Our route for today is here.
Our cumulative route is here.
“I fell so long, I was cussin’ before I hit the ground.”
Dad after getting close to the top of Poughkepsie Gulch
“Well, what should we do?” I asked the instant before the thunder clapped and then we all knew the answer.
I looked up at the sky, and then around me at the bald, green mountains and contemplated where we were and what we were doing there.
Doug, Dad, Meredith, and I had left Lake City in the morning and our intentions were to ride Engineer Pass and then up Poughkepsie Gulch, over Corkscrew Pass, over Cinnamon Pass, and back to Lake City.
Quite a day in the best of conditions.
Out of Lake City, we started ascending Engineer Pass. The road was good to great and any 4-wheel drive could make the top.
After Engineer, we stopped and had lunch, then continued on towards the bottom of Poughkepsie Gulch.
Doug and Dad had ridden it several years ago, but in the opposite direction, down.
We would attempt it going up. I’m not sure why.
The trail was immediately rockier than the Engineer Pass road.
Our bikes were bouncing and kicking as we rode uphill.
We then came to the bottom of a section of trail maybe a half mile in length, that I estimate to be 25% grade, with loose rocks for the road bed. It was relatively straight, with no switchbacks to help.
Dad made it almost to the top before toppling over. Doug, behind him, was forced to stop.
In rocks, on motorcycles, it’s all about momentum, and she had none. I would push from behind and try to get her moving enough to let the bike do the work, but it didn’t help much. After a while, dad came back down and we realized the choke still engaged on the bike, making it run badly.
Meredith walked on up to where Dad’s bike was sitting and Dad rode here bike on up to the same spot.
I turned downhill to retrieve my bike.
Looking up the hill, I gunned the throttle and away I went. Well, I went 30 yards before I ricocheted off to the side of the trail and was stopped. Luckily, I didn’t fall over.
I recranked the bike and got moving again. I bounced from side to side up the hill, at every second thinking I would go down, but seemed to be holding my own as I approached where the others were.
I was going to keep going on by them, when I looked past them and saw a jeep coming down the trail. I had no choice but to dive off the trail and immediately went down, right in the lap of everybody else. Grrrr.
A stream of at least,eight jeeps came down the hill as we sat there and caught our breaths.
It was then that the rains came. Slowly at first, then enough to soak every rock. Slippery rocks were not what any of us wanted. When it thundered loudly, we knew we had to retreat. High country and lightening are a dangerous combination.
We turned and looked at the hill we had struggled so hard to climb and started back down inch by inch, all the slick conditions would allow. It took us several hours to get back down. The video above was taken at one of the few level sections, but gives you an idea of the rockiness. Dad comes first, then Doug.
We were forced to retrace our steps back over Engineer Pass, a wet and soggy ride until we were close to Lake City. Whew! See y’all down the trail.
