Before the giant rain storm this past weekend, Derek and I rode our bikes on a loop up out of Mancos that went by the Jersey Jim Lookout and around towards Dolores before dropping back down to Transfer Campground. Jersey Jim Tower is an old Forest Service Fire Tower 55′ in the air with an …
Before the government shutdown, Derek and I hiked Spruce Canyon on a LOVELY day. It’s closed and you can’t hike it now, unfortunately. It’s not a terribly long hike but it gets down onto the canyon floor and never has more than a couple people on it. This time we didn’t see anyone. This weekend …
Sometimes trail names make sense and other times I think the creator just picked a name they liked. In this case, it was named appropriately. We mountain biked a fun loop in Dolores, Colorado that included a trail named Bear Tracks. You see where I’m going with this? I started seeing a ton of bear …
Seeking to escape the heat, we headed up a little higher above Mancos, CO to ride in the Chicken Creek area. It’s nice because there is a lot of shade from the big pines and aspens. Plus, the cool breeze coming off the La Plata Mtns helps when it’s a warm summer day. We have …
Wow, time is flying. We haven’t done a post in forever. Never fear, we’ve been busy riding and hiking and I’m even swimming at a local pool! There were a couple days in August where we got drifting smoke from a fire by Rico, Colorado and we had to play the AQI map game to …
When it heats up at lower levels, head up in elevation! This ride topped out at 10,500 and while it was a lot of climbing, the downhills were fast and deserved. The area around Southern Colorado has a lot of gravel roads leading to the high country. Some of the roads are good gravel and …
Derek and I did a short but rewarding hike in Mesa Verde National Park the other day. This loop takes you a short distance down into the canyon and then along the cliffs to see some petroglyphs. I highly recommend it if you’re in the park. This 3 mile hike is not a fast one …
Chicken Creek Trail is ranked moderate on most mapping apps but it has some pretty tough parts sprinkled in. Riding it as an out and back is challenging so we opted to ride it as a loop this time but piecing in a section of dirt road to get to the very top (8866′ elevation). …
The tiny town of Dolores, Colorado is a gem. The Dolores River runs through town and out into McPhee Reservoir, there is a fantastic brewery with a nice outdoor beer garden, and Boggy Draw trail network offers great mountain biking. This time, I was there to ride some gravel. Apparently there used to be a …
This hike is the highest we’ve hiked this year. Our turnaround point was 11,945′ at Sharkstooth Pass in Mancos, Co. Phew! Just getting to this hike is an adventure. On a ride last week I mountain biked up to the trailhead on a different trail, this time we drove up. It’s a pretty good gravel …