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waterfalls and fireworks and bicycles, oh my
As some of you may remember, last summer we took a minivacation in Telluride for Britt's birthday, mountain biking and hiking. A few months ago we attended a local Democratic Party fundraiser, and one of the silent auction items was a July 4th stay at a cabin in Telluride, donated by the cabin's owner (an acquaintance who is a stalwart Dem); since we had such a good time last year, I decided to bid on the cabin, and I got it! So on Wednesday afternoon we packed up the pickup with our mountain bikes and hiking gear, coffee and beer and snacks and things to make breakfast and lunch with, and headed out of town.
On the way to Telluride we passed Memorial Rock, our first time on this road since it fell in May. The huge scar on the hillside where the rocks came down is as impressive as the rock itself! We also noticed how much snow still remained in the mountains - what a change from last year. We got to the cabin, which was basically a tiny house in the backyard of another house, put our things inside, and then walked the few blocks to the main street to have some dinner.
The next morning we had coffee and blueberry pancakes, packed a lunch and snacks, and hopped on the bikes. On our visit last summer we rode the first half of the Galloping Goose trail, which mostly follows an old railroad grade. This trip we were determined to ride all the way to Lizard Head Pass! But that would be easier said than done; shortly after the climb out of Ilium, about 10 miles into our ride, we had a moderately intimidating creek crossing. It turned out to be only the first of many. Last year, of course, a month later and after a terrible snow year, the creeks were only trickles.
On the other hand, the wildflowers were just busting out all over, lupine and flax shimmering blue across the green grasses. Shortly past the point where we'd turned around last year, we stopped for lunch on a hillside meadow. But wait! Why was it snowing on the fourth of July?!
Not snow, but fluffy seedpods spread on the wind from (we assumed) the aspen forest all around us. At first it seemed rather charming, though we had to keep brushing the fluff from our sandwiches. But after lunch, as we continued on the trail, which passed under the highway and up singletrack through the forest on the other side, the fluff got thicker and thicker, and let me tell you, when you're riding a mountain bike on an uphill trail you need to breathe hard through your mouth, and aspen fluff is not pleasant to breathe in! I was coughing constantly all the way. This stuff was thick.
But we persevered, and eventually broke out of the aspen and onto a little-traveled dirt road, which eventually took us around Trout Lake and by this very pretty old trestle bridge, part of the original railroad:
And then...we made it to the pass! We got a motorcyclist who was stopped there to take our photo as proof:
When we hit the highway underpass on the way down, we left the trail and crossed over to the Ames-Ilium road, a dirt road that more or less parallels the Galloping Goose trail, so as to avoid all the creek crossings on the trail. We got back on the trail at Ilium and rode back to our cabin, making it a round trip of about 43 miles and 3200' vertical. (Strava track) Needless to say, we ate heartily at dinner. And then we went back to the cabin and sat outside on the tiny deck, and while we waited for it to get sufficiently dark for fireworks, a small black bear wandered across the yard! I mean, we see bears in Durango, too, but it is always cool to see bears (unless they are in the process of getting into things they shouldn't be getting into, as apparently this or another bear did a few days later, destroying the car of friends who were also in Telluride). And then:
The next morning we had breakfast with a friend of Britt's who lives in Telluride, and when we mentioned we were planning to hike to the well-known and very popular Bear Creek Falls, suggested we also check out the lesser-known Cornet falls. So after eating we went back to the cabin and changed into hiking clothes, then headed across town for the trailhead. Indeed it was an extremely popular trail, with a constant stream of people (and dogs - Telluride has a lot of dogs, and apparently no leash laws) going both up and down. The trail is wide, actually an old jeep road for the first ~2 miles(4/5 of the way) and the grade is steep but steady, so the crowds were not a problem. And the falls turned out to be a worthy destination, especially since the epic snowfall this past winter has led to epic snowmelt this spring and summer, and all the waterfalls are roaring.
