Day 28: The Colorado We’ve Been Waiting For
Del Norte, CO to Horca, CO
73.29 miles, 6906 ft climbed, 1845.6 cumulative miles
Yesterday’s half day proved to be a good plan. Sarah’s legs had been begging for some recovery time. Everyone warned us to be off Indiana Pass (the next climb out of Del Norte) by early afternoon due to the exposure at the summit and frequent thunderstorms. So rolling into Del Norte at noon meant taking the afternoon off was a good option for multiple reasons and it helped us out today!
We were on the road up to Indiana Pass by 7:30am. Indiana Pass is the highest point on the Great Divide route - a 21 mile climb from Del Norte to the summit at 11,913 feet. This would be followed by a short descent then another climb up to Shinzel Flats in the mid 11,000s followed by another descent and a climb over Stunner Pass at 10,541 feet. We had a big day ahead of us.
The first half of the climb toward Indiana was paved and gentle. But s*** got real when we hit gravel and the first 7 miles or so were between 6 and 10% grade. Ouch! It leveled out slightly after that but not by too much so we were overjoyed to reach the summit, just in time for storm clouds to form and two sets of rain showers to be visible in the distance. We made a quick stop for snacks and photos and got the heck out of there! Oh and Sarah saw a coyote trotting in the road just before the summit!
On the descent down the other side, we saw all the mining operations we’d heard about, as well as the Superfund site. We kept moving.
We descended further and then climbed back up to Shinzel Flats — a gorgeous wide open high alpine rolling hill terrain decked with wildflowers and distant snow caps. It was so beautiful. We rolled through this scenery up and down for about 5 miles. We even got to see a shepherd on horseback with a border collie moving his herd of sheep and lambs down the road! Our grins were huge.
We rolled by Lookout Mountain which was bright red and orange due to its high iron content. It glowed like embers. All of the rivers in this area have high heavy metal content and high acidity. We didn’t filter any water today.
Around this time it started raining. We layered up with our rain gear and just got completely splattered with mud on every surface. This area needs rain badly so we try not to complain. The descent down the other side of Stunner Pass had us both shivering so when we hit the tiny village of Platoro, we stopped to warm up. Hot chocolate, tea, and a gas fireplace (that Sarah basically crawled inside of) were just the ticket. And by the time we were finished with our snacks, the sun was back out. We were so happy!
As a side note, it’s not lost on us that sun, wind, and water are all such double-edged swords - not just for bikepacking but for humans in general. When it’s 100 degrees and there’s no shade, we rejoice at cloud cover. But when we’re drenched and cold, the sun is worshipped. A cool breeze on a hot day is a godsend. But a headwind when you’re tired is a curse. Our days are structured and planned to ensure we always have access to enough water. But a wet tent or sleeping bag sucks. Just some deep thoughts on the irony of the human existence and our relationship with the elements….
After Platoro, we had a long gloriously beautiful ride through the Conejos River Valley in the Rio Grande National Forest. We hadn’t heard of this area before but were both smitten with its beauty. Popular with fly fishers, the river sparkles and meanders through a lush green valley flanked by mountains on either side. Truly gorgeous. We both said that this was the Colorado we’ve been waiting for. The route in Colorado up until today has been disappointing due to the large volume of highway miles (many with no shoulder so very unsettling) and frequency of larger busy cities (formerly sleepy ski towns when the route was originated). So the remoteness and natural beauty we had today made us both smile (even with mud in our teeth).
Published July 16, 2021