Indian Summer Fun – Biking in Crested Butte
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Many years, by the beginning of October, much of the mountain biking has been shut down due to snow, especially up high. That wasn’t the case this year.
As I write this blog post, snow flakes are pouring from the sky out my window here in Crested Butte. I’d say that Indian Summer is likely officially over. But, it sure was great while it lasted. Here’s a collection of mountain biking photos we gathered while on our miscellaneous Indian Summer biking adventures 🙂
Crystal to Star Pass to Hunter Creek
Kristi was healing from an injury and her biking had been limited during parts of the summer. She was one of my few friends who was still eager to head out on long bike rides late in the season. She’d never done this ride before, and I’ve decided that it’s an every-year-must-do.
Kristi soaking in the majesty of the mountains from Crystal saddle for the first time.
Though loose due to the dry weather, the riding was pretty good!
It’s hard to beat that smile….
Needless to say, I’m pretty sure Kristi enjoyed herself immensely, as did I. It’s one of my favorite all-time loops in the Crested Butte area!
Canyon Creek at Whitepine
I hadn’t been to Whitepine to ride in a few years, and I was getting the itch to do so. I tried to gather a group to join me in the fall last year, but timing, weather, and people’s schedules just wouldn’t work in my favor.
So, this year, when we saw a hot balmy day forecasted in late September, Frank and I knew it would be good for conditions on Canyon Creek. So, we gathered our bikes and gear, threw them in the car, and off to Whitepine we went.
The Whitepine cemetery is always an eerie one. Perhaps we should come back here for Halloweeen 😉
Here, the road was mellow and beautiful.
But, of course, it gets voraciously steep.
Upon reaching the alpine we split off the road and on to the Canyon Creek single track.
And then there was the infamous high-quality hike a bike to the summit.
Hard not to enjoy the colors of Christmas that surrounded us. The alpine was celebrating a few months prematurely.
We spent a little while on the summit, but the two of us were in the mood to move fast that day, so we did not linger. We DID enjoy the ride though.
Canyon Creek is one of those rides where you just keep going down down down. You think it will never end – a great bang for your buck for the climbing involved.
We didn’t take a whole lot of pics on the descent, we were enjoying it too much. But, near the end of the trail we caught a little splash of color.
Tour de Axtell
A couple of weeks later we went on an adventure ride that I hadn’t ridden in probably 8 years. It’s a good one, but certainly an adventure. Tour de Axtell is as it sounds, circumnavigating the entire Mount Axtell. Frank and I dragged along our visiting friends Zach and Adrienne from Bozeman.
We found a lot of color still on the Carbon Creek Trail.
From the Don Cook Trail (Para Mi, Para Ti), we gazed upon the backside of Mount Whetstone which I had just climbed about 10 days before.
The views were grand.
The forested part of Don Cook Trail presented some problems, but had some fun sections.
Then of course, there was the descent down Green Lake Trail, which we blasted down without stopping. What a great finish to a fun ride!
With the snow that’s falling this week, shoulder season is surely upon us. No, we’re not done biking yet, and we do have more Indian Summer fun adventures to share. But, we hope to be strapping on the planks soon 🙂
If you want more details about any of the rides mentioned in this post, don’t forget to check our Biking Guide!
- Mount Buckskin (17 May 2020) - May 28, 2020
- Horseshoe Ski (14 May 2020) – The mountain whose journey nearly killed me - May 27, 2020
- Sayres X-Rated Ski (10 May 2020) - May 19, 2020
