Stage 8

I woke up a bit later than I wanted to as usual but very excited that I should make it to Silverton by the end of the day, which would be great because over the past 4 days where I hadn't seen civilization for the longest stretch in my life I was running low on food.  Sleeping on the picnic bench kept me away from the moisture I typically had in my bivvy sack, however it was still cold sleeping at nearly 11,000 feet.  I saw some day & through hikers in the lot and asked if they knew where the water the book was talking about was.  I met a lady named "Marmot" that pointed me to the spring on the other side of the highway.  I got some water to make breakfast with then filled up with water. The last water filter bag broke but I was able to finish filling up. CRAP!  I knew this would happen and I was glad I brought some Iodine tablets & was already boiling water for cooking before this to conserve the filter, I figured I would have a chance to get a new filter/bag in Silverton.
The trail followed some old jeep roads then disappeared into some rock fields.  From here you must learn to follow the Cairns.  Unfortunately at this point my camera battery died.  After a bit there was the a big antenna onto of a hill.  I had been keeping my phone off to conserve the battery but I decided to check if there was service.  There was but only enough to text so I asked some friends who I knew were at computers to look into flights home for me and asked my friends in Durango if they could help me with a ride to the airport.  There was a short and fun descent into the woods were I had a snack and sat in the shade.
The second half of the segment had climbs up cliffs and short descents on shale following the edge of several-hundred foot cliffs, the most high risk & high elevation riding of the trip so far.  I came into a herd of goats and chased them down the hill for a bit.  I ran into some hikers just hiking a few segments and they told me I wasn't far from Carson Saddle.  I felt like I had been riding forever but hadn't gotten very far.
I crested a hill and saw side by sides driving on some steep mine tailing's next some of the old structures that were part of Carson Saddle.  The old dirt road here was crazy steep and rutted, the only way to ride it safely was wide open and stay loose.  I stopped and had a snack before hopping back onto the single track.  I was hoping from here I would be able to ride more than hike.
The trail was fairly flat but rocky for the first bit of the segment.  I fell into a bush trying to climb a steep wet rock.  The trail was deep mud in spots making it hard to ride but narrow the whole way so it was hard to hike.  I saw a huge moose staring up at me.  The trail got steeper and I new I'd be hiking for a bit until I got onto the top of the saddle at the head of the valley I was in.  There was some really cool rock outcroppings that reminded me of Moai.  Coming to the top of the climb my left knee (my good one) started to have a sharp pain on the inside while pedaling and my right ankle hurt a bit from/while hiking.  I decided it was time to take my first Advil of the trip.  I pushed through the pain and kept pedaling and it was gone in 5 minutes.  My fork started to squeak as I pedaled and I knew exactly what it was, time for service as it was out of oil (not to knock Fox but I don't think they put enough in when performing their recall service).  I put some chain lube on it and knew I would just have to do this a few times a day.
I got on top of the saddle and the view was like nothing I'd ever seen before.  This was the first time I'd ever seen a remote high alpine tundra and it seemed surreal.  The grass was so green on the rolling hills in the valley and the terrain so rugged above it.  I didn't ever want to leave this area but I was excited to see what the valley was like.  I was excited to finally descend.
The first descent was amazing, high speed loose dirt with rollers.  I saw there was a lake at the bottom of the gulch and was hoping I was heading towards it.  I also saw a tent at the far side of the gulch no where near the trail, I could only imagine this was another CT user who was so taken by this area they had to explore more of it.  There was a fun rock section to end the descent.  I was not far from the lake and checked my book to see this was the only large body of water on this segment and I still had 2 liters in my bag but my bottle was empty.  At this point I created my strategy for water which would be rough and the opposite of my original plan.  I would fill my bottle without the filter and put Iodine in it then put the electrolyte tabs I had in it to cover up the taste and that would allow me to keep my clean water in my bag for teeth brushing, wound cleaning if needed, etc.  The area near the lake was beautiful and I wanted to stay and explore all the trails in this area but I knew I had to keep moving to stay on schedule. I'll be returning here to explore.
As soon as I started riding there was a short mud bog crossing the whole trail. I picked what I thought was the best spot to cross, shoved my front tire into the far side and went OTB into the mud, I had the exact same crash on my dirt bike the month before and should have learned my lesson.  I got up and only my hands got muddy but I was embarrassed even though no one saw.  I climbed a small hill and had another short fun descent on high speed flowy single track.  I climbed a big hill and was between two gulches.  The one I was about to enter was mysterious and looked like it extended north forever maybe eventually becoming a canyon with a river.  It looked as though both gulches had ribbon spread across them in the form of a trail.  The trail had a long descent and pedal across this gulch.
I got to the top of the next hill as dusk hit.  I looked at my book and knew I wasn't far from town but I would have to do some riding by headlamp to make it which would be slow as I was once again following Cairns and already having trouble seeing the next one.  It was Saturday night and after our experience of trying to find a hotel last minute in Leadville I contemplated if it was worth it to keep going at risk of not finding a hotel, plus this area was so epic I felt like I needed to wait until morning to see the rest of it.  I hiked over the next 20 foot hill and knew I had to camp here.
Euphoria hit as I saw a small high alpine lake with a rock outcropping over it to my left, a small cove between two rocks to my right, and a 360 view of a rolling another endless Gulch filled with Alpenglow with high rocky cliffs surrounding it.  I set up camp in the cove as the Sun set and the sky was filled with the most Stars I had ever seen.  The temperature was perfect and there was minimal wind given how exposed the ridge I was on was.  I walked around the lake looking for a spot to get water and the whole thing was filled with tad poles.  I finally found a spot to fill my stove with water.  As I started cooking I looked around in every direction to take it all in.  The peaks to the west were epic. I saw a red light intermittently and randomly flashing what seemed like Morse code on the ridge across the gulch from from the direction I had come.  I have no idea what or who it was.  I made some Cocoa, packed my food into a dry bag and stashed it on the far side of a Cairn.  I had trouble going to sleep just looking around at my surroundings and the Sky.  This was truly the most epic place I have ever slept.

Mileage: 30.7
Climbing: 6,793
Sleeping Elevation: 12,819