Colorado Trail - July 18, 2025

My last day on the Colorado trail included finishing the remainder of Segment 27 and all of Segment 28. This included Indian Trail Ridge (all above treeline), Kennebuc pass and an epic downhill into Durango.

I started the day roughly six miles from Hotel Draw (the beginning of Segment 27). Segment 27 borders the Hermosa Creek Wilderness. While riding this section, I had trouble staying on the trail as I couldn’t stop looking at the views of the Wilderness area.

Each day as I got closer to the finish, I became slightly more conservative with my riding. For most of the first week, I didn’t carry rain pants. By the second week, I left rain pants in my top tube bag. I also started to ride less aggressively on the downhills. I even took a third spare tube on my final day on the trail (and didn’t use any of the spares).

This was the only day on the trail where I ended up encountering steady rain and lightning. I knew storms were coming in as I watched them the entire time I was above treeline. While above treeline, I kept pushing the pace to help my chances of descending back into the trees before the lightning started. Fortunately, I was in the trees for about fifteen minutes before the lighting and thunder.

Roughly one mile from the finish, my front tire hit a rock, turned 45 degrees and in a flash, my bike and I were off the trail in the dirt and sliding toward a small ledge. Somehow, I managed to swing my feet down the hill and stop before I continued over the ledge. I laid in the dirt for a bit as I determined how best to get up with my bike (which was on top of me) and not slide further down the hillside. Fortunately, I was able to get back up without sliding down.

I met Amy and Denny at the Junction Creek trailhead which is the finish of the trail. Amy had a bottle of champagne for me and it was a great joy to pretend I had just won a major cycling event as I popped the bottle to celebrate finishing

35 miles and 4900 feet of gain.