Summer 2021, Day 43: Taylor Park, Day 1

Good morning from Taylor Park:

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This morning I rode my bike up to Cottonwood Pass at 12,126 feet.  Cottonwood Pass is the highest paved mountain pass over the Continental Divide:

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Clay and I motorcycled the area:

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Had a little fall, breaking off the mirror and the end of the clutch handle:

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Rush hour on the trail:

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Goodnight:

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Summer 2021, Day 41: Crested Butte, Day 6

Shabbos was pleasant dispersed camping north of Crested Butte.  I went for a walk and met Jason and Clay, who are also up here with their motorcycles.

Today, the three of us rode up Washington Gulch into Paradise Basin:

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Interesting mining area:

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Seemed like a good place to turn around:

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We crossed Schofield Pass and visited the ghost town of Gothic.  Mount Gothic in the background:

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Summer 2021, Day 24: Run/Hike Handies Peak, Motorcycle Alpine Loop

I drove the motorcycle down from Slumgullion Pass to ride the Alpine Loop.  Along the loop, I parked at the trailhead to run/hike the fourteener Handies Peak:

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Off I go:

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The run/hike was a relatively short 3 miles to the summit at 14,058 feet:

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Views from the summit:

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On the way back down:

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I continued along the Alpine Loop over Cinnamon Pass:

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I next arrived at the ghost town of Animas Forks:

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I next drove from Animas Forks down to the town of Silverton, visiting ruins along the way:

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Silverton, Colorado:

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I was hoping to drive the road from Silverton to Ouray, then drive the off-road route from Ouray to the Alpine Loop, but I was told in Silverton that the off-road route from Ouray to the Alpine Loop is too technical for a motorcycle, so I instead drove back to Animas Forks, then further along the Alpine Loop towards Engineer Pass:

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Engineer Pass:

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Views from Engineer Pass:

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I finished the Alpine Loop by continuing on towards Lake City:

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I drove down into Lake City, then back up to the RV at Slumgullion Pass.

See the trip map for today’s motorcycle ride.

Summer 2021, Day 22: Motorcycling and Hiking Wheeler Geological Area

I drove the motorcycle down to the Wheeler Geologic Area today. Round trip, it was 18 miles on pavement, 16 miles on gravel, and 28 miles on a 4×4 rough road.  Turns out motorcycles are not the most popular choice:

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Once at the trailhead, a 4-mile hike took me into and around the hoodoos and other structures at the site.

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On the way home, I dropped the chain, which was much harder to fix on the motorcycle than it is on a bicycle.  Tough place to be stuck:

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I managed to fix the motorcycle and get back to pavement:

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A neighbor happened to have a shower tent he didn’t want, so I bought it from him:

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