Colorado Trail Recap: Day 1

 OK Team, we did it: 5 glorious days on the Colorado Trail - camping, biking, suffering. Not everything went to plan, but everything was amazing. I'll take a few posts here to break things down by day, including some fun stories and pictures!

Day one started in the parking lot of a Safeway where we got the traditional Safeway burritos, and then we were off. Three of us would leave from here, and meet Isaac on night one.

The first 6 miles or so were up Waterton Canyon Road, where it was just a gentle gravel road climb. We rode past the Strontia Springs Dam, and even saw some mountain goats. This road was fine on a bike, but I imagine it would be a silly way to start a hike. We did see more hikers this day than any other (except maybe right at Kenosha Pass).

Strontia Springs Dam

Mountain Goats chilling in the shade

At the top of the road we got onto some fun singletrack with some switchbacks and a bit of hiking. Saw a lot of bikes out for day rides and a few thru hikers. It was nice to be in the shade for this bit.

First of the HAB

After climbing the first big climb, we rode down a pretty fun and fast descent to the Bear Creek crossing. Here we were happy to refill with water in preparation for what would be a long hot climb back out of the valley and into the Buffalo Creek trail system. 

See the horse?

The Buffalo Creek part of the trail took us through Hayman Fire burn of 2002 scar, and it was remarkable. This fire burned 138,000 acres and it is still recovering.

Smiles and sun protection

There was some fun rolly trails here, and a lot of kitty litter type sand that was a drag. By the end we were pretty wiped. We also had a bit of a challenge with Jesse's rear brake so we fired off texts, voicemails, and emails to Isaac to get some small parts and pushed on.

Saw some amazing rock formations

Jesse on the trail

Looked at a map

While we were wrapping up our day, Isaac was working on meeting us at the Buffalo Creek Campground from the north. 

Isaac's ride

Once we got together, we didn't waste and time (or sunlight) getting Jesse's bike sorted out. Lucky Isaac brought exactly what we needed and we were fine for the rest of the ride. 

There's no maintenance like trailside maintenance

Isaac surprised us with end-of-the-day beers, which was one of the top 5 beers of my life. Threw sleeping bags on the ground and got a pretty average night's sleep!

Cheers

All in all, a beautiful but pretty tough day between the climbing and the heat. I think day one is always tough adjusting to the time on the bike and calorie and water needs. Every other day felt better after getting this out of the way. That is why I wanted to do this trail so bad though - the suffering was part of the adventure, and I am 100% in for it. 

Map

Elevation

Stats