We are now well into our trek up and over the Rocky Mountains. Months ago, when this whole adventure seemed like a distant fever dream that would never come to be, it was the crossing of the Rockies that gave me the most pause. I was anxious about the long climbs, at high altitude, in cold weather. I’m pleased to say so far, so good.
The crossing from Utah into Colorado was very welcome. While I was awed by the rugged beauty of the wild Utah desert, being in the middle of nowhere in a rather inhospitable environment was a bit unsettling. Soon after crossing into Colorado the landscape and weather quickly changed. Moving into the foothills of the Rockies, there was a lot more green farmland and more lush vegetation. We spent a challenging day biking 70+ miles where we were constantly going up and down. I learned that I definitely prefer a longer climb followed by a longer descent rather than the constant roller coaster motion. I found this day a bit grating and difficult. I might go so far as to say my least favorite of the trip aside from the foggy death climb in Utah.
Now that we are in the heart of the mountains, the scenery is beautiful. We are lucky to be here to see the autumnal explosion of yellows and oranges on the leaves. We biked through Lizard Head Pass today (at more that 10,000 feet of elevation) and then descended down through some cute mountain towns. We went past Telluride, and Jordan and I both agreed we would have to come back to visit again either for skiing or hiking. Biking through here reinvigorated my love of Colorado and desire to live in the Rocky Montains someday.
Looming in the future is a tough climb across Monarch Pass to get out of the Rockies. We’ll probably get to the climb in a few days, but we may be contending with some bad weather when we arrive. If conditions are too poor, we’ll have to delay the climb. Once we make it up and over, we should be on track for smooth sailing through the rest of Colorado and Kansas.