I had finished up the high alpine stretch of Segment 23, crossed Stony Pass, and descended down to my least favorite trail town of Silverton. I had a crappy lunch in in Silverton and this town that reminded me of Cripple Creek. Then proceeded to climb several miles up Hy 550 to reconnect with the CT… It was a big day!

This selfie of me was on the left is a tribute to one I took on this trip many years before (hence the side by side: 2015 left, 2006 right) on Segment 25 almost 10 years ago. You can read the trip report of my buddy Mike and I riding this segment back in 2006 HERE. This is the year I got Lasik surgery done. I think I turned and faced the wrong way in this selfie but have a feeling I was close to the exact same spot.

The Molas Pass to Bolam Pass Rd is another one of the best sections of the CT.

WOW… just look at it! Don’t you want to camp there and watch the sunset with wild flowers under your tarp? I knew this moment was awesome but in this moment, I was fucking tired.

Before you knew it, it was sunrise again. Here I am having my daily oats and whatnot. It was the only thing I actually enjoyed eating on the trail. Oh yeah, my daily coffee routine was pretty sweet also.

Ok another side by side on top of the same pass from my 2006 trip with Mike. Not quite the same angle but whatever, I tired to be creative……. 2015 Left, 2006 on the right.

Descending the un-named pass on segment 25

2015 on the top, 2006 with Mike on the bottom. Last side by side I promise……

Celebration Lake where Mike and I exited the CT on our day ride back in 2006

New CT shit that I have never seen before! Oh and I have not said this yet. The San Juans are the best Colorado mountains I have seen by far!!!

Blackhawk Pass. Let me take a minute to reflect on this moment. I had been riding most of the day up unit about noon when the thunder heads start to build. I ran across a CT hiker before crossing this pass and he warned me about crossing with the lightning near by. You cant tell but it was sunny and there was a break in the clouds up until I got to this point where two thunder heads collided and what later became a massive downpour. If you look closely you can see two stick figures of mountain bikers at the summit.

Here I am at the summit of Blackhawk pass and I have a lot to say about this moment in time…… First: I made it to the top without getting rained on and met two very nice lady mountain bikers that took my pic that were doing a day ride on this segment. Second: I can see it on my face in this photo that I am not giving 2 fucks about much on this trip any more and its about time I got my confidence! Lastly: All hell broke loose and me and the lady MTB couple bombed down the backside of the pass and got rained/hailed on hard for the next 2 hours. I remember thinking how thrilled I was to ride with some peeps for once as we descended until I decided to stop and put the rest of my rain gear on as they carried on in the pouring rain and gropple. .

The following pics are of Segment 27 on the Indian Ridge Trail section. And in my opinion, this was one of the most intense section of the entire CT MTB Route. Incredibly high elevation, exposed ridges, rocky traverses, narrow slick off camber trail, just to name a few of the challenges. Along the way the views were absolutely breathtaking and I knew this was the last difficult high alpine challenge left in the adventure.

I was really proud of completing this exposed section with such vigor. Camp is just on the other side of that ridge.

This is the view down below after you cross the Indian Trail Ridge section. Phewwww. just a short descent down to this awesome alpine lake where I set up camp for the night. I believe this lake is Taylor Lake.

Camp for the last night and another awesome pic! This is another one of the high points on the trip. You cant see it but the lake from the previous picture is on the other side of my tarp.

The last morning of #coffeeoutside

You cant tell in the picture but there is a old mining structure on the edge of that ridge just to the left. From here you turn left on the fork and the trail descends down for an incredible amount of vertical from here on out! (except for that one climb before the end)

After what seemed like 3 full days spent above treeline. I descended down into the forrest to dense growth. I loved and missed this thing called the forest!!!! It was a huge descent. Maybe close to 20 miles, but don’t be fooled. There is a fairly significant climb in the middle of it that reminds you that there are final bits of vertical feet to be attained before you can finish…..

I tried to grab a quick touristy shot of these falls. In person they were much cooler. I promise! (:

Here it is the final shot of me on the trail. I was thrilled to have completed the route and loved every second of it. Looking back there is not much I would have done different except for replacing my pedals and sleeping bag prior to departure. My sleeping bag had a hard time keeping me warm above treeline after 9 seasons of use, and I should have replaced my worn out pedals too..

Once you leave this TH marker its a 5 mile paved road descent into the town of Durango where I dropped my bike off at Pedal the Peaks LBS that did a remarkable job of packing up my bike and gear then shipping it back to my home town of Colorado Springs. After dropping off my bike I picked up some thrift store clothes, checked into a hotel, took a shower, then proceeded to Carver Brewing for some well deserved beer and town food. I got a bit wild this night and had a really good time celebrating my CT victory in Durango!!! I thought Durango was an amazing town and would love to go back some day.

Cheers!!! Free beer at Carver Brewing for completing the CT!