Starting Elevation - 8,300'
Ending Elevation - 4,560'
Elevation Change - 1,741'
https://www.strava.com/activities/712076877
We encountered cows on our way out of the ranch, and we had to yell at them to get out of the way. After the cows, there was a steep hike and bike out of the valley. On a technical single track downhill, I came upon Mark, and I went over the handlebars when I had to suddenly stop to prevent myself from hitting him. The front tube suffered a pinch flat, but that was the only issue with the bike. A small cut on my right forearm was the extent of my injuries. After the crash, I took it easy on the rest of the technical steep descents since I was a little shaken up, and there was no rush.
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| Descent into Gateway |
We then rode nice flow single track in high desert terrain. We had to take a steep and long fire road to get on 141 to Gateway. There were a lot of squealing brakes on the way down, but everyone made it safely. At the end of the steep section of fire road, there were sandy wash areas where your tires had a tendency to drift. I unclipped my shoes a few times to use my legs as outriggers in order to maintain my balance.
It was a few miles of downhill road riding into Gateway, and it was so nice to have a bison burger and seasoned fries from the diner parked beside the general store. I was told that the founder of he Discovery Channel, John Hendricks, owns the diner, the general store and the Gateway Canyons Resort.
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| The Palisade Formation |
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| Dolores River |
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| An older hut |
We had wonderful views of the desert formations surrounding Gateway at the Gateway hut. Sean and I cooled off a bit and washed some items in the Dolores River. Mosquitoes were coming out in full force during dusk. It became quite windy during the night, but the night sky full of stars was wonderful without any light pollution.
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