The final passion hit from last week, Mount Princeton, Colorado Trail.

[anthonys]

The slow crawl south through the Rockies continued with a visit to the comfy little town of Salida. Salida is a lovely little town populated by cruisers and dogs, kayaks and mountain bikers.

The mack-daddy, top o' the pops ride in this area is Monarch Crest, with good reason. But it was a tad early for such high country hijinks, and I wanted to expand the horizons a bit. Figuring that it is always hard to go wrong with the Colorado Trail, we opted for the section at the base of Mount Princeton.













The storm clouds were a'gathering. There got too be just a bit too much rumbley-thundery and lightning flashes for my tastes, so we turned tail before we could get to the legendary descent to Cottonwood Pass. Oh darn I have to come back and ride this section again...







Back @ the trailhead. Dark skies abound.

[anthonys]

A few supplementary photos from Salida:

[Low_Rider]

Nice shots Anthony, it looks like a great ride. I love the shot of the old roadie too.

Dave.

[P-Funk]

Those photos are absolutely gorgeous! I love those trails winding through the Aspens.

[QCRage]

Nice pics, good job with the kayak shot. I plan to ride Monarch next month, your shots of the area amp me up for the trip more than I already am (if that's possible...)

[Redmon]

Great shots as usual. I love the look of the trail running thru the trees. I dont get enough of that here in the desert. That first photo gives me a headache, wery weird,

Shawn

[SHIVER ME TIMBERS]

nice pics

[SHIVER ME TIMBERS]

Originally Posted by anthonys

A few

man you could surf that

[edemtbs]

Aaaaahhhh. One of my favorite places in the whole wide world and you've done gone and made me sad I weren't there this weekend.

Very Sweet - thanks!!

Ed E

[DirtDummy]

Just awesome...

[NuMexJoe]

And where might that trailhead be, if you're inclined to divulge? I'm goinna be up in BV visiting inlaws in a couple weeks and it'd be nice to ride something other than Midland. TIA, and nice pics!
- Joe

[anthonys]

Thanks all.

Originally Posted by NuMexJoe

And where might that trailhead be, if you're inclined to divulge? I'm goinna be up in BV visiting inlaws in a couple weeks and it'd be nice to ride something other than Midland. TIA, and nice pics!
- Joe

It is right outside of Nathrop, off of cr 322 near the Young Life Ranch.

[cdaddy]

Originally Posted by NuMexJoe

And where might that trailhead be, if you're inclined to divulge? I'm goinna be up in BV visiting inlaws in a couple weeks and it'd be nice to ride something other than Midland. TIA, and nice pics!
- Joe

NMJ,
I'm a little late jumping in here, but know that section of trail below Mt. Princeton pretty well. My family lives in Salida so I ride there whenever I visit. I'll be there over the July 4 holiday and plan getting several rides in over a 3 day period. Let me know if this coincides with your travel plans. FYI, to expand on the directions to the trailhead, park at the Younglife Ranch and start up the dirt road (the one on the right in the photo) to Mt. Princeton (you'll see the sign). About 1.5 miles up you'll see the trailhead cut off to your right (It's marked with the Colorado Trail Symbol). Enjoy 8+ or - miles of some fine singletrack, turn around at Cottonwood and head back. Return trip more fun in IMHO. Also just road the section of Rainbow Trail between CR103 and CR108 east of Salida off Hwy 50. Prolly 12mi out/back. Check it out if you have the time. Park at the National Forest sign on 103 and head up the road about 2 miles to the trailhead and head West.

[NuMexJoe]

Our paths will likely cross then. We're heading up Thursday PM of the 6th. I was on work crew one summer at Frontier Ranch (and lead cook another summer at Silver Cliff before YL sold it) so I know the area pretty well. But beyond Nathan Ward's excellent guide book, there's not much published info on riding in Chaffee Co. Once we nail down our plans on the days we'll be riding, I'll shoot you a PM. Thanks for the info and the offer!
- Joe