Colorado Cruiser: 2019 Sept Mountain Man

2019 Sept Mountain Man - Day 2

The top of Taylor Pass

It was a very cold night. I first woke up at 2:30 and checked the temperature. The first time I checked it was 31 degrees, but by 4:30 it was 25 degrees.

I was still very warm in my big heavy sleeping bag. With my CPAP, I could crawl all the way down into the bag and still breath well. I could even pull the extra air tube down into the bag and pre-heat the air just a bit. It was nice and cozy.

I actually love that feeling of being in a very warm sleeping bag with super crisp cold air outside. It makes for great sleeping.

Finally by 5:15 I couldn't sleep anymore. If I keep trying to sleep when my body is awake, I will get a real bad headache and I was starting to get one by the time I got up.

I reached out of bed and turned the heater from pilot to high. The heater lit up with wonderful warmth that quickly took the chill off.

So I sat up and pushed myself up and out of bed, but by the time I was up, I had a horrible cramp in my leg. I don't know if I was dehydrated, but it didn't feel like a normal cramp. I hopped, squatted, stretched, and finally managed to get the cramp to ease. Then I grabbed my pants and started to pull them on and got the exact same cramp in the other leg. Another 10 minutes of massaging and stretching finally got that leg better, but now I was scared to finish getting dressed.

I finally decided to do about 10 minutes of stretching and exercises to get my muscles warmed up and drink some water. Once I was done with that I dressed without any issues. I decided I was going to roll out of bed rather than just sit up and try to stand right up. Rolling out let me press myself up with my arms instead . I did exercises the next 2 mornings and didn't get anymore cramps, but I could feel them right on the edge as I'd start to warm up.

Once I was up, I drove my car 1/4 mile up the road to the National Forest Latrine that we were using. It was a nice brick structure with the tall chimney that helps remove the odor. It was allot better than the pit latrines we usually use on these campouts.

Back at camp I loaded my solo stove with wood and lit it to get some heat going. It takes about 15 minutes for the stove to start gassifying, but eventually it was putting off a nice warmth. I tried sitting by it to write the day 1 blog, but the fire was heating up the laptop too bad, so I eventually put the laptop away and just stood with everyone else warming my hands.

DaveW made a fancy egg and sausage breakfast in a dutch oven. I don't remember the name, but it was very good.

After breakfast I flew the drone for a bit. I got a few good shots, then it was time to get ready for a long ride.

I packed up all my camera gear, my drone, water, fruit, and some sodas. Then put on every piece of warm clothes that I have because I always start the first ride thinking "It isn't too cold, I should be fine with what I'm wearing". Then we get out on the trail with the constant 25mph wind hitting you and I freeze. NOT THIS TIME!!!

DaveB says it like herding cats trying to get everyone ready. There are constant shouts of "Oops, I forgot something" as people hop in and out of their vehicles to grab last minute things. Eventually we were all ready and started back out to the main highway.

I was riding in DaveW's Can Am side by side again. DaveW usually drives at the back of the pack and falls way back to avoid all the dust. We cruised down the road and I was wonderfully warm. We went 14 miles before we stopped at the local ranger cabin. It was run by a man and his wife and they were out front talking to the rest of the group by the time we pulled up.

They gave us a tour around the one room cabin. There was no running water, no TV, no cell or internet, and no power. They stay from the late spring to the early fall and were planning to be gone before the first deer hunters arrive. But it's been a warm year and they might stay just a bit longer.

It was a very nice cabin, but I don't think Nan would enjoy it.

We got back on the trail but pulled off after only a couple miles to look at some of our old campsites. My first mountain man campsite was right beside a stream with a beautiful view up a canyon.

We left the campsites and crossed the main road onto the trail we would be running today, Taylor Pass. If we followed this road to it's end, we'd be in Aspen, but we weren't planning to ride the whole way, just part.

