After seeing Red Rocks I head for the Interstate and, I have to admit I70 is a super road, the scenery is great and it’s not your standard strip of tarmac covered in cars.
Zig zag back up the RockiesStunning empty roadsOf course the road gets even better once you get out of the interstate.Cigarette stop at the Clinton Gulch Dam ReservoirAttempt at arty shotAnd againNature does it better on its own.Leadville, feels very west to meAnd the theatre of gone days.With the saloonMountain view getting seriousThe valley belowthe road takenAnd then the passWhich comes with legend.And the obligatory bike shotRoad does not get worse on the way down to Aspen.Makes me llook forward to some hiking.Do you see him?Now?
After being politely refused entrance in two campsites on the way down the hill, they had a bear problem and only accepted hard walled camping outfits, I get to the Difficult Campsite, not difficult at all just located in the difficult canyon.
This is a National Park Service camp and that means basic, cheap and with little fuss. I’m loving it. I get set then I ride to town, only three miles and refuel as well as getting some informations on hikes. I’ll do the Cathedral Lake hike tomorrow.
Hard to get a good shot of the waterfall, even with pano.And with normal you don’t see a thing, I guess you’ll just have to go.Pictures are sometimes just a way to catch breathStarting to see the end of the treelineAnd opening horisonsThe way I came.Electric pass not for today.Nearly there.In all my life never have I been more enchanted than in the presence of a mountain lake.left endright endAnd me not adding a thing to it, as it always was.Up there electric pass, but the storm is coming and it’s not safe to be oup here in bad weather.Rather different morphology around the valley.I wonder if I’ll catch that as I go down.Almost Dolomites like.Pretty flowers.well laid path.Splendid vistas.Some hairpins on the steep descentthen across always avoiding the rain.and back down among the trees.Last look at the trail.
xI manage to get down without getting wet, nearly 6 miles hike with a 1500 feet ascent. I underestimated the difficulty of hiking at these heights (nearly 12,000 feet), I was really tired and I stopped in town for a bite before getting back to the campsite.
Actually eating out these days is an opportunity to get some fresh food in me, my diet of the last seven week has been beyond bad. I live on cheese, biscuits and dried meat. Occasionally a banana or a different piece of fruit, but rarely. I’m not putting on weight but I’m sure my internal organs are less than impressed by my teenager lifestyle which badly matches the age of the equipment.
Ski slopes finishing in Aspen town.And some more.Aspen is really St. Tropez like, with classical music in the streets.Fountains and good restaurants.Upmarket shopsAnd weird contraptions.
I like Aspen, I’d love to come skiing, but it might set me back $5000 for a week, so I suspect I will be happy with skiing in the Alps, if I ski at all.
Hi.
I saw your post in advrider.com about want partner(s) for a ride to TDF in 2017. Can you start in early March 2017 from Austin TX?
I might be able to join you in late Feb at the earliest. However, I can go to TDF and highly possible coming back as depicted in you master map.
I am Quan im Washington DC area. 703 887 0948. quananvi@yahoo.com