On the way back we deviated a bit from the main trail and hiked up the beginning of the Wasatch trail. This trail ultimately connects with the trail we hiked last year above Bridal Veil Falls, but we wanted to only go far enough to get above the rocky rim that forms Bear Creek Falls so we could look down on it. We found a nice viewpoint which doubled as a snack-and-snooze-spot:
Then it was back to the cabin for lunch, after which we headed for Cornet Falls, which is on the opposite side of the San Miguel valley though again only a short walk to the trailhead from the cabin. This trail was narrower, rockier, and steeper than that to the Bear Creek Falls, but also much shorter, and there were far fewer people. The waterfall itself was also narrower, but it was quite dramatic, spurting out over an undercut rock to make a tall, freestanding cascade that we could hike behind for an interesting view of the ski area:
After that we hiked back down to the turnoff for the Jud Weibe trail which climbs above town on the north side and gave us some nice views. There were quite a few mountain bikers coming down this trail as it makes a loop with the Mill Creek trail, but it was steep and rocky and I would not want to go either up or down on a bike! We returned the way we came and headed back to the cabin, where we showered and dressed in town clothes. This was the night of Telluride's monthly Art Walk, and as we always enjoy the similar events Durango holds several times a year, we thought we'd walk around and look at cool stuff.
And, uh, oops I tripped and bought a painting?
I'd looked through the website and noticed the work of Joseph Toney, July's featured artist at the Slate Gray gallery, and when we stopped in to see it, both Britt and I really liked his works. There is something about paintings of real objects which are still recognizable in an abstract style that really appeals to me, plus mountains yay, plus the muted taupes and grayscale color scheme fits with our house aesthetic. And when we asked ourselves if we'd be disappointed if we walked out, came back later, and someone else had bought it...we were sold. We were a bit giddy about it all weekend! Here it is in its new home:
(Kind of hard to photograph because it's quite reflective, and also, our hanging lights sort of get in the way.)
The next morning we were ready to go riding again. Our original plan was to take the gondola to San Sophia station and ride down the Prospect trail to Mountain Village for lunch, but alas, due to all the snow Prospect was still closed. We were given the suggestion of another "trail," but it was basically a ski area road which sounded far less interesting - especially since this year Telluride has instituted a charge for riding on the ski area. Instead we looked at our maps and saw that we could make a loop by doing the first part of the Galloping Goose trail to just past Ilium, then going in the opposite direction - north rather than south - and circling back to Telluride on a network of roads and trails.
We had already taken the gondola to Mountain Village to buy passes, since they were having technical difficulties on the Telluride end; instead, we rode to the grocery store and bought some sandwiches and things for lunch, then took the Jurassic and Meadow trails to the Galloping Goose. The Coal Chute trail was easy at first, along the old railroad grade, but we stopped for lunch at the place where the railroad crossed the river on a now-vanished bridge, and after that the trail was a bit more challenging as it wandered up and down the hillside. But in general this first part of the ride was downhill along the San Miguel river, which we eventually crossed. We continued downriver on a fairly flat singletrack along its bank, and when that ended we rode along the state highway for a short distance to get to road 63G, at the lowest point of our ride. We turned onto this lightly-traveled dirt road, which winds up a narrow canyon, and began the process of regaining all the elevation we'd lost - about 1500' from our high point in Mountain Village!
After two miles (and about 800') 63G ended into the charmingly-named "Last Dollar Road." Our route to this point followed the beginning of the Telluride-to-Moab mtb route, which Britt did a few years ago. (I was supposed to go, but alas stress fracture.) The route to Moab turns left on Last Dollar, but we turned right to head back to town. The road kept climbing, but as we were now out of the canyon and on the mountain's shoulder we had great views to distract us.
The first picture is looking south and east, and if you go to the original photo on Flickr and zoom, you can see the rocky pillar that is Lizard Head on the right side of the left massif of the mountains behind Britt's head. Also, that deep valley on the right is what we climbed out from. The second, taken from a few curves up the road, is the view north and west. After a bit over a mile (and another 400') on this road we turned off onto the Deep Creek trail and gained a bit more elevation, switchbacking up to Penelope's Trail, which continued to climb to our high point of 9520' - higher than Telluride, but actually just about the same as our starting point in Mountain Village.
We crossed above and behind the small Telluride airport, then followed Penelope's gentle curves down to a fancy subdivision where we had planned to check our maps to figure out the best route back to town. But our surprise and delight, when we hit the road we saw another trailhead directly across from us, the Aldasoro trail (which was not on our bike maps - it was built in 2016), and when that trail ended I spotted an even newer trail, the Remine Trail (opened just last October), and that took us back to the Meadow trails to town. It was a great ride, not quite 25 miles, and really scenic and fun. (If this all sounds terribly complicated, here's the Strava track and map.)