The trail started with large rocks spread out across the road. DaveW was able to drive around most of the big rocks, then the trail became nothing but big rough rocks from edge to edge on the road. We bounced from one rock to the next with me trying to hold my camera up and get some video footage. Despite how rough the road was, the camera seemed to smooth it out. The gimbals on the Osmo Pocket are very impressive.

After a quarter mile we climbed up into an aspen forest. The leaves had turned yellow and begun to fall, so we were bounding our way up through a yellow tunnel. I really hope I got some good pictures and video through there or I'm going to be sad.

I was under the false assumption that we were in the worst part of the trail, but then came the actual boulders. They were stuck on the side of the trail, or in some cases, right in the middle of the trail and you had to climb up over or figure some way around them.

DaveW never hesitated, he'd pick a route and up we'd go. Sometimes with a bone jarring THUMP in the middle as the frame would slam down on the rock, but Dave wouldn't stop, he'd keep the revs up and continue climbing. He said that if you stop and loose your momentum you'll get high centered or even roll. Boy was he right.

The quads and 4 seater ahead of us kept climbing as well. The quads seemed to be able to fit between most things, but they have such a short wheel base I kept thinking someone was going to roll backward, but they never did.

After 40 minutes of this we came to a stream bed and crossed it back and forth a couple times, then the road turned and went straight up the stream bed.

The water had washed away all the dirt, sand, and even small rocks, so that all we had to drive on was double fist sized rocks or bigger. In some ways it was smoother, but it was continuous with no breaks.

We followed the others for a good distance until everyone stopped. DaveB was up ahead and set up to get videos as we drove up a fairly straight part of the stream. We waited our turn, then I turned on my camera and got a video of DaveB getting a video of us. Of course DaveW had to speed up to show of his driving prowess and to try to splash DaveB.

After the stream was a very steep section of trail with big boulders all over it. Thad was driving his 4 seater ahead of us with 3 people on board. He was struggling to get up the steep section and over some big rocks. There was smoke was pouring out the back of his UTV. Finally Chris and Geoff climbed out to lighten the load and Thad got up through the rough section.

DaveW just bulled his way right up and through all of the rocks. He's driven enough that the paths seem obvious to him, but he seldom takes the path that seems natural to me.

Once we got to the top of the tough section, we stopped for a few minutes to let Thad's UTV cool off.

After the break, the ATCs and motorcycle took off up the trail, then Thad headed up after them. We hadn't gone very far before Thad stopped again, saying that his Check Engine light had turned on.

We started shooting ideas around, maybe it was still hot, maybe the fuel was boiling and getting vapor lock, etc.

Chris read the manual and found that the Check Engine light meant there was an EFI problem. That kind of supported the boiling fuel idea but we found no evidence of that. I suggested disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes to let the computer reset. They tried several things including the battery but nothing changed.

Eventually Thad decided to turn around and head back down the trail. I was a big surprised when no one was going to follow them down. But they seemed OK with it. So DaveW backed out of the way and Thad turned around, then loaded up and headed down the hill.

We didn't even wait for them to get started before we were headed up toward the pass. For the whole rest of the drive I kept wondering if we'd come back to find them right where they turned around.

We weren't far from the top of the pass when they turned around, probably less than a mile, and it wasn't very rough either. We cruised around a few small ponds, then climbed up to the parking lot right at the top.

We all stopped at the top and I pulled out the drone to get a few videos and photos. Trying to get good drone footage is harder than you'd think. I took several quickshots that didn't really show anything other than all the dirt in the parking lot. But I did finally get a good dronie that started close on use, then pulled back to reveal all the mountains and valleys behind us.

Also in the parking lot with us was a plain looking jeep cherokee. It looked completely unmodified, so how it got up there we didn't know. Certainly not the way we had come, but maybe some of the other roads leading to the top were much smoother.

