Hi and thanks for checking in. I am currently in Pagosa Springs, fresh out of the Maroon Bells Wilderness. My friend Patty and I rode the trail from Gothic, a little town north of th lovely village of Crested Butte. We packed our gear on Magic, the 9 year old gelding, and spent the first night at Copper Lake. It's a good thing we were fresh for the trip over Triangle pass.
The word "scree" has new meaning for me now. It's no surprise that scream starts with the same sound. Patty was first to get off and lead Maggie. It was scary hearing the sound of the scree falling down the mountain under the horse hooves. The view however was spectacular, and then we were treated to a fabulous wildflower display as we made our way into Conundrum basin and to the Hot Springs. Our camp spot was perfect with sweet pasture for the horses and trees to shelter us from the sun and rain. We had plenty of both.
We rode out after three nights and four days of camping. The way back was still scary but the horses did amazingly well! The eponashoes give amazing grip on all surfaces, and the scree field was accomplished without problems of any kind.
We got a hotel room in Gunnison, cause Patty was craving a hot shower. Turns out the Hells Angels had chosen Gunnison as the rendezvous spot on the way to Sturgis. While they were quite intimidating in their "colors" and with the noisy Harleys, we heard rom the locals that they were only polite, considerate, and generous. We had to park on the stret because there were so many Harleys in the parking lot, but in the end, we slept well and were only awakened a couple of times by bikes coming in. The horses spent he nIght at he fairgrounds. What a wonderful thing that is! So much more comfortable than standing in the trailer all night.
I'm almost out of battery, so will close for now. Tomorrow we head to Durango, where I will prepare to ride the Colorado Trail almost 500 miles to Denver.
Stay tuned!
