Day 56 – Wilderness or wilderness? To Grand Lake!

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Back on the trail!  Despite five or so days off, and only one day ride, it was the smoothest transition back yet. We might be getting a few things dialed in, or it might just be that for once we weren’t facing 4000 or more feet of climbing out of the gate.  4000+ has been the norm for all the extended breaks we’ve taken so far.

Today’s terrain was much friendlier.  At least on paper.

I convinced Eszter to take Idlewild trails instead of Rollins Pass.  Even though we expected a 400 foot hike-a-bike to gain the Aqueduct Road, she agreed it was better than railroad grade climbing.  We rolled through easy trails first, remarking that this was the correct way to restart ‘the trail.’

Someone had built switchbacks where the hike-a-bike is!  That was a pleasant surprise, especially since the GPX I had was from when I rode the trail just last August.  Win!

Dirt roads took us to the High Lonesome Trail.  It’s a pleasantly bikepack techy trail.  Roots, rocks, bridges, bogs, meadows with big views.  Just perfect.  Demanding enough that we both were a little relieved when it was over.

The crux of our route was next — the Caribou Trail.  I had a track, but it had been described as a ‘bushwhack.’  Just our kind of caper!

Initial signs were good.  Actual trail, evidence of trail work and even an ‘adopt-a-trail’ sign at the top.  Eszter reminded us not to judge a trail by its first mile.

Very sage advice.  By the middle we were just making our way across bogs and bushwhacking since the trail was nearly impossible to follow and not that much of a help even when on it.

I love it how these Wilderness detours work out sometimes.  We had just passed a parking lot full of vehicles, all for the Indian Peaks Wilderness.  Heavily used trails abound.  Then right nearby, a non-motorized route tries to follow a drainage, and is littered with down trees, barely followable and with very little sign that anyone ever uses it.

It’s one of the great ironies of bikepacking long distance trails: detouring around Wilderness and finding places more wild and forgotten than you can find in the Wilderness.

At some point along the trail I called it.  “This isn’t going to make the cut for a CDTbike route.”  But then it got a little better.  A few extended sections free of trees and boasting some actual tread.

We did eventually get to the Strawberry Creek trail where conditions improved to primitive but followable.  Caribou can be skipped… but the jury is out on whether it should be a part of the bike route or not.

Strawberry took us to the Doe trail, which started on the wrong foot — by forcing us onto our feet for a stout 500 foot hike-a-bike.  All was forgiven when the descent was reached.  Beautiful singletrack — both followable and rideable.

That popped us out on the first of the big lakes.  It was 14 miles of dirt and pavement to Grand Lake (the town) from there.  A simple ride, a scenic ride, an easy ride.  The CDT itself skirts with the Wilderness on the other side of the lake and is reportedly full of downed trees.  We’d had our share of those and didn’t feel like we were missing out on much.

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The last lake has trail on the east side that the Park Service (Rocky Mountain National Park) is thinking about opening to bikes.  There was a public comment period this winter.  I don’t know the outcome, but even the suggestion of a few miles of CDT currently closed to bikes being opened warms my heart.  It would have been a nice change from the busy highway into town (though it does have a big shoulder).

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We pizza’d up in town, ran into Sailor/Alfredo/Friendly and then hoofed it up the cliff to the hostel.  This place is incredible.  Just when we thought we had found the best trail town, new contenders keep coming in.  Huge views of the lake, a roaring creek, alpine scenery, food close by.  The only downside might be the big hill to get here.  But as anyone on the trail knows, you have to earn your views.

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