This week marks 1/3 of the time I have to accomplish my goal. To be precise, today is day 35 of the 93 days of summer – technically a little over 1/3 done now. If I break down the days and miles into a proportion, I should have 263 miles done by day 35. But, I have ridden 278 miles of singletrack, 15 miles over my target!
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So, since we’re on a mission to ride lots of obscure miles, we found ourselves down by Needle Creek reservoir, east of Gunnison in the Cochetopa Hills. It’s an area that I haven’t been to all that often, or all that recently. In fact, I couldn’t even remember how I accessed the Flying Dutchman downhill the last time I was there 15+ years ago. The area is steep, rugged, poorly marked, and mostly the home of ATV’s and dirt bikes.
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June is always an amazing month in Crested Butte because we always see such fast change. At the beginning of the month, many of the trails are often snow-covered and not rideable. But, every day, the snow melts a lot more then you think it will. And every day you spot more and more wildflowers that weren’t there the day before. The rate of change is remarkable. And, aside from the astounding beauty, the sheer change is part of what makes the month of June so amazing.
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The last two years, we have been posting photos of wildflowers on Wednesdays through our social media accounts under #wildflowerwednesday. Now, it’s time to do something with those posts. Hence, the birth of our guide to Crested Butte Wildflowers!
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The rules are pretty simple: Only singletrack counts. So, roads – even dirt roads – don’t count toward the 700 miles. Chairlifts cannot be used to access trails which count toward this mileage. And similarly, shuttles will be minimized, keeping shuttlable miles to 15% or less of my total singletrack tally. Last, all of the miles must acquired during calendar summer which is June 21st through September 22nd.
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The next line, which I’d skied before, looked wind affected. We kept moving down the ridge until we found a spot that looked perfect as far as the snow conditions. We weren’t sure if it would go, but we decided to give it a try.
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Both visitors and locals alike often gravitate toward Crested Butte to enjoy the outdoors. The scenic hiking is one of Crested Butte’s primary attractions. However, in early season, the classic alpine hikes are still buried in snow and hikers will have to access lower elevation trails, often closer to town. Knowing where these trails are and when they tend to melt out is the key to enjoying early season hiking in the area. This post provides a list of some great early season hikes near Crested Butte.
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In May, the valley of Crested Butte glows in emerald green while the mountains still glimmer with white. It’s a time of transition and locals know that the changes can be huge, even from day to day. Snowmelt can happen alarmingly fast in some places, and utterly slow in others. Even so, there are certain trails that melt out earlier than others, where avid mountain bikers can begin to satiate their hunger for “brown pow”. Here, we have listed 7 of the best early season mountain bike rides near Crested Butte for all to enjoy!
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Pete tossed out the idea of skiing what he has been calling “Steep Face”- one of about 18 things with the same name. But I knew exactly which one he meant, which is the one up the Oh Be Joyful valley that I’ve looked at for years.
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