It was hard to leave Salida but the trail called. The transition from town to trail is always a difficult one, made even more so when it is a town you love.
We saw a couple more friends, by good fortune, before finally getting our act together and hitting the trail.
The 4th was a fun day, but also a little frustrating. We rode the local trails and bikes started acting up. The power went out where we were staying. I tracked some dog poop inside. People are complaining about the orange dots on the divide tracker. And most of all, I was disappointed to confirm that the organization behind the CDT, which does awesome work and of which I am a member, doesn’t really support the idea of thru riding the trail. They don’t know what to say or think, and are at best indifferent. It is disappointing. Two of three major long distance trails are already closed to bikes. I had hoped this trail might be different.
And it is. They used existing trails and as such bikes are allowed. But the future of new pieces of trail doesn’t look very good from where I sit.
Best way to overcome the trail blues is to hit the trail. So much of it is open and the adventure and beauty found there is a much more positive thing to focus on.
And so we pedaled out of Salida. . Climbing in the muggy air. Tail winds robbed us of cooling. Poncha creek robbed us of leg muscle. We rejoined the cdt and rode backwards on the Crest. Despite it being 4th weekend the trail was empty. Awesome.
Simply gorgeous up there and the weather held.
We ate breakfast sandwiches and fudge at the store… A welcome stop. Then we continued on to new cdt to both of us.
It did not disappoint. C ontour! Then steep road climbing through the resort and right along the divide.
We rode to 12000 feet and stepped off the divide to find a bit of cover.
The sunset was to die for. Mosquitoes are at full swarm almost Oregon levels. Luckily (maybe) a squall passed by to the east and blew them away… but it also brought drops and lots of wind. This isn’t going to be a stellar night of sleep but we didn’t come out here to catch up on sleep… we came to experience the Divide!
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