mullerb's musings

Friday, Sept 30 Monarch Crest Trail Took off at 5:30 to pick up Bill at his house in Arvada for 3 days of mountain biking. Ah, the guilt: it would have been a great weekend to spend with Rachel but sometimes you just need to go hit the trails a bit harder and faster and shelve the patience. Bill and I made it to Poncho Springs by 9am to catch the 10 o'clock shuttle up to Monarch Pass and the start to of this classic, 35 mile ride. And what a ride! 4 or so miles of up along an incredibly scenic followed by many miles of dirt roads and eventually 10 miles of the Rainbow Trail. Here and there there are a few technical spots, steep, rocky trail or loose rocks but mostly it is a very Rachel friendly cruise. The last 10 miles are on the Rainbow Trail. Now that is a bit more of a challenge. It is a true single track that traverses a north facing slope with many stretches where you don't want to slip off onto the downhill slope. But with care, it is an amazingly nice

An awesome fall day with temps in the mid 60s. Fast and focused the whole way. Tuned out the world beyond the tarmac zipping by in front of the wheel.

Leah and I escaped the 'heat' of fall in Boulder to paddle a few hours up on Gross Reservoir. So nice! The cottonwoods turning yellow. The sky so blue. The water fresh and smooth with hardly a breeze. And even some fun little waves to surf where South Boulder Creek spills into the lake.

After debating whether to head up to the high peaks or not, or to climb or not, the heavy clouds helped us decide to do something close to home but less routine. We were naughty in that we headed off trail in the conservation area along Green Mnt's southern ridge line. So nice! The ground cover is making its transition to fall and there is that hint of coolness in the air. I love the fall setting!

19 miles in an hour. A nice tempo for this lunch ride. I'm liking the cooler temps!

An out and back crawl up the old Rollins Pass Rd from East Portal. A beautiful September day in the Indian Peaks with mostly blue skies, cool temps, wild flowers still holding on for the season, and a good work out. 2011_09 Rollins Pass Mnt Bike The road is a gentle 4% grade most of the way. A bit sinewy as it slowly gains altitude up out of the South Boulder Creek valley but that serves to keep the strain low and gives plenty of opportunity to take in the views.  The road surface is pretty rough in most places and so not the most enjoyable ride from that perspective. When you finally get to tree line near Yankee Doodle Lake, the vista make up for any sore behind or rattled arms. A couple of miles before the spectacular end point of the ride, Rollins Pass itself, you have to hike your bike up over the closed of Needle Eye Tunnel. The road is an old railroad bed, - built in 1903, abandoned in  1923 when the East Portal Tunnel opened - and the Needle Eye tunnel cuts through a ridge l

Labor Day morning ride from home. Left at 8 and got back in 2hr20min. Not sure how that rates but I felt strong and paced myself nicely on this one. The climb up Sunshine is a at a nice grade, never too steep, probably averaging around 10% over the 3,000ft gain. The fire impact is pretty intense but lots of new building going on. Went down to South Denver to get our ski tickets for the 2011-12 season: 5packs for WP, 4packs for Loveland.

A quick overnight trip into the Indian Peaks Wilderness with the family. Hiked in from the Buchanan Pass trailhead on Friday morning. A 3 hour hike got us 6 miles up the trail, 1 mile into the wilderness area. We camped in the beautiful meadows just before the trail that heads south to Red Deer Lake. The girls were, once again, incredibly fast hikers and capable campers. 2011_09 Buchannan Pass Trail Backpack After setting up camp, Kelly and Rach headed up to Red Deer Lake for an afternoon stroll while Leah and I hung out in the meadow to nap and read. A late afternoon thunderstorm cool things off and had Leah and I quickly set up the tents to stay dry while the flowers got their daily dose of water.  In the frosty morning, we hiked up to Gibraltar Lake at the head of the valley. Awesome! The upper reaches of this drainage is the most alpine and gorgeous spot in the Wilderness Area. Big cliffs, huge snow fields, perched lakes, loads of flowers, granite boulders and marmots.