The next day it was time to head back to Durango. We packed up our things, but since we couldn't pick up our new painting until the gallery opened at 10 we had a little time after breakfast. What to do? Why, drive up to the base of Bridal Veil Falls, which like all the waterfalls in this part of the state is really thundering with the snowmelt.
On the way to Telluride we passed Memorial Rock, our first time on this road since it fell in May. The huge scar on the hillside where the rocks came down is as impressive as the rock itself! We also noticed how much snow still remained in the mountains - what a change from last year. We got to the cabin, which was basically a tiny house in the backyard of another house, put our things inside, and then walked the few blocks to the main street to have some dinner.
The next morning we had coffee and blueberry pancakes, packed a lunch and snacks, and hopped on the bikes. On our visit last summer we rode the first half of the Galloping Goose trail, which mostly follows an old railroad grade. This trip we were determined to ride all the way to Lizard Head Pass! But that would be easier said than done; shortly after the climb out of Ilium, about 10 miles into our ride, we had a moderately intimidating creek crossing. It turned out to be only the first of many. Last year, of course, a month later and after a terrible snow year, the creeks were only trickles.
On the other hand, the wildflowers were just busting out all over, lupine and flax shimmering blue across the green grasses. Shortly past the point where we'd turned around last year, we stopped for lunch on a hillside meadow. But wait! Why was it snowing on the fourth of July?!
Not snow, but fluffy seedpods spread on the wind from (we assumed) the aspen forest all around us. At first it seemed rather charming, though we had to keep brushing the fluff from our sandwiches. But after lunch, as we continued on the trail, which passed under the highway and up singletrack through the forest on the other side, the fluff got thicker and thicker, and let me tell you, when you're riding a mountain bike on an uphill trail you need to breathe hard through your mouth, and aspen fluff is not pleasant to breathe in! I was coughing constantly all the way. This stuff was thick.
But we persevered, and eventually broke out of the aspen and onto a little-traveled dirt road, which eventually took us around Trout Lake and by this very pretty old trestle bridge, part of the original railroad:
And then...we made it to the pass! We got a motorcyclist who was stopped there to take our photo as proof:
When we hit the highway underpass on the way down, we left the trail and crossed over to the Ames-Ilium road, a dirt road that more or less parallels the Galloping Goose trail, so as to avoid all the creek crossings on the trail. We got back on the trail at Ilium and rode back to our cabin, making it a round trip of about 43 miles and 3200' vertical. (Strava track) Needless to say, we ate heartily at dinner. And then we went back to the cabin and sat outside on the tiny deck, and while we waited for it to get sufficiently dark for fireworks, a small black bear wandered across the yard! I mean, we see bears in Durango, too, but it is always cool to see bears (unless they are in the process of getting into things they shouldn't be getting into, as apparently this or another bear did a few days later, destroying the car of friends who were also in Telluride). And then:
The next morning we had breakfast with a friend of Britt's who lives in Telluride, and when we mentioned we were planning to hike to the well-known and very popular Bear Creek Falls, suggested we also check out the lesser-known Cornet falls. So after eating we went back to the cabin and changed into hiking clothes, then headed across town for the trailhead. Indeed it was an extremely popular trail, with a constant stream of people (and dogs - Telluride has a lot of dogs, and apparently no leash laws) going both up and down. The trail is wide, actually an old jeep road for the first ~2 miles(4/5 of the way) and the grade is steep but steady, so the crowds were not a problem. And the falls turned out to be a worthy destination, especially since the epic snowfall this past winter has led to epic snowmelt this spring and summer, and all the waterfalls are roaring.
On the way back we deviated a bit from the main trail and hiked up the beginning of the Wasatch trail. This trail ultimately connects with the trail we hiked last year above Bridal Veil Falls, but we wanted to only go far enough to get above the rocky rim that forms Bear Creek Falls so we could look down on it. We found a nice viewpoint which doubled as a snack-and-snooze-spot:
Then it was back to the cabin for lunch, after which we headed for Cornet Falls, which is on the opposite side of the San Miguel valley though again only a short walk to the trailhead from the cabin. This trail was narrower, rockier, and steeper than that to the Bear Creek Falls, but also much shorter, and there were far fewer people. The waterfall itself was also narrower, but it was quite dramatic, spurting out over an undercut rock to make a tall, freestanding cascade that we could hike behind for an interesting view of the ski area:
After that we hiked back down to the turnoff for the Jud Weibe trail which climbs above town on the north side and gave us some nice views. There were quite a few mountain bikers coming down this trail as it makes a loop with the Mill Creek trail, but it was steep and rocky and I would not want to go either up or down on a bike! We returned the way we came and headed back to the cabin, where we showered and dressed in town clothes. This was the night of Telluride's monthly Art Walk, and as we always enjoy the similar events Durango holds several times a year, we thought we'd walk around and look at cool stuff.
