Independence Weekend in Fraser

We are staying so wonderfully busy that it's nearly impossible to make time for updating this blog. This summer Abbey is volunteering at the Denver Zoo, which seems at times to be a full time job, excepting the pay, of course. And she's keeping up with her trumpet, mellophone, and singing and guitar playing, as well as spending too much time texting boys. Quinn is spending too much time with his phone, too, although in the form of gaming more so than texting. He is continuing trombone lessons and playing in the Colorado Honor Band. And learning to ride wheelies. Cindy and Abbey have been running, and we're all trying to log as many miles as possible on our mountain bikes so that we can comfortably do some more ambitious, longer, higher elevation rides this summer and fall.

So I've failed to post a few significant events. One was this Buffalo Creek ride with Heather, Chris and Cailan. It was the same loop I'd written about here and here. It was especially notable because Chris and Cailan rode our black Fandango tandem. I forgot my camera, but Cindy caught this one with her phone:

But that was back on May 10th, and this story isn't about that. This story is about our Fourth o' July trip to Winter Park and Fraser....

It was sort of last minute, or last week, when we decided that we ought to get together for the extended weekend and do something fun in the mountains. We scrambled a bit to figure out we could do that would work for all of us, and wouldn't break the Cindy-doesn't-drive-a-bus-during-summer-so-we're-short-on-funds bank account. We ended up renting a townhouse in Fraser for a couple of nights and riding the now-familiar Winter Park trails. No lift-served rides this time, to Quinn's dismay.

For the record, here's what we did:

• July 4th: First a Blue Sky area loop with some "D" trails mixed in. Then, after dinner, a loop around Creekside and Flume. All of that was caught on a single GPS track: Click her for the Garmin link. It includes the drive to the house, so don't think the 50 mph max was done on my bike.
• July 4th: Another loop, nearly in the dark, around Creekside and Flume.
• July 5th: Devils Thumb Ranch. This was new for us. Sort of interesting, a private ranch with cross country ski trails open to bikes during summer, but not likely something we'll do again.
• July 5th: After some lunch back at the house, Elk Meadow, Sunken Bridges, Zoom, and Chainsaw. This was nice, but Zoom is really getting rough. We heard from a local that there's a secret, rogue, alternative trail that is better designed and may soon replace Zoom altogether.
• July 6th: To wrap things up, the Tipperary Creek loop. This trail is becoming Cindy's nemesis.

It's getting to be time to replace my old camera. Most of the pictures on this blog, and the original scaqabout were taken with a Canon Powershot A1000 that we've had for years. Not sure if this is really possible, but I think it's not focusing as well as it used to. And now it's lens cover is sticking half-way closed. So I'm probably going to need a new camera, but I'd rather get a dropper seatpost.

Amos came with us on our first loop, Blue Sky, but his pads weren't up to the abuse and he was limping on injured feet by the time we were done. We think he had a blast, but after that first ride, he spent the rest of the weekend hanging out in the house with Sharon. Poor guy could hardly walk, so he didn't seem to mind staying behind.

Devil's Thumb Ranch had some really nice scenery, and some of the the trails were good, but many of the trails had not really been built beyond a rough cut into the hillside for skiing, and others seemed to disappear into the forest, grass, and marshes. This is Quinn and Heather taking in the view.

The Elk Meadow Trail was nice. Plenty of cruising through forest on smoothly flowing trail.

Sunken Bridges, obviously. Lots of caddisfly and mayfly larvae in this little pond. Some other critters, too. Cailan may remember all of them.

Heather and Abbey finishing out the ride on the last bit of Chainsaw.

After a few miles of gentle climbing on a gravel road, the Tipperary Creek Trail climbs right at 1,000 feet in two miles. It's a smooth trail, so it's not terribly difficult, but it tops out at over 10,000 feet. So before we started the big climb, we stopped at the sign for peeing and a snack.

This is the first crossing of Tipperary Creek. It was nice and easy this time, but last summer, you might recall, there was quite a drop from the trail coming into the water, and Cindy took a chilly splash.

It's a beautiful valley. The sunny meadows are hot.

We were all impressed by Chris's strength and determination in climbing Tipperary with Cailan on the tandem.

The second crossing of Tipperary Creek at the top of the steepest two miles. The cold water was a welcome refreshment for our overheated bodies.

The descent from Tipperary back to Flume and on down Creekside to the parking lot is speedy. At the top it's very loose and very steep. Rather hazardous. Cindy took a nasty, scary spill at cruising speed, bruising and scraping most of her surfaces. She's OK now, still sporting bruises and scabs and either a bruised rib or a pulled muscle in her back, but she seemed a bit shaken up at the time. 

And then we engulfed a delicious high-calorie lunch at Elevation Pizza in Fraser before heading home.