3 Days of Colorado Single Track

A few weeks ago a friend from Castle Rock, CO called and said, "hey, my wife is gonna be out of town for a girls weekend, do you want to come up and ride for a few days. You can ride the 450 or the 300.". Yes please.

With bags packed I checked my gear at the SW counter at Love Field.



His 300...




It's amazing that you can leave Longview at 4:45 AM and be standing in Castle Rock by 10:45 local time. It's truly an amazing time we live in.

By noon we were packed and rolling out toward Sargents.




...and by 5:30 we were on the trails for an evening ride.

Just east of Sargents about two miles is the trail-head for Agate Creek...one of my favorite trails in Colorado. The entry cost is kind of steep with numerous creek crossings and boulder fields, but we buzzed up route 50 for 2 miles and made our way to the trail-head.



The trail starts easy enough...





...but there are plenty of obstacles to keep you entertained. Click for video.





I'm usually the one taking the photos, so here's a rare shot of me.



We made our way through meadows, an elk herd (very cool), and a few steep spots to the divide.

The trail to the right takes you to the Monarch pass visitor center. The trail to the left is where we came from and the trail behind me is where we're heading to get to Marshall Pass road and back to the cabins in Sargents.



Divide shot...




We spotted some flying KTM's on Marshall Pass road.



Lots of dirt bikers at Sargents. The new owners of the Tomichi Creek Trading Post have been there about a year and moved up to Sargents from Boulder. They're dirt bikers too and are trying to get an enduro organized. It's an absolutely spectacular area for dirt bikers.

This guy was across the "street" from us in camp and had a nice little airstream.



We stayed in one of the 4 man cabins for ~$60 for a night. More windows would have helped, but the adjustment from living at 250' to close to 10,000' was catching up to me. I gulped water, a gatorade, took an Aleve to ward off any soreness and got some shut eye. Tomorrow would be a slog up 483 around the Horseshoe North of Sargents. Probably one of the hardest rides I've ever done. Stay tuned.

Either KTM builds a shrunken 450 that I was not aware of, or you are a big dude. Or maybe it is because your foot is on that rock.

Pretty cool when you can fly in like a factory rider and hop on a bike and go ride. That is a great area. Good news about the owners of Tomichi.

or you are a big dude

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Must be the rock. I'm ~6'1" and 210. However, I've ridden with some guys that are 6'6" and 350lb's +. You wonder how they ride being that big, but they can really put the power to the ground!

Very nice! Be there shortly. Great news about the camp. If y'all find yourself pointed towards monarch pass and have time, hit the monarch crest trail. It's just up the hill from the ski lift. Spectacular!

Hey Pig, that guy ain't a friend,,, he's a super duper most bestest ever friend!!! And that Slavens bike had to be a nice ride. The Salida-Sargents area is awesome. Great thread, thanks.

he's a super duper most bestest ever friend!!!

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Indeed!

Day two dawned with a headache and dried up nostrils. I hit the water hard, had a gatorade after the Thursday ride, had ZERO alcohol, and shot plenty of saline solution up my nose...it still usually takes me two days to get "used" to the altitude. This trip was no different. By Saturday night I was ready to roll and also about to go home. My physical fitness and conditioning are good, but the dehydrating factor of high altitude and low humidity is a different beast when coming from the South.

Friday saw us leaving Tomichi Creek and pointing our fenders North across 50 to Quakey Mountain, 481, 483 up the Horseshoe, and on to Pitkin.

Quakey mountain is mild enough and gave us a nice warm up before dumping us back on 888 or Tomichi Pass Road. Here's the sign after navigating the 2-track to the start of Quakey.



Warmed up we felt good and continued a short jaunt north on 888 or 887 to an intersection with 481 - more singletrack.



Let's get off that dirt road and on to something more fun...but there were rocks lurking in those woods. A LOT OF ROCKS.



481 is an absolute blast of a trail. It's dark, soft soil next to a creek with several crossings. On a previous trip we had ridden 481 all the way up to the top of the Horseshoe, so we decided we'd check out the other way up, 483. Dun, dun, duh... A lot of it looked like this. Roots, rocks, or both! Yes, this is the easier line...



