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Tuesday, July 29, 2003 I got an e-note that read:
"I realize this is pretty much spur of the moment...."
"...we're headed to Taylor Park"
"...apologize for giving you such short notice..."
"If at all possible we'd sure appreciate your company on the trails..."
It seems that EverettM and KeithG were on their way to CO for a ride and they needed a ride guide. They had only spent about ten minutes deciding to go to CO for a few days of riding and hell raising, and were desperate for help. How could I say no?
I drove over to the Taylor Park Trading Post on Friday morning and met the motley crew. They were struggling through breakfast, such as it was, at the restaurant. We made introductions all round, then chatted while they ate. I could tell they weren't too impressed with their ride guide, this old fart who didn't even look like a rider ;-)
When I unloaded my CRF230F, they were totally slack-jawed. They drove all the way from Texas for this?
A short time later, after we were all dressed for the party, we took to the trails. Well, the roads, anyway. There are really no trails very close to the cabins. We had to ride a bit of roads to get to the good part.
They were really starting to look glum, now.
But we did manage to find a wee tiny trail that perked everybody up.
And then another old ATV route that climbed the hills east of Tincup to join South Timberline Tr.
We had a view of the valley and Mirror Lake to the south. Now things were starting to get interesting.
We rode over Cumberland Pass on a dirt road to get to Pitkin.
In Pitkin, we topped up our fuel before heading out on the Fossil Ridge Loop.
The Fossil Ridge Loop got us up into high country. As we rode Willow Cr Tr and Fossil Ridge Tr, the weather started to close in. We decided to hot-foot it back to town; no time for pictures. Too bad, because there are lottsa scenic vistas on Fossil Ridge. Back in Pitkin, we enjoyed a lunch of burgers at the Gold Mine Restaurant before heading north over Napoleon Pass.
At the bottom of Napoleon Pass is a water crossing that can be a real hassle if the water is deep. Fortunately, the ATVers had 'bushwhacked' a crossing that we were happy to use.
After finishing Napoleon Pass, we headed back north through Tincup to the Trading Post. We rode 100 miles; not bad for a first day's ride ;-)
I headed back to Salida for the night and left the guys to fend for themselves. They found a group of German girls, and.... (no more, this is a family site ;-)
Saturday, we relocated to the Gunnison Spur Trailhead. KeithG led the charge across the bridge and up the hill.
We rode the Spur south to the Doctor Park Road (FR550/544) bail-out, then headed down to Deadman Gulch and the start of Rosebud Tr.
There was no way I could keep up with these guys!
We rode Rosebud Tr, Reno Ridge Tr, Grassy Tr, Hunters Hill
Tr, then up to the junction with Tr 400.
The junction with Tr 400 is on the left side, and Everett and Keith are somewhere close by.
As we headed toward Crystal Pass, we ran into three bicyclists
on the trail. I can't imagine how they ever rode to where we
were; the bicyclists could barely get up the hills! Below Taylor
Peak, we turned downhill to get to Mt Tilton Tr.
Negotiating a rock-pile below Taylor Peak.
We rode the lower portion of Mt Tilton Tr, then Taylor River
Rd down to Dorchester CG.
There is a new bridge across the Taylor River just behind Dorchester CG. The trail is labeled Lily Pond, but is actually just a short segment that gets you up the hill to Italian Creek Rd and the real start of Lily Pond Tr.
Another new bridge is located at the Lily Pond Trailhead. The Gunnison Ranger District is doing a fine job of maintaining the motorized trails in the entire Gunnison area.
I split off and the guys rode Lily Pond Tr by themselves. We rejoined and headed back to the trucks.
It started to sprinkle just as were were loading up; the bikes got washed and the guys got free showers ;-)
We ended up riding 70 miles on Saturday. The grins were wide.
The guys headed back to Texas Saturday evening. They promised to return to ride the rest of the trails.
The trails mentioned in this ride report are shown on Trails Illustrated map # 131.