And, uh, oops I tripped and bought a painting?
I'd looked through the website and noticed the work of Joseph Toney, July's featured artist at the Slate Gray gallery, and when we stopped in to see it, both Britt and I really liked his works. There is something about paintings of real objects which are still recognizable in an abstract style that really appeals to me, plus mountains yay, plus the muted taupes and grayscale color scheme fits with our house aesthetic. And when we asked ourselves if we'd be disappointed if we walked out, came back later, and someone else had bought it...we were sold. We were a bit giddy about it all weekend! Here it is in its new home:
(Kind of hard to photograph because it's quite reflective, and also, our hanging lights sort of get in the way.)
The next morning we were ready to go riding again. Our original plan was to take the gondola to San Sophia station and ride down the Prospect trail to Mountain Village for lunch, but alas, due to all the snow Prospect was still closed. We were given the suggestion of another "trail," but it was basically a ski area road which sounded far less interesting - especially since this year Telluride has instituted a charge for riding on the ski area. Instead we looked at our maps and saw that we could make a loop by doing the first part of the Galloping Goose trail to just past Ilium, then going in the opposite direction - north rather than south - and circling back to Telluride on a network of roads and trails.
We had already taken the gondola to Mountain Village to buy passes, since they were having technical difficulties on the Telluride end; instead, we rode to the grocery store and bought some sandwiches and things for lunch, then took the Jurassic and Meadow trails to the Galloping Goose. The Coal Chute trail was easy at first, along the old railroad grade, but we stopped for lunch at the place where the railroad crossed the river on a now-vanished bridge, and after that the trail was a bit more challenging as it wandered up and down the hillside. But in general this first part of the ride was downhill along the San Miguel river, which we eventually crossed. We continued downriver on a fairly flat singletrack along its bank, and when that ended we rode along the state highway for a short distance to get to road 63G, at the lowest point of our ride. We turned onto this lightly-traveled dirt road, which winds up a narrow canyon, and began the process of regaining all the elevation we'd lost - about 1500' from our high point in Mountain Village!
After two miles (and about 800') 63G ended into the charmingly-named "Last Dollar Road." Our route to this point followed the beginning of the Telluride-to-Moab mtb route, which Britt did a few years ago. (I was supposed to go, but alas stress fracture.) The route to Moab turns left on Last Dollar, but we turned right to head back to town. The road kept climbing, but as we were now out of the canyon and on the mountain's shoulder we had great views to distract us.
The first picture is looking south and east, and if you go to the original photo on Flickr and zoom, you can see the rocky pillar that is Lizard Head on the right side of the left massif of the mountains behind Britt's head. Also, that deep valley on the right is what we climbed out from. The second, taken from a few curves up the road, is the view north and west. After a bit over a mile (and another 400') on this road we turned off onto the Deep Creek trail and gained a bit more elevation, switchbacking up to Penelope's Trail, which continued to climb to our high point of 9520' - higher than Telluride, but actually just about the same as our starting point in Mountain Village.
We crossed above and behind the small Telluride airport, then followed Penelope's gentle curves down to a fancy subdivision where we had planned to check our maps to figure out the best route back to town. But our surprise and delight, when we hit the road we saw another trailhead directly across from us, the Aldasoro trail (which was not on our bike maps - it was built in 2016), and when that trail ended I spotted an even newer trail, the Remine Trail (opened just last October), and that took us back to the Meadow trails to town. It was a great ride, not quite 25 miles, and really scenic and fun. (If this all sounds terribly complicated, here's the Strava track and map.)
The next day it was time to head back to Durango. We packed up our things, but since we couldn't pick up our new painting until the gallery opened at 10 we had a little time after breakfast. What to do? Why, drive up to the base of Bridal Veil Falls, which like all the waterfalls in this part of the state is really thundering with the snowmelt.