Day 6 of the San Juan Huts Durango to Moab mountain bike adventure had loomed large in our minds as the biggest day, but to be honest, after the Ultimate Mudder Challenge of day 4, I was relieved we could just do a boat load of climbing and reward with beer. As long as the thunderstorms stayed away and the group pulled together to get our butts and bikes from the Paradox Hut to the Geyser Pass Hut in the La Sal Mountains, we would be victorious. If we could do that, we would sail home to Moab on day 7.
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| Departure from the Paradox Valley Hut with not a cloud in the sky and the promise of a hot climb. |
But first we had to do that elevation thing. At mile 2.5 the route description said simply, "the road will begin climbing 1613 feet out of the Paradox Valley over 3.9 miles." Cycling friends will recognize that statement as one that should put fear in the quadriceps of even the fittest cyclist. That's steep!
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| The beginning of the climb |
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| Climbing a graded gravel road. Up, ... |
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| up, ... |
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| up, ... |
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| and up! At the top of Carpenter Ridge we had cell phone reception. |
The climb was long and hot, but everyone made it fine.
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| Bonus geologic picture. The sandstone poking out toward the viewer was deposited in an paleo river channel. The finer grained, more easily eroded sediment below was deposited as over bank deposits in the floodplain. This is a good example of paleo river channels. |
The next bit of riding was quite enjoyable as we continued to climb, but at a much more civilized pace, through pine forest and a large burn scar.
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| I think this picture is funny. |
Our half way point and lunch stop was Buckeye Reservoir. This 100 acre reservoir is at almost 8000 feet elevation and looks to be a nice spot for camping and fishing. I wonder if it is important for storing water for agricultural use down in the valley.
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| Buckeye Reservoir lunch stop |
Weather can change quickly up in this high country. It was time to get moving.
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| Storm clouds brewing = time to hit the trail. |
We didn't make it far before we had to duck under an unoccupied cabin's porch for nearly an hour to let the heaviest part of the rain shower pass.
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| Taking shelter from the rain. |
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| I could have stayed here all day out of the rain, hanging out. Especially since we had more climbing to do. |
With the Utah State line in our sights, we hit the road again. We found a spring that half the group drank from. Given the massive cattle impact in the immediate and local area of the spring box, I declined. It turned out no one got sick, but I figured a 40 mile bike ride from flush toilets and hot soapy water was not a place I wanted to get diarrhea.
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| Sally and Heather crossing the last flat. |
After we crossed into Utah, we really thought we were in the clear, but the last 3 miles was a slog of mostly pushing our bikes in the brush to avoid the mud slick of a road.
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| We were so close to the hut, but then there was this. Note Sally and Karl being cozy while the rest of us wallowed in mud and self pity. |
But finally, the Geyser Pass Hut at 9750 feet elevation! We had climbed nearly 5400 feet in 22.5 miles.
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| Glorious Geyser Pass Hut filled with beer and food and beds. |
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| Could you ask for a more picturesque potty? |
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| Beer, snacks, muddy unattended shoes and bikes. This picture describes post day 6 in every way. |
The hut was a welcome sight. It was situated in a wildflower meadow only a short walk to a grand view of the peaks of the La Sal Mountains.
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| Aster wildflower meadow |
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| The high peaks of the La Sal Mountains from the Geyser Pass Hut |
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| Big bucks bounding through the meadow. |
We ate "Hawaiian dump pile" (rice with random veggies on top) for dinner and drank our allotment of beer. We had done the hard part and would enjoy one last night of hut living before rolling downhill to Moab in the morning.
The stats: Ascent 5370 feet, descent 1010 feet, 22.5 miles, 4 hrs 33 minutes moving time. Max elevation 9750 feet. average speed 4.9 mph. 1314 calories burned. A good big day!
Day 6 recap video link
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