Colorado Trail - July 14, 2025

Segment 18 and the La Garita Wilderness detour.

Who knew that pelicans summer in Colorado (see the picture below)? Or that when I was walking my bike because my sit bones hurt so badly that someone would stop me and say “I never thought someone that skinny would walk their bike”. I never liked being called “skinny”, but maybe after 10 days on the trail, I lost weight :).

Near the middle of the ride, I stopped by the Cathedral Ranch Cabins. https://www.cathedralcabins.com/bikepacking. One of the owners, Annette, was kind enough to hang out with me for a bit and take a picture for her log of bikepackers. I was impressed with the re-supply store as it was very well thought out and had a lot of same gear I was already traveling with. There was also wifi, which allowed me to check the radar and realize there was a storm coming later in the afternoon. After determining this, I quickly got back on my bike and headed to Lake City and while I didn’t beat the rain, I did beat the lightning as I rode down CO 149 into Lake City.

Earlier in the day, I also rode by one of the old Ute Indian Agency buildings. Seeing these buildings was a bit more reflective given I had been reading “After 100 Winters - In Search of Reconciliation on America’s Stolen Lands” by Margaret D. Jacobs.

72 miles and 6500 feet of gain.