Who doesn’t love a good road trip? If you’re commuting hours on the daily, you may prefer your home on the weekend as opposed to a car. But in the true sense of footloose fancy-free getaways, a road trip always seems to soothe my soul. Getting out and exploring Colorado in the process is icing on the cake that most people just can’t do in a quick weekend hit.
We are soooo lucky to have so much national forest as our backyard in Colorado. I grew up in Indiana, and while I lived near the Dunes National Lakeshore, that doesn’t quite hold a candle to the weekend getaways offered here. And of course, I “drive private” whenever I go on a road trip, as my husband makes the best wheelman around.
Last week I did what any mountain local does in the middle of August: I hit the panic button. I freaked out about summer’s end. Yes, I know, summer is not over! But after a lot of work and split days off it dawned on me that I had not gotten up into “them thar hills” for a commune with nature. This is simply unacceptable in my book. Nature resets us in the best way and so, with two days off in a row, the plan was hatched. We headed for the hills.
Driving through the mountains is always a treat — except for the fact that I’ve developed a greater tendency toward motion sickness with age. I used to ride spinny amusement-park rides and steep rollercoasters with upside-down loops. Now I get on a snorkeling tour boat or a car on a winding, bumpy dirt road and I could toss my cookies if I’m not careful. Oh the joys of life!
I love the drive over McClure and Kebler passes into Crested Butte, but I think I love it even more on the way home. For some reason, the way there makes me want to lose my breakfast somewhere on the third switchback up Kebler Pass. I have to pull over for fear of booting in the front seat. The way home is a different story.
I think starting out higher and seeing the expansive and endless views before me is helpful in adjusting to the tighter winding turns near the bottom of Kebler Pass. There’s something so wild and remote about that stretch of wilderness that takes me to the depths of my own imagination and makes me feel inspired. Plus, driving over any of Colorado’s mountain passes and imagining what the journey was like via covered wagon is always awe inspiring.
I have my go-to bike rides in the Crested Butte area, but we added a new one to the list and did the Dyke Trail Loop. Our ascent took us up Kebler Pass to the Kebler Wagon Trail which gave a firsthand look at what that journey would’ve looked like. I’ll take my mountain bike any day, thank you very much. After a steep and chunky downhill back to the truck we made our way to the Butte! I never do much more than take a lap on Elk Avenue and eat at Secret Stash when I visit, but it’s always perfect and gives me the right amount of chill mountain-town vibes I need and Aspen only wishes it had.
After eating our weight in pizza we headed south of town and made our way up Spring Creek, the beginning of the Doctor Park Loop and our favorite place to camp. We even charged up our battery-operated candles to give the illusion of a campfire since Gunnison County is in a stage 2 fire ban. As it turns out, all we needed was a creek! Who needs “Fire TV” when you’re camping on the creekside?
Doctor Park is up there with Government Trail in the top five of Colorado’s mountain-bike rides. It never disappoints. It’s challenging and includes a long gravel-road climb, a rocky doubletrack climb, then a heart-attack hill that is always better without cows and actually doable if you have the eagle gear. The frolic in the forest has a few formidable fall lines with serious consequences, but the long green flash of singletrack through the aspen forest makes any challenges worth it. No ripping descent down Doctor Park would be complete without a shocking cold plunge in Spring Creek at the finish. Talk about a reset!
Big thanks to Brandon at Basalt Bike and Ski for getting my whip tuned up with a new chain and rear-wheel bearings to complete the mission!
I come from the “Oregon Trail” generation, not the actual trail, but the floppy disc computer game. I also played a lot of “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” Maybe that’s what fueled my wanderlust? Either way I’m grateful to be living the adult version of the games. Hop in the truck on the weekend in Colorado and you might just transport yourself into a happier, more well-adjusted version of yourself that’s ready to tackle the week ahead, but doesn’t have to die of dysentery or repair a wagon wheel at the end.
It’s summering out there, even if you feel panicked that it’s not. That said, go forth and enjoy! Your reset is just an ascent into the hills away.
