Monarch Crest Trail

Doug, Jean-Paul and I rode the Monarch Crest Trail last week. I was right in the middle of 5 graveyard shifts, but the Monarch Crest is an epic so I had to find a way to go. My plan was to rest all day Sunday and Monday so that I could go without a nap for the ride on Tuesday, then recover with a day of sleep on Wednesday. Sunday evening, on the bike ride to work, my cleat broke and that plan disintegrated with it. Monday instead of riding home and sleeping, I spent all day trying to get home from work. Angela and Doug eventually got me the 40 miles home, but I didn't have time to rest before having to load up my bike and go back to work that night. I was exhausted. I got off work at 7:00am Tuesday morning and had to be back at 8:30pm that night. It's a 3 hour drive to the Trail head, plus a 3-4 hour ride with a shuttle on one end and 3 hours back.

The Monarch Crest Trail is nestled at the Southern end of the Collegiate Mountain Range in Colorado's central Rocky Mountains. The trail starts with a 1,000' climb from Monarch Pass along the Continental Divide up to 12,000' near Pell Pt. Then it traverses the West side of the Divide and the 13,971' peak of Mt. Ouary to the Silver Creek Trail. After that, the Silver Creek Trail descends down a mix of singletrack, tight aspen forests, exposed babyhead fields and creeks to the Rainbow Trail. The ride finishes off on the rolling Rainbow Trail which dumps onto Hwy 285 west of Poncha Springs.

After some minor delays I was on the road by 8:00am. I made good time, fueled by excitement and Mountain Dew, rolling into the lot at Poncha Springs at 10:30am. Jean-Paul and Doug were waiting for me in his Element. We loaded up my bike and headed up the mountain to the trailhead located in the parking lot at the top of Monarch Pass. I downed a coconut juice on the way up and made a mental note to respect my lack of sleep and ride conservatively. We changed, gu'ed and were riding by noon. Doug and Jean-Paul were on their Superfly's, while I opted for full suspension and rode the Superlight. It was weird being on a 26" bike, and the more I ride the 29er the less I like 26" wheels. Throughout the ride, I never felt at home on the Superlight.

About 1 mile up the climb I remembered that my keys were locked in Doug's Element. We would need them to run the shuttle up to Monarch Pass after the ride. Jean-Paul volunteered to ride back to get them, which I happily agreed to. I used the opportunity to stretch and adjust a new seat I mounted on the Superlight. It didn't take long for Jean-Paul to make it back, sporting my keys with a smile on his face.

Crisis Averted

Climbing up the Crest Trail

We all rode strong the rest of the climb, taking turns pulling from Monarch Pass to the top of the ridge. The trail followed the Continental Divide past Mt. Peck, Pell Point, Chipetet Mountain, and Mt. Quray. With the treeline below us, the Crest Trail was open and mostly straight, it treated us to rocky, high speed sweeping turns and incredible views. Below us the grass gave way to trees which outlined the top of narrow valleys that merged into larger valleys like fingers of a giant hand sprawling out thousands of feet below. Our only company at altitude was a few clouds and the distant rocky peaks of the Collegiates to the north. It felt like we were riding on top of the world. On the Divide I made sure to take the opportunity to relieve myself in both Texas and California's water supplies at the same time!

On Top of the World

On the shoulder of Mt. Quray the trail dipped back down to the tree line and changed character into snaking singletrack with tight turns. I stopped to put on my vest while Jean-Paul and Doug rode ahead. I soon caught Doug, who had spotted a yellow-bellied marmot on the side of the trail. He was a big marmot and deserved a picture. We caught up to Jean-Paul at the top of the first descent down to Marshall Pass. It's a long, fast doubletrack with lots of small kickers. I was the first one down and waited at the bottom for a long time before I rode back up to find that Jean-Paul had flatted. He was fixed by the time I got up to so we all descended the doubletrack together.

Yellow-Bellied Marmot

The second climb of the ride followed the west side of the ridge from Marshall Pass to the intersection of the Silver Creek trail. My lack of sleep started kicking in so I let Doug and Jean-Paul go. I had no energy and the climb hurt, but just to being in the mountains was enough to keep me going. At the top I recovered with a bar while we re-grouped and headed to the Silver Creek Trail. This is an important intersection not to miss, if you do it's a 60 mile retrieve in Saquache.

