Cottonwood Pass - The Full Meal Deal

This story has two parts: the first is the guys' story because they rode on Saturday morning and the second is the gals' story because we rode on Sunday morning.

Guys' Story: Scott, Manny and Jason started out from Mt. Princeton Hot Springs along CR 321 on Saturday morning at 7am. It was a beautiful morning and they had a great quick ride up to Rainbow Lake Resort - about 17 miles. Then Manny's tire got a flat and the tire was ripped open. Scott - who is really McGyver - somehow used a piece of the guard rail to temporarily fix the tire so they could all get back down the hill. (Us gals didn't ask too many questions about this because it just sounded dangerous and better to not have details.)

In Buena Vista's bike shop, they got the tired replaced and crazily decided to head back up the pass. Jason left me a very cryptic message about this which we didn't get until hours later and never really understood. Anyway, about 10:30 they began their ascent again. Each of them still had a little less than 2 bottles of water and a couple power bars and shots. Evidently, 2 miles from the top of the pass Jason bonked hard because of dehydration (note to self: lots of alcohol and no water the day before doesn't make for a good ride the next day). He had completely run out of water and with a foaming mouth and a cramped leg muscle couldn't go any further - believe me - he tried! Scott and Manny did make it to the top around 12:30 where they hustled some unsuspecting visitors for a bit of water to give to their dehydrated friend a few miles down the road.

I finally got in touch with Jason by cell at 1:30 while they were on their descent near Rainbow Lakes. I met them at the bottom of the hill with the rescue vehicle. Jason was beat. Scott and Manny tried to convince me they were going to ride the 11 miles back to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, but a big bolt of lightening striking at just the right moment made them shut up and get in the car. (Thanks for the display of power God!)

The gals' trip the next day was wonderfully uneventful! We all learned our lesson and took extra water, food, and tools. It was another beautiful morning and the road was clear most of the way up. We saw a herd of mountain goats hanging out on the cliffs near Cottonwood Hot Springs and gave an inner tube to another rider whose tube had exploded beyond repair. (Us riders have to stick together.) But otherwise the ride was peaceful, beautiful and uneventful. The summit was a bit cold, especially after sweating our way up that last 5 miles to the top. The descent was cold, fast and fun! I love our Pearl Izumi rain jackets because they definitely kept us warm on the way down and protected us from the little bit of rain we went through around Cottonwood Hot Springs. All in all, it was a great ride and I can't wait to go back. The view from the top looking down over the mountain range on the back side into Gunnison is well worth the climb. Get on your bike and go!

Cottonwood Pass Appetizer

We spent a lovely weekend camping with friends and family in Buena Vista. Did I mention that I love Buena Vista? There is a sign as you enter Chaffee County that says "Now this is Colorado" and it truly is. The Collegiate Peaks, the Arkansas river, and the wide open spaces. It was so beautiful. We stayed at the Ruby Mountain Campground right on the Arkansas. The river was running very high and fast so we were extremely careful to keep the kids away from the water. That was a bummer, but the river was very fun to look at and listen to. We spent Saturday visiting Cottonwood Lake where we took the kids fishing - we scared them all away with six noisy kids. Only two small trout were silly enough to stick around and get caught on our line.

On Sunday morning, Jason and I broke away for an early morning ride. We didn't want to be gone too long because my mom and stepdad were watching the kids. So we drove to the bottom of West Main in Bueny and parked our car at the local park. We started our ascent at 7am. There is a nice 4 mile warm up with a very gradual incline. By mile 5 (near Cottonwood Hot Springs) the road begins to go up. The scenery is so beautiful - you hardly notice that your legs are pushing. Rainbow Lake Resort is off to the left around mile 8 - breathtaking. At mile 12, when you go through the gate that closes the pass for the winter, the road really gets serious. Unfortunately, we only had time to climb for about another mile before we needed to turn back. A little disappointing because it just seemed to get better and better and I am sure the view from the top is magnificent. But we are really looking forward to making it to there with our friends the Coe's and the De La Paz's this weekend as we all head to BV for fourth of July.

Overall the ride was wonderful. It was a nice little appetizer.