Breckenridge CO Elevation 9,600 ft

First stop on the way to Breckenridge is stopping at Apple Jack's Liquor. It is one of the last Denver metro exits on I-70, the Youngfield exit. This is a picture of their beer aisle. I bought some 90 Shilling made in Ft Collins and some Single Track Ale made in Boulder.

View of the 10 Mile Range. The South end of Breckenridge is barely visible in the middle of the photo. This picture is currently my wallpaper. It is a great photo when viewed on your monitor full size! Feel free to copy it. I took this photo from a lookout on Boreas Pass Rd.

Google Earth of Breck and Peak 8. The lake you see can only be visible if you climb Peak 8 to a certain elevation, which Diane and I did 12 years ago. My goal is to pedal as close as I can to it sometime. I got closer this year then ever before. Maybe next year I can do it. It will probably take about 3-4 hours to get there. I think I was within an hour this year, but I just wasn't prepared to push it further then I already had. Maybe if Bob had been with me...

Peaks trail:

The Peaks trail runs from Breckenridge to Frisco. It is a beautiful trail, except for the first third. It's pretty much like the 2 photos above; roots and rocks. I do a lot of walking and it's frustrating to try and ride it. The photos do not do it justice. Riding downhill on rocks is tough and very demanding mentally because you really have to pay attention or you will go down hard. Climbing is tougher yet, because I cannot get the momentum going to get over the big rocks. If you "stall" or if your front tire gets jammed, you go down. The rocks are not soft. The Peaks trail is the trail that Jody likes to bring up from time to time in her spin class. Her story is how a couple people that were going to ride didn't even make it to the trail head, and went back and ate bagels instead! I can vouch for the fact that just getting to the trailhead involves a lot of effort.

This is about 6 miles into the 10 mile long Peaks trail. There is a break and you get a nice view. What I'm trying to show though, is the effect of the pine bark beetle on the pine trees. All the rust colored trees are dead from this insect. There are whole mountain sides of trees that are dead in the higher elevations. The rust colored bike is the Santa Cruz Super Light that I rented. Jack's Cruel Joke, Moonstone, and Baker's Tank trails.

The above photos are of Jack's Cruel Joke. The trailhead is in a neighborhood. You enter it and it is all switchbacks up the side of a mountain. Not overly long, less then a mile. As you can see the trail is quite narrow and it angles to the downside. One mistake and you are off the trail and, well, you are fucked if you don't pay attention. It makes me nervous.

You can see the Beaver Run resort in the upper left background, which is where we stay.

Abandonded mine.

Nice to know there is a biffy at 11,000 ft if you need one.

A couple scenes from Baker's Tank trail. I think Bill took the first photo above.

I ran into a guy coming down Baker's Tank and asked him to take my picture. Yes, it's posed. Turns out he used to work at Vail as a photographer!

Next to me is John. He is co-owner of Avalanche Sports, where I've been renting bikes for the past 5-6 years. John is a great guy. Reminds me a lot of Larry Saylor. This is the bike he had for me to rent this year! Actually, I rented a Santa Cruz Superlight, same as I ride here. The reason I bought the Superlight that I have now is because I was so impressed with the bike after first renting one from John several years ago.

This is a Kenny and Kenny photo. Kenny works at Avalanche sports. Great guy-gave me lots of tips on where to ride. See you and John next year!


Burro trail: My favorite trail and the first one I ride every year is called the Burro trail. The trailhead is right behind the complex we stay at. It is moderately technical, mostly due to roots and rocks, and of course, the elevation. The path is well worn as it is used heavily by bikers and hikers. There is a creek that goes by some of it and a beaver pond part way up. What I like best about it is that there are jeep roads that go all the way up and over the 10 Mile Range to Copper mountain. It's still my goal to do that, as I mentioned earlier. I need Bob to push me over the damn mountain. It's a blast coming down.

This is Crystal Creek, elev 11,400 ft. I wasn't sure if I should pedal across this as the rocks looked slippery. I made it across with no problem, it was 4"-6" deep.Another shot of Crystal Creek. There is a small dam that I was standing on regulating the flow of water.

This is Francie's Cabin. This part of a network of CX ski lodges. It wasn't open, but I looked into the windows. There were a few bedrooms with either bunk beds or 2 single beds. I assume people share the kitchen and bathroom. I ran into a few hikers, one guy told me the story and to check out this website: http://www.summithuts.org/

Night life in Breck:





We found a newly opened (less then a year) bar and restaurant this year. It's called The Mother Loaded Tavern. Nate the bartender is pictured above with us. Great guy, you made us feel right at home!

I tend to forget names after we've been partying for a few hours... I think the guys name is Matt. And I think the woman is one of the owners of The Mother Loaded. Anyway, if you're in Breck, be sure to stop in! We only ate there once, but what we had was good.

http://www.motherloadedtavern.com/Site/Welcome.html

Sunset, Peak 8. Till next year....