Cracked

Critical Intersection

The Silver Creek trail is the steepest descending of the ride. It's filled with steep switchbacks, tight aspen forests, exposed baby head fields and finishes down the center of Silver Creek. The views are spectacular and the landscape is extreme. About half way down we were treated to a surreal scene. The trail descends a steep shale ledge. To the left of a jagged rock wall towers thousands of feet above, while to the right a patchwork of clear-water beaver ponds stretch across the entire width of the valley below. Near the end, the valley narrows down to a few hundred feet wide into a geographical bottle neck called The Gate. The only room for the trail is in Silver Creek itself. It wasn't deep, but the water was cold and you wouldn't want to put a foot down.

Silver Creek Trail

(baby heads)

Silver Creek

Silver Creek continues left down the valley, while the Rainbow Trail breaks off to the right. The Rainbow Trail contrasts the open alpine singletrack of the Crest Trail and rocky descending of Silver Creek Trail with flowing, wooded hardpack singletrack. It's a net elevation loss, but it feels mostly flat with quite a few creek crossings sporting steep drops and climbs on either side. It's the kind of trail that would be more at home on the East Coast than in the Rocky's. It's also fast, super fast. It's so fast that I gave up on my plan to ride conservatively and got a little too carried away, crashing about 3 miles in. It was a bad crash, the worst I've had this year. I was riding on the edge my tire's grip, washing both tires around a right hand descending turn when my front wheel hit a rock. It wouldn't have been a big deal on a 29er, but the 26" wheel just hung up instead of rolling over the rock. I hit the ground hard, impacting my head, right shoulder, hip and knee.

The Culprit

Ouch

It stunned me pretty bad and I laid there for about 10 minutes fighting the urge to throw up from the bump to the head. Jean-Paul was first on the scene followed by Doug. Once he realized I was okay he jumped into action fixing my handle bars, which had slipped in the stem. I could tell by their expressions they both were concerned, but some cold water down my helmet revived me enough to get up and soon I started feeling better. I should have respected my sleep deprivation and kept my speed down, but the sweet single track was just too good to go slow! The geometry differences between my bikes was a factor too, I got caught up in the trail and forgot what bike I was on. After about 25 minutes of down time I felt good enough to ride again and attacked the trail, determined not to let the crash set me back. I regained my confidence quickly, but was careful not to ride the Superlight like it was a 29er anymore.

Rainbow Trail

As we settled into the roller coaster like rhythm of the Rainbow Trail Jean-Paul pulled ahead, while Doug and I conserved. We both cracked near the end last year and didn't want to repeat our mistakes. While riding ahead Jean-Paul claimed to have an encounter with the illusive Rocky Mountain forest chicken. The forest chicken is a flightless bird capable of incredible speeds and agility. When startled they are known to run along mountain bikers, but they are an evasive species that are rarely seen. I was skeptical at first, but I did see evidence of forest chicken droppings in the supposed area of the encounter. We sported huge grins down the Rainbow Trail's final switch back descent to Hwy 285. There we regrouped and took turns pace-lining on the shoulder back to Poncha Springs.

Huge Grins

The Monarch Crest is quintessential Colorado mountain biking. It's on my short list of western classics like Porcupine Rim, the Downeville Downhill, Wasatch Crest, and other sections of the Colorado Trail. Unfortunately, because it is part of the Colorado Trail it is being threatened with closure to cyclists. Many equestrians and hikers are complaining about the large number of cyclists it draws. In late summer it gets pretty crowded and you wouldn't catch me near there on a weekend. I hate crowds and can sympathize with closure proponents, but I don't think that closure is the only option. A shared access plan similar to others in use on sensitive trails which offer hiking only on certain days of the week is the best option in my opinion. This serves both communities allowing each can enjoy the trail in harmony. IMBA is working with the Forest Service to secure mountain biking access to the Colorado Trail. You can read more Here and Here.