He was wearing a COS kit and introduced himself as Mark, I later came to find out he was doing the tripple crown of the AZT, Great Divide, and CTR, gnarly. He said he camped at Razor Creek so I assume he was the person I almost camped near. I told him I was just doing a ITT, he told me we weren't far from Apples place. I told him hopefully I'd see him there, I really did hope that so I could have someone to ride with for a bit but knew given how long it took me to pack up this probably wouldn't happen.
I got packed up and left some cold weather gear on as I was a bit chilly, probably from being so hungry. I crossed the highway and immediately got to a small creek and knew I had to fill up. I wish I had found this last night. As I was riding knowing I was getting close to Apple's I kept eating to keep going as quick as I could hoping to catch Mark.
I came to a field with some cattle grazing in it near the trail, they all stared at me as I rode by. I had to wait for a minute and they cleared off the trail. I saw a steer off to the left of the trail and didn't think much of it. As I got around the corner it was at I saw a baby calf. I decided it would be safest to take a detour through the woods, you don't realize how scarey cows are until your by yourself in the middle of nowhere.
I passed through a cool gate at the top of the final hill I would climb in this segment. I saw a guy doing what looked like trail work which was very odd for how remote the area was. I startled him and he stood up and I saw he had a name tag that said Apple. I introduced myself and he told me he was pulling out his trail counter as he was about to head out for the season. He told me there was a rider at his setup and to head down to it. I got to his car just below and was confused then hiked up. He told me to keep going down the trail a half mile and I'd see it, and to take as much as I needed as I was going to be the last person through.
I got down to his camp and drank a Coke, a water, 2 Gatorades, ate 3 bags of chips, some crackers, filled my bag with crackers, and filled both my camelbak and water bottle with Gatorade. I was feeling so refreshed. I chatted with Apple for a bit and found out he was just a trail enthusiast from Ohio that came out for the peak season of the year to support all the trail users. I offered to help him pack the last of his stuff up but he said he could get it. I thanked him for everything he did for trail users, asked for our location so I knew where to go and he gave me the next few turns I would take.
I headed down the hill and started on what I knew would be a rough 55 mile dirt road ride.As I neared the Dome Reservoir Apple drove by and turned off the main road. The Dome Reservoir were pretty cool, I had considered camping here in planning my trip and regret now having gotten there or at least to Apple's the night before. I stopped at the reservoir still hungry and decided to cook while I had access to water to clean my dishes and wash my wet clothes from the day before as the would dry quickly on this dry hot road ride. I cooked the canned ravioli I bought in Breck finally knowing I could use all the fuel I could get for this detour.
I kept pedaling down the road watching for my turn onto the road I would spend the rest of the day on, "George Bush Drive" as it is called on Google Earth. I quickly realized this was a very appropriate name for this road when I rode past the first very nice ranch which was lined with Republican Candidate signs. There was a sign which said the mileage to the "Old Agency Ranch" and I was excited as I figured this would be a public place where I may be able to fill up my water. I kept pedaling down the road impressed by my pace, I was averaging something around 22 MPH, I knew this was crucial to do on the flat sections as there was much climbing the road that would be slow.
I got to the Old Agency Ranch and it was lined with signs saying it was private land and to stay on the road. The ranch wasn't as big as I was expecting. There was a family flying kites and playing outside of the main house which all looked recently redone and very posh. There was an intriguing little stone building I wanted to know more about. There wasn't much but the road for a bit with forest on either side and to the left there was some decent sized mountains and to the right some historic wagon roads that go towards Gunnison. I passed a lot more ranches some very old some new, crossed a very old bridge and filled my water up again.
A Mercedes SUV with Texas plates stopped next to me to make sure I was okay as I pushed up a steep loose hill. I told him I was fine but asked how far I was from 149 and he said I was about 15 miles from it. He said I had passed his ranch, if he saw me earlier I could have stayed in his guest house and said there was great camping right before the highway. There were an endless amount of great camping areas from here one with tons of picturesk lakes. I stopped at one to fill up my water as I knew I was close to the road and wasn't sure what the water would be like where I camped. A older couple CJ with Texas plates stopped to make sure I was okay, the woman was very concerned I was hurt as I was again pushing my bike up a steep loose hill. I said I was fine and again asked how far I was from the road, they said not far at all. In about 10 minutes I passed another great campground and considered camping here but I wanted to use all the daylight I had. At the end of the dirt road there was a lady sitting in her car with a dog, she was the first non Texan I'd seen since leaving Apple's, I was surprised when she asked me if I was in the race.
The ride on the highway to the trail head wasn't bad. There were several firepits/picnic tables to pick from and a brand new USFS restroom, I picked my favorite one, started cooking and set up my sleeping setup on a picnic bench. I tried to start a fire but the wood was all too wet. The trail book said there was water but I couldn't find it, luckily my fill up just before the road left me with enough water to cook and have hot cocoa. My butt was the most sore it had been all trip because I finally got to ride more than hike but this was the second easiest day so far. I felt like I was on the home stretch from here.Mileage: 68.4
Climbing: 6,719
Sleeping Elevation: 10,915
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