Comments on: TR: Lost Trail Creek- Cataract Ridge- West Pole Creek 8.21.10

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:03:20 +0000

Thankfully they seem to “get it” here in the Gunnison NF, and the standard seems to be “If it isn’t Wilderness, then it’s open to bikes.”

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:57:52 +0000

Yup – that Cataract Lake trail is closed to cycling according to the map I had (recent Trails Illustrated). It seems that in the San Juans if a singletrack is open to cycling it is also open to motos… none of the non-motorized singletrack is available to bikes. It makes me sad.

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:37:26 +0000

Yeah Zach, I believe it was signed closed even though it isn’t Wilderness at this time. And I agree, it would be a really good descent…

By: zach B

zach B — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:53:30 +0000

Went backingpacking in this area earlier this year and couldn’t stop thinking about how alltime the cataract gulch descent down from the lake would be. It’s part of the wilderness proposal/study so no bikes right?

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:27:48 +0000

Wow – we did Spring Creek -> West Lost Trail Saturday. Spectacular. Cataract Ridge proper is still on the menu for a future trip. Thought we could do it on this one but travel is pretty slow way up there in the mountains…

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:27:13 +0000

Nice! Hoping to add the section from Spring Creek one of these days. Or dropping Minnie or Maggie gulch towards Silverton to get more singletrack. Fun area to explore, that’s for sure.

By: wick

wick — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:04:23 +0000

LC to Spring Cr to CT all the way to Stony Pass. Down Stony Gulch and up and over Cinnamon Pass back to LC….13,700ft of gain, 91 mi…15 total hrs…ouch, but waaaaay sick!! Nailed the weather too! Wick

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:27:52 +0000

Oh man, I’d love to, but Fox currently has my shocks so I can’t this weekend. Have fun though! (And yeah, since I don’t have a bike I’m going to ski Atlantic this weekend!)

By: wick

wick — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:19:43 +0000

Frank -
Billy Laird & I are thinking of riding some combo of this on Saturday….that’s what brought me to your site, but got caught up on skiing of course! …any interest in joining us?….or should we just go ski some lines outta Lake City, ha!

By: Frank

Frank — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 16:44:54 +0000

I rode this trail again 2 days ago and it was just as fun the second time around. We cut the time down to 8hr, 15min since I knew the way and we weren’t looking at a map all day or taking any photos. West Pole is in really great shape- the cows are gone and it’s so dry at this time of year we were able to ride all the boggy sections in the willows down low.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the riding options in the area. Here’s what I really want to do, and it goes out to Durango-area riders: Durango group leaves a vehicle in Silverton and takes another vehicle up and over Cinnamon Pass. We’ll meet you somewhere up Cinnamon and drive to Spring Creek Pass. Then we’ll ride the Jarosa and Cataract sections of the CT, dropping to Silverton via Minnie or Maggie or Stony Pass or walk through the short Wilderness section of the CT. Then complete the shuttle. Kind of a pain, but it could make for an epic day of alpine riding on the CT. Just get in touch, maybe next year…