Guanella Pass

If you find yourself on US 285 heading west towards Conifer and Bailey, go a bit further to Grant, CO and try out Guanellla Pass! We did today! Heading west on US 285 just past Grant you will come to Geneva Street and will be welcomed by a sign for Guanella Pass. The pass has a starting elevation of 8,675 and will reach the summit at 11,672.  Currently, the pass is going through much construction. It is passable all the way to the summit and over, but you can not go all the way to Georgetown, CO on the opposite side. However, the construction process is for complete paving of the road and this is supposed to be completed by October 1, 2010. However, it is unclear whether the Grant side will be re-paved or not? The pass today ranged from pot-holed and crumbled asphalt, extremely bumpy dirt road to a smooth and primed dirt road at the summit and beyond. We are anticipating the full paved road completion will lead to easier access and maybe even more cyclists! Map of Guanella Pass and its elevation is below!

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                       
From Matt's cycling perspective:

I brought my full-rigid Surley Karate Monkey with a Rampage 2.3 front tire and a Conti Mountain King on the back.

However, I felt I would have been better off with a cycle-cross or even a touring bike with fatter tires to absorb the potholes. Although the first five miles and the last five miles on a cycle-cross bike would have been bumpy and somewhat difficult. In addition, the first five miles were rather rough and filled with potholes and wash board roads. I felt this was an enjoyable ride in terms of being challenged. Near the top there were some spots that ranged from 9% grade. The average grade for the pass is about 4.5 % and even some areas where it toped at 11% and 12% percent, but these were short-lived.  The decends are fast and put the pucker factor up to a moderate high level! Make sure you check your speed and not loose control of you and your bike! My top speed was about 42 mph and this was with fat knobbies! Be ready for rain and storms and tuck a rain jacket in your jersey or bag! It was nice and cool, but no adverse weather conditions to write home about! Thank goodness! One thing I did learn from this pass experience, I need to put down the gummy worms and the Klondike bars and get my fat butt in shape! Here is a picture of tons of fun at the top with Olivia. Why couldn't she stand more in front of my gut?

From Erica, Olivia, and Cooper's "sag wagging" perspective: The roads were chaotic and made for a bumpy ride! The Duck Creek River is close-by and we followed it most of the way. Some of the river spots were high and rough water. Let's just say I shooed off the dog and threatened the child to stay away! There were some calmer areas and some small lakes sporadically which seemed to be well-fished. Many people stood along with their poles! When you traveled further along the pass there were additional picnic areas, hiking trails, and camping locations with fees. All of these areas fell within the Pike National Forest. There were plenty of trails that will take you all the way to the summit. Most of the campsites seemed well-maintained, but there were no RV hook-ups and all restrooms seemed to be pit-toilets and no running water. However, there was no way to know for sure. After seeing the first pit-toilet from HELL which had no door, piles of trash inside, and plenty of "poo" on the seat, no one ventured into another pit-toilet area! Here is a picture of the portal of hell!

Be careful because there are many people on horse-back! We may go back for a ride by horse! There seemed to be much business from the Tumbling River Ranch! Check it out! The rest of the road up to the summit had plenty of lush green trees where many deer quietly peered from their grazing! Although, Olivia got out of the car and attemped to have a full blown conversation with the deer which led them to become bored and walk away! When you reach the summit keep your eyes peeled for Colorado Big Horn Sheep! The rocky mountain peaks of Gray Peak and Torrey's Peak provide great spots for them to roam!       

You can also access additional hiking paths which are part of the Mt. Evans Wilderness Area. Make sure you have a sweater or light jacket in your vehicle! I, on the other hand, allowed my child to run around the summit with nothing more than a tank top and shorts. She's tough!

There are also LOTS of mosquitoes! Bring the spray! But, don't allow your child to use it! Olivia sprayed each and every mosquito and then proceeded to spray continusly nowhere which led to covering my side windows and led to poor visibility! But we were mosquito free! All in all, this was a nice pass and enjoyable ride. However, after five full hours of listening to our dog panting heavilly and huffing and puffing in my ear and Olivia swatting at him and screaming for him to stop along with the pleading of wanting to sit in the trunk without her seatbelt, I am glad to be home!