Colorado Bike Adventure: Halfway In Cottonwood Canyon - April 17, 2006
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Yesterday on Easter morning, I biked from Buena Vista to the Denny Creek Trailhead (where the Cottonwood Pass closing gate is located), and today I thought I would start at the Denny Creek Trailhead and see how far up I could get. My legs felt strong, but the question was whether the road would be clear of snow. (Adjacent photo: 14er Mt. Yale) |
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About one mile past the gate, Jones Mountain has an imposing presence in the background. Wow! |
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There were still huge chunks and patches of snow on the side of the road at this point, but sadly, only about 1.5 miles uphill from the gate, a long stretch of the road was covered in slush and snow. I thought about walking through it to see if the road was clear on the next bend (and it very well could have been), but I decided to bicycle back down and peddle around near the Denny Creek Trail parking area. |
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On the way back, I set the timer and got a shot of myself, a large snow drift and Mt. Yale. I think this is one of those Colorado photos that I should probably send to my family. ;) |
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Now check this out! Take a closer look of this snow figure by clicking on the adjacent photo. Doesn't it sort of look like a martian looking to the left? :p) |
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The one mile stretch uphill from the Cottonwood Pass Road gate is a 10% grade. It was grueling peddling up it, but man, was it glorious to ride down it! :) |
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One shot of the canyon. At the mouth of the canyon is Buena Vista. |
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I actually sat, relaxed and took in the amazing scenery on a few rocks at Denny Creek. I really look forward to returning and photographing this creek where there is a little more color. |
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May God bless the snowmobilers! Ah, but the warm weather will not be denied! ;) Usually this area is teeming
with snowmobile enthusiasts, but today, there was only one snowmobile sitting next to a trailer of a well-known snowmobiling adventure tour company based in Buena Vista. |