In my pictures and videos from the top, you'll see a motorcycle with us, but you almost never see the motorcycle in my trail videos. That's because Ben and his motorcycle can travel 2 or 3 times as fast as the rest of us. Where we have to pick our way and crawl over things, Ben just zips between things. He said the big things don't bother him at all because they stay still. It's the small loose rocks that he hates. But that's why there's so little footage of Ben, he's usually miles ahead of us.

After the photo session, we continued on the road toward Aspen. The road was much smoother than the West side, but it was still pretty rough. After another hour and a half of driving, DaveW turned off the main highway and led us to the top of a large hill. We had a great view of the area around us, and even a view of part of Aspen from the very edge.

We ate our snacks and chatted for a while and just admired the views. The wind was blowing when we arrived, but it picked up even more as we stayed. The temperature also started dropping so we decided it was time to go. We had come about 39 miles in 6 hours, but DaveW thought we could make it back in 3 hours without all the stopping.

Ben on the motorcycle was out of sight in just minutes, but DaveB and his brother Jayson on their quads were also really fast and soon left us half a mile behind.

I don't mind DaveW going a bit slower. It's nice to have my kidneys and liver in one piece.

We came back over the pass and started down the back side when we came across Jayson standing beside his quad that was laying on it's side. We asked if Jayson was OK and he said yes.

The road here had cut down into the hill a bit so there was 2 foot raised walls on the sides. He had come through the road fairly fast. A rock in the road had hit one tire which caused the handlebars to jerk hard to the left, and before he could wrench it back straight, it had climbed the side wall and rolled over.

Jayson's quad doesn't have power steering, and after the long day we had, he just wasn't as strong, so the quad rolled.

There was no way we were just going to pick the quad up because it was right next to the side wall. So DaveW drove is UTV up the wall and onto the hillside, then worked his way over until it was above the quad. We rolled out his winch cable, attached it to the quad, then he winded in and pulled the quad back upright.

About this time, DaveB finally came back. He'd stopped to wait for us and when no one showed up, he came looking.

We picked up the various pieces that had broken off and Jayson tried to start the quad. It took a while, but eventually it started.

Jayson's right thumb was hurting him, and he was sure something was wrong but he wasn't sure. His brother Thad is a doctor, so we wanted to get down to camp so Thad could check him out.

The other problem is that the right thumb is what you operate the throttle on the quad, so Jayson really couldn't ride his quad down. There was NO way I could do it on these nasty roads, so we decided that DaveW would ride the quad down, and I'd drive the Can Am down with Jayson as a passenger.

I started us down the road following DaveB's lead. He'd point which direction he thought I should go, and Jayson would point which way he thought I should go. They seldom matched. I'm sure DaveW was behind us screaming directions too, but thankfully I couldn't hear him. Of course, knowing DaveW, he was probably just saying "GO FOR IT!!, MORE POWER!!"

We went a couple miles until we came to a massive drop that I felt very uncomfortable driving down, so I stopped and signaled DaveW to come drive it down. He did, then he mentioned that the quad was nearly out of gas. Laying on it's side, allot of the gas had leaked out, so we had a limited range left.

We were talking about how slow I was driving and that maybe Jayson driving could go faster. I wasn't too upset to relinquish the driving duties to Jayson and we started down the road at a much faster pace.

We got to another steep section, but Jayson kept going until he got jammed between a couple rocks on a very steep angle. He hit the brakes and the Can Am slowly rolled over on its right side, my side, right onto the big rock we'd been trying to avoid.

I was smart enough to keep my hands inside, but my shoulder thumped the rock pretty hard.

I had to help push on Jayson and unbuckle his seat belt, then he climbed up and out his side of the UTV. I got myself unbuckled, then just kind of squeezed my way out the front windshield.

The 4 of us all got on the side of the UTV and lifted it right back up onto its wheels. It had slid forward and down enough to stand upright, then DaveW got in and drove it about 100 yards down the road and out of the roughest section.

It was about this time I asked if anyone had taken any pictures. None. I was so mad at myself, the least you can do, once everyone is safe, is get pictures to tell the story.

