Super cold morning - 20s, with low 30s in the van! We actually ran the van for a bit to warm up and really enjoyed our hot beverages and breakfast! We got on our bikes to check out some trails about a mile down the highway. As we started up the service road, spotted some better camping areas (in terms of more privacy and quiet) and Rudy went back to get the van while I 'guarded' a spot. With our new site claimed, we continued on with the biking, starting up Race Track to Little Rainbow. Little Rainbow was relatively flat, but had some loose rockiness that I was awkward on, and was very repetitive - down a little gully, sharp right turn, climb out of the gully, loose rocky flat stuff, repeat. So, not my funnest ride. I turned back at the end and Rudy continued on to Double Rainbow - apparently that was a lot of the same.
 |
| View from the 'top' of my ride |
 |
| Cool sand formations |
 |
| Apparently plague is an issue |
A nice sunny day though! The solar shower actually got hot and we had sunshine to bath in! The rest of the afternoon was hanging out. Made split peas and sweet potatoes for dinner - still a favorite of mine, then nothing too exciting for the evening - just some reading.
October 8
Not so cold this morning, but didn't sleep too great and was in bed until 10!!! At least we didn't have to wait for it to warm up. I just did a short run on the nearby trails and loved some yoga in the sunny 70s afternoon. Rudy got in a longer bike ride on the trails north of Salida - sounds like they are in a little better shape, so that was good! He also got in a little swim in the Arkansas River. Dinner was grilled cheese, and entertainment was the original Mad Max - movies were a lot more simple a few decades ago!
October 9
Another chilly morning in the 30s, plus there was controlled burns nearby that spread enough smoke to inhibit the sun warming things up. After a slow morning we went into Salida, checking out Riverside Park a bit - pretty nice little area!
 |
| A cool little climbing wall |
 |
| Nice river walk |
 |
| Even big trees to nap in |
The temperature finally reached 50F and we mustered up the motivation for biking. The trails from town were much nicer (though a little busier) and I got onto most of the easy and intermediate trails in the system. I took a short break before getting a little run in to, to the top of Tenderfoot Hill holding Salida's big S.
 |
| View from the top |
After Rudy finished his bike ride, he got in the river again - I was too wimpy for that.
Then, we finally did some laundry (went 3 weeks!) and got some groceries, then treated ourselves to Moonlight Pizza and Beer! We couldn't pass up the game day special of a 14" pizza, 2 big breadsticks, and 10 wings. I thought we would have quite a bit of leftovers, but ate it all except half the pizza. To add to the excess, we went back to the grocery store for an 11" pumpkin pie off the discount rack - something about all things in moderation, including moderation? It was late enough that we went back to the same spot for the night to watch Mad Max 2 Road Warrior - Feral Boy!
October 10
The sunshine is back! We continued a little further south and west to San Isabel National Forest south of Mears Junction (less than an hour from Salida). We easily found a nice little spot on Poncha Creek. Going up in elevation kept the temperatures in the 50s, but sun! We each did respective big bike loops - I intended on an out and back on a forest road and the Continental Divide Trail/Colorado Trail, but my last few miles were too up and down and my lower back was not interested in any more climbing after 2 hours, so I took a chance that I could handle the advanced trail down - and managed most of it pretty well, some really steep things I did walk down. The long climb was worth the views though!
 |
| The wind almost blew me off the trail here |
 |
| Ice on the creeks!! |
 |
| Some high peaks - I'm over 11,200' here |
No comments:
Post a Comment