Crested Butte

Maybe I wasn’t “on it” after two crashes, or maybe it was just that the final descent was getting highly technical, but either way I decided that a third and final crash would be a good way to end the ride. I wasn’t going all that fast, but I did go over the bars and down a steep embankment headfirst into a tree.

With a full closure of Cottonwood Pass, both this summer and next, however, we needed to find another way to access Texas Ridge. While we could have navigated a series of roads near Cottonwood to access Timberline, we decided it would be more interesting to ride the Timberline Trail from the northern terminus at Red Mountain Creek through the old Pieplant town site.

After some gas-station side discussions, we decided to head back towards the Needle Creek area to check out Right Hand and Barrett, and maybe even North Gulch. I’d ridden these trails years ago, but I certainly couldn’t remember the exact route that I took, so it was going to be exploration for all of us.

Monarch Pass undoubtedly has some great mountain biking options. When most people think of the “Monarch Crest”, they think of the main series of trails – starting out on the Monarch Crest, descending Silver Creek, and then onto Rainbow Trail. But, there are plenty more options for mountain bikers including Fooses Creek, Greens Creek, and Starvation Creek – all of which also descend east of the Continental Divide. But, then there’s Agate Creek, often overlooked, because it descends west of the Divide. But, this trial is one mountain bikers should definitely check out!

We heard that some of the worst sections have been cleaned up a bit by local dirtbikers, but the trail remains steep, loose, and rutted no matter what so expect to walk. Perhaps once the Baxter Gulch trail is finished, Carbon Creek will get some much needed attention so this area can play host to some nice large loops right from town.

With the snow melting away from the alpine and wildflowers abound, July is one of the best months to ride in Crested Butte! But this July was a little more difficult for us since the snow took longer to melt than usual, keeping us from some alpine rides, and we’ve seen more monsoonal rains than normal, which have made it difficult to find good days to ride long routes. Still, we found some great July mountain biking in Crested Butte. Here’s a re-cap on some of our rides!

One route I knew would be a good one for both goals was to ride all of trail 424 from Taylor Park to the standard descent on Doctor’s (which is usually called Matchless to Doctor Park). I hadn’t done it in 20 years or more,

There’s no doubt that Canyon Creek trail is hard to get to. Since is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, getting there likely requires a drive. For us coming from Crested Butte, it’s almost 1 hour and 20 minutes. You start out on a road which is easy at first. But then it gets steeper. And steeper. Sometimes it’s relentlessly steep. At the start of the singletrack you’re rewarded with admittance to the high alpine. You have a grueling hike-a-bike which sets you on top of a mountain. And then you ride down the other side. You go down and down. And just when you think it’s over, there’s more down. Sure, there’s a steep 15 minute up near the end. But, this ride has a descent that just keeps on going. The bang is certainly worth the buck on this ride.