Gunnison to Jelm WY
The past few days have been sketchy with wi-fi...so here are my journal notes from the past few days...
I think today is Sunday…wait, let me check my moon-dial....yep, pretty sure Sunday. After the tooth fiasco Friday in Gunnison, the biggest thing I was worried about was eating (I like my food). It seemed counter intuitive that one could eat a meal only an hour after having a digit yanked out of your gums, but my dinner at the Twisted Fork on N.Main was outstanding. I’m a self-admitted food snob so my expectations were low, but the curry chicken noodle bowl did not disappoint! And surprisingly the empty hole where tooth #23 once resided did not bother me at all as I slopped back the noddles and a vodka martini
Saturday AM I was focused on getting back on the trail. I picked up the COBDR about 20 minutes east of Gunnison off hwy50. The first 1/2 hour was easy gravel road until the turn just past the Waunita hot springs…from there it was an unmaintained county road that went up and over a forested pass and eventually dropped you int the town of Pitkin which, like Ophir is just a small establishment of cabins, but they do have a general store where you can buy 87 octane. As I left Pitkin I started up Cumberland pass and was rewarded with an incredible view at the top. I snapped a few pics, then headed down to the base of the mountain before taking another dirt track that would eventually take me up and over to Buena Vista.
I briefly stopped in Buena Vista for a whiskey tasting before continuing on to what quickly became my favorite, then most hated part of the trail thus far. As you leave BV and just a few mile out of town you hit this sand track that reminds me a lot of the country southwest of Moab. The trail itself was a blast to drive and the contrast of the flowers, green grasses and rock formations was beautiful. As I plodded along I came upon this guy solo camping in his Tacoma. I stopped to chat a minute and it turns out he had left the grind of daily life 18 months ago and was living out of his truck and moved around CO and UT in search of the best hiking and fly fishing. Very cool
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So that was my favorite part. What came after that was a bit of a grind. The trail takes you up and over a couple of passes before dropping you onto Hwy 285 for a few miles…then you track west again into a heavily forested area with this boney road that seems to have no end of bowling ball sized rocks for what seems like forever. Just the kind of rocks that present no challenge, but you have to pay attention. Scenery?…there was none….just forest with lots of dead trees. Only fun part was the water crossings at the end….I was hoping I would see some lib making an attempt in his Subaru Forester, but I was skunked!
I finally made it to the main county road right around dinner time and made camp at a previously established site that came complete with a rock fire ring and lots of dry wood to scrounge. I made dinner, started a fire and eventually crashed out.
The next morning weather had moved in. It was cold, windy and showers were moving in. Since I was just a few miles off 285 and Fairplay (aka South Park) and I knew the weather would pass, I abandoned the normal morning routine quickly packed up and headed for town before I got pissed on.
I found the busiest breakfast spot in town which even for a single spot a the bar was like a 30 minute wait. I got my name on the list and went back to the truck to make my coffee (ya, coffee snob too). Breakfast was awesome, and with a full belly I decided I just had to have a couple of pics of “downtown” South Park (which oddly enough does resemble the cartoon version). With my South Park experience complete, it was time to move on.
I had decided the night before I wanted to hit WY today since I need to be in Canada later in the week, but I was determined to get back on COBDR and finish the trek to Leadville…so I pointed south back to my campsite so I could pick up the trail. The ride up and over Weston pass was easy, and once over the pass I discovered one of the nicest dispersed campsites I’ve ever seen. It was right on the creek, totally secluded from the road and was covered with trees and plenty of flat places to set up the RTT. If I had only driven another 2 hours last night I could have stayed here….DOH!! I snapped a photo with the Garmin so it would record the co-ordinates….I’ll be back to this place one day.
I hit the pavement, then eventually Leadville, stopped for supplies and headed northeast to WY. I had a feeling that after seeing what I had just seen in CO, WY may be a dissapointment…and so far I’m right. I came in through Medicine Bow NF and started taking FS spur roads in search of a place to camp. Most of the NF land as you enter the park is nothing more than thick, flat spruce brush that has been decimated by disease. There is no way I wanted to camp in that, so I kept going until I found New Jelm. I’m posted up a few feet from the Laramie River with a pit toilet up the hill and I own the place…no camp fees, no people. Life is good!
Tomorrow it’s off to SD, but not before I see wild Buffalo…a local told me there are a bunch about 20 miles south.
Cheers,
B
