On our second day in Crested Butte, perhaps based on some silly hypothesis that my rate of acclimation to high elevation would increase if we gave it a boost, Chris and I rode the Strand Hill Trail. As Diddiwah described, the girls and kids went for a walk on the Canal Trail, which was partially shared with the Strand Hill Loop, while Chis and I took Amos and Utah and rode the loop.
It took a little exploring to find a path across what must have been the Canal, which I think was Brush Creek, a small tributary of East Creek. We crossed the creek on a small concrete structure and ascended a steep slope to connect with the Canal Trail. We used this approach to avoid a reputed knee-deep crossing of the creek near the trail head a half mile downstream. However, the grass was very wet and the trail muddy; wet feet were unavoidable on this morning.
Strand Hill is a little bump (10,241 ft) that is straight east of Mt Crested Butte (12,162 ft), with the East Creek Valley cutting between the peaks at about 9,000 ft. Once on the Canal Trail we climbed about 500 ft in a little over a mile to reach the Strand Bonus Trail. The Bonus, I suppose, was that once we reached it the trail ran parallel to the slope for nearly two miles on a nice winding and rolling single track. The trail was wet and narrow and I was breathing hard to keep up with Chris, despite the fact that we were both running in our lower gears on our little chainrings. The trail dipped in and out of many little muddy and rocky gullies; Chris cleared them all, but I struggled to get through many of them without getting hung up on the rocks.
The Bonus Trail took us to a two-track trail that ran right up to the top (nearly) of Strand Hill -- 1000 ft up in less than two miles. With few switchbacks, it was steep, wet, and rocky. Once again I struggled to keep up with Chris. My instant acclimation hypothesis just wasn't holding up. At such a slow forward speed, maintaining momentum and traction over wet rocks is a challenge. After a short break at the top, we hit the downhill.
On the Strand Hill Trail we lost those last thousand feet in no time - well, just minutes. It was slick and wet and thrilling, but I was being cautious for self-preservation. Chris paused to wait for me to catch up periodically, not that I was exactly going slow, but I'm sure I was keeping my speed under 20 mph. There were a few fun drop-offs on this trail, but one stands out in my mind: I'm already heading down at a crazy steep angle on a narrow, rock-lined trail, when a very large rock appears mostly buried in the trail in front of me. Beyond the rock is nothing; the trail drops a foot or more on the other side of the rock into a narrow and crooked chasm between large unquestionably hazardous rocks. Hoping for the best, I hit my brakes hard to burn off speed and then let the bike roll free. I slide my rear end back, maybe even behind my saddle, as the front wheel drops over the ledge. 'Squoosh', says my Fox fork. The bike is only frighteningly nose-down for a split second, the suspension fork soaking the impact and letting me keep rolling, until the rear wheel falls over the edge and I've survived the drop and quickly navigated the chasm. If I'd failed to get my weight back, or if I'd lost momentum when the front wheel dropped, what pain awaited the end of my somersault into the chasm? A broken finger, perhaps? Or worse?
A short blast down more smooth single track and we'd reached the junction with the Canal Trail. Our timing was perfect: there at the intersection was the rest of our group. They were wet and happy.
After a quick lunch back at the cabin, we headed our for our second ride of the day, with clouds threatening rain. Leaving the dogs resting in their crates, we pedaled up the Crested Butte Bike Path from the town of Crested Butte to ski area at Mt. Crested Butte. The path is very nice, mostly asphalt, some boardwalk, winding through the valley and climbing just a few hundred feet into Mt. Crested Butte.
Quinn found the climb to be a challenge, even with his ultra-low gearing. I gave him a helping hand in a few places. We simply held hands and pedaled as hard as we could (another acclimation booster for me). Look closely and you'll see a tired boy.
After a break and a snack, and a little rain, we hit the downhill singletrack of the Upper Loop Trail. It was really fun. Everyone was happy again. Below is the big rock mentioned in the Diddawah post. When Quinn and I reached the rock, everyone was sitting on it. I didn't realize it was ridable. Chris pointed out that the trail went across it and suggested I give it a shot. At first I just laughed, but then I couldn't let it go. I thought the approach was quite steep and would require some momentum along with a significant wheelie to get on the rock. Then the descent would be steep, but easy enough as long I kept everything straight on the ascent. I pedaled a little way back up the trail, turned around and gave it shot. I approached quickly to make use of momentum. An 18 inch wheelie, a squoosh, and the ascent was a success, but I drifted right a little further than planned. Cindy got the picture below while I was redirecting to the left. No worries. I straightened out and the descent was fast and easy. Additional points for style would have been awarded had I pulled a wheelie and ridden the descent on the rear wheel in perfect horizontal posture. I did not. I kept both wheels on the rock and let my Fox shock suck up the impact at the bottom. Another squoosh. That's what it's for.
After the rock, we took Tony's Trail back towards Crested Butte. Tony's Trail was just pure fun. Smooth fast single track with wide open switchbacks dropping us another 250 ft to a gravel road. Everyone was smiling after that! Look closely and you can see the whole group (except me) in the photo below, with Mt. Crested Butte in the background.
Sea level? I thought you guys were more like lake level?
ReplyDeleteLake level is around 577 ft above sea level. Our house is about 840ft above sea level.
ReplyDeleteAll else being equal, our elevation in Okemos gives us an air density about 4% less than that of someone at sea level. For the Diddiwah, in Grand Junction at 4500 ft asl, the air is about 15% less dense, and in Crested Butte at 9000 ft asl, it's about 30% less dense than air at sea level.
By the time we climbed up over 11,000 ft on some of the surrounding trails, we were dealing with a reduction in oxygen density of almost 50%. I think it was noticeable.
OK, that was fun.