Parts like this creek crossing make you think...ah we're through the rough stuff and I'm in magical, fairy, dirt-bike, wheely land.




Not so.




Photos never tell the story because they can't capture how steep it is, but if you're doing this ride, take 481 and skip 483. It was a b, but we loved every second of it. We'd make our way for a half-mile through the rocks feeling like amateur trials riders and then take a break. We took lots of breaks. At one point I even removed my helmet and dunked my head in the creek. Ahhhh.

After struggling up a few hill-climbs and taking our share of breaks we crested above tree-line.



Sweet bliss-ful breeze. That feels nice.





That's Tomichi Pass Road in the distance. Our way home.



After dropping down to Tomichi Pass Road we were heading to Pitkin to get lunch, but apparently there's been a rock-slide. Thoroughly beaten from our battle with rocks and hill-climbs we decided to make for Sargents, showers, and dinner.

After cleaning up we headed up past Ohio City to our friend's cabin. It's been in his family since the 30's and would serve as our home base for the rest of the trip. Yes, we used the outhouse.

Enjoying this.

Spectacular photos. Thanks for sharing. I'm exhausted.

On day three we awoke in the mining cabin and i sauntered out to investigate this outhouse. Turns out his family has been using it for more than 30 years without ever needing to clean it out. Just no TP. That's what "fills" it up. The other stuff biodegrades.



In the back you can see the tailings from the gold mining in the late 1800's. The mine apparently goes back about 900' and there are a two tunnels, one left and one right, that go about 300' each. Our buddy said he used to run around in them as a kid.

House has no electricity other than light from a 12v battery on the porch.



Bikes and cabins...






After breakfast and some bench racing we headed up Fossil Creek single-track to Boulder Lake. It's clear, cold, and beautiful!



One of the other guys in the group was riding this sweet late model Husqvarna. Not an FI one, but nice none-the-less.

Trails are well marked, but we use Avenza and carry the Latitude 40 maps.




Fossil Creek is very rocky and technical. This video gives a sample of one of the down-hills.



We had a few get-offs, but no injuries.

His bike is up there.




Why is he down there?



One of the guys didn't like roughing it in the cabin with the spiders and the snakes, so he has this nice slide-in setup. Pretty good for one guy or a friendly couple.



Tha's a wrap.

Time to wash those bikes!

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Amazing! I wish I had he skills for that kind of riding!

We were just there as well.....on some of the same trails. July 23-28. We stayed in the big house at Tomichi Ck.

We were just there as well.....on some of the same trails. July 23-28. We stayed in the big house at Tomichi Ck.

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Feels like maybe we need a TWT - DSDispatch rally at Tomichi Creek trading post in 2019? Everything is there from single-track, road riding, dual sport...you name it.

We could organize and probably wrangle up a few door prizes. KTM-Twins is open to collaborations and I'm sure we could shake a few others loose. We also have a projector and 8' wide screen that we could hang on the side of our trailer for a small moto-movie contest. Hmmmm.

PigTrail said:

Feels like maybe we need a TWT - DSDispatch rally at Tomichi Creek trading post in 2019? Everything is there from single-track, road riding, dual sport...you name it.

We could organize and probably wrangle up a few door prizes. KTM-Twins is open to collaborations and I'm sure we could shake a few others loose. We also have a projector and 8' wide screen that we could hang on the side of our trailer for a small moto-movie contest. Hmmmm.

Click to expand...

PigTrail said:

Feels like maybe we need a TWT - DSDispatch rally at Tomichi Creek trading post in 2019? Everything is there from single-track, road riding, dual sport...you name it.

We could organize and probably wrangle up a few door prizes. KTM-Twins is open to collaborations and I'm sure we could shake a few others loose. We also have a projector and 8' wide screen that we could hang on the side of our trailer for a small moto-movie contest. Hmmmm.

Click to expand...

Sounds interesting. We do single track only but at least there would be something for everyone. Planing on late July early August next year but am open for whatever.

Very nice. Colorado rocks in the summer. I love the flying ktm shot. No wonder there are so many two strokes. Looks very technical.

Thx for sharing.

Just back from Colorado myself. That cabin looks incredible. How lucky is that guy to have it in the family!