As we got back in the Can Am, I felt around for all my gear and suddenly realized that I didn't have my phone. It must have fallen out of my pocket when we rolled. I got out and looked but could not find it. Everyone else helped but after 5 minutes we just couldn't see it so we got back in and took off.

We kept going down the road with Jayson driving (we still needed to go faster than I could drive). We got down and started up the highway toward camp. It was 14 miles to the Texas Creek turnoff, then another 5 miles in to camp.

We made it about 10 miles before DaveW pulled off to the right and shook his head. The Quad was out of gas. I offered to stay with the quad while DaveW drove his Can Am with Jayson in the passenger seat. Jayson really needed to get to Thad to have his thumb looked at.

Speaking of Thad, we didn't find them anywhere on the trail, so they must have made it down the trail without a problem.

I grabbed a coat, a soda, and some food. I waved as they drove away.

I played with my DJI Osmo Pocket camera for a while, trying all the various settings, then thought I'd setup a timelaps, but I can't because my phone is gone.

I walked over to the lake, took some photos, then thought I'd listen to an audio book for a bit, but I can't because my phone is gone.

I went back to the bike and was checking it over for broken parts when I noticed the key was still turned on. OH NO!! I recently left my motorcycle key on for 40 minutes and it left me with a dead battery. I didn't want a repeat of that experience so I quickly turned the key off and hoped I'd caught it in time. Then I thought I'd play a bit of solitaire, but I can't because my phone is gone.

I was starting to feel nature calling. There was an outhouse about a quarter mile down the road. I pulled the key out of the quad and set off for a nature call. Inside it was a bit dark, I thought I'd turn on flashlight mode, but I can't because my phone is gone. Instead I gingerly felt my way around and got everything done ok and walked back to the quad.

A couple of cars came past but they didn't even slow down or ask if I was OK. I guess they figured that if I needed help, I would have waved them down.

Finally DaveW came racing back down the road. I'd tell you how long I was there, but I can't because my phone is gone.

DaveW gassed up the quad, then said he'd ride that and I could drive the Can Am. He reached inside to get his hat and said "Oh, here's your phone". The phone was on the driver's side. It must have fallen out when I was driving and not during the accident. DaveW thinks I was waiting about 1 hour. He said he just drove to camp, got out and grabbed a gas can, then drove right back.

We started driving back to. About 2 miles down the Texas Creek Trail we spotted a spare tire laying in the middle of the road. It was brand new and it hadn't been there when Dave drove out to get me. We set it prominently on the side of the road so whoever lost it would easily see it, then continued driving.

Back at camp, I unloaded my gear, then sat by the fire relaxing while Chris and DaveB made dinner. I should have worked on the blog, but I was too tired. That was a very long day.

We had massive steaks, loaded mashed potatoes, and grown up mac and cheese for dinner. It was very good.

While we ate, Thad caught us up on what had happened with his Razr. They had descended the trail without any problems, except the engine light stayed on and there wasn't much power to climb over rocks. If they came to something too big, Chris and Geoff would climb out while Thad drove over it.

Somewhere along the way the Razr finally stopped running. A group of guys stopped to check on them, and one of them happened to be a mechanic. He explained that the drive belt was shredded which let the engine over-rev and that was what had caused the EFI light to turn on.

Chris and Geoff walked back to camp and got Thad's truck and trailer. Chris drove back and they winched the Razr onto the trailer, then drove back up over Cottonwood Pass to Buena Vista and had the belt replaced, then drove back to camp. They had arrived just before DaveW and I got back, which meant that the lost spare tire we found was actually Thad's.

Thad just hung his head in frustration at yet another thing going wrong. But that didn't last long. No one was seriously injured, or not anymore. Thad had popped Jayson's thumb back into place, it had been displaced during his rollover.

After dinner I sat around the fire for an hour talking, but decided to go to sleep before 9:00 because I have to cook breakfast in the morning.

Panorama looking East from Camp