COS to SAF via western Colorado[b]
I left my son Kenneth's palce early morning to ride to Cotopaxi, CO where my other son Matt was gong to do a trials event. The route took me up the Gold Camp Road to Leadville, where there is a chice for dropping down into Canon City. I chose the Shelf Road, the other is Phantom Canyon. It was around 40 in Leadville and 75 by the time I reached Canon City. Layers on, layers off!
On reaching Cotopaxi I went about finding where the event was going to held and in the process saw signs to Salida and Hartsel. So off I went through some beautiful high country ranch land. For the next few days I would ride the same route. Matt did a third in the Intermediate Class and was pretty pleased. me I was ready for some more riding and had decided to take up George's offer for a place to stay in Ridgeway.CO
I had Matt help me lay out a route that would take me mostly dirt. The passes I would go over would be Marshall and Slumgullion. Then I would drop into Lake City where I would stay a day or two.
In Lake City I did a day ride to Engineer Pass, then returned to Lake City for dinner with a friend who runs the the Matterhorn Motel where I always stay.
On to Ridgeway, and up and over Cinnamon Pass, with a stop at Animas Forks. I can't imagine a winter life like the iners ahd back then. The fellow in the pic is my son Matt from a father/son trip we rode a few years prior to my solo ride.
George and Gail Cunningham are one of those open hearted couples. They had invited me to stay with them if I ever made my way to Ridgeway, and here I was so I gave them a call, and George came right away and showed me the way to their house. He had promised me some riding so the next day we took off for a loop on the Uncompahgre Plateau, The Ute indians refered to the area as the rocks that make water red. The plan had been to go up on the plateau, then make a loop through Teluride, but we got " snowed out".
There was a the first big cold front sliding down from the Pacific Northwest so I started back to Santa Fe. I back tracked a bit so I could do a pass I saw on my way to lake City. I think the name was Los Pinos and the pic is about halfway through the pass. I then headed down to Pagosa Springs via Wolf Creek.
From Pagosa Springs you can ride about 80% of the way to SAF on dirt. I only did a part as I was getting pressed for time. That section consists in part of an abonded narrow gauge rail bed. The water tower is still in great shape. The rouet ends in Dulce, and then you can pick up pavement or continue on dirt via pueblo and forest service roads
I love riding Southwestern Colorado and look foward to another adventure this fall!
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