Gunnison to Coaldale over the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass (11,313 feet).
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| Dave wearing his GVSU jersey on Monarch Pass |
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| Zoom in on this picture to see the ice on Dave's rain fly. |
Wow. What a climb. The seven miles up the mountain took about 3 hours. The euphoria at the top was unbelievable. The long ride down took about 1/2 hour. Lunch was in Salida, then on to Coaldale. Nice camp ground there beside the mighty rushing Arkansas River. Pete and Dave wanted to get a jump on the next day (again) and rode another 10 miles toward Pueblo. So Phil went to get them a brought them back to Coaldale. Spaghetti for supper. Bugs for dessert.
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| Arkansas River |
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| Camp Site on Arkansas River at Coaldale CO. |
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| Camp Site on Arkansas River at Coaldale CO. |
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6/27/11. ICE. Dave had ice on his tent in the morning. Packing up was finger numbing. Dave rode for the first 15 miles. The were forest fires in the area. The smoke in the air hung over the mountains and made the view hazy. Phil took over from Westcliffe to Pueblo. 56 miles. There was one long climb, then a seven mile downhill with strong cross/head winds. We had to hang on and slow down to keep from getting blown over. We saw another climate contrast. This part of CO is really dry, and the ride was hot. 31 degrees in the AM, 90 degrees in the PM. Yet air at times seemed cool. AT Pueblo the plan was to load the bikes on the car and then drive to Colorado Springs. We did.
Phil
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