Pumphouse camp to Frisco After the thunderstorm and sogginesss of the night before, and the carrot of 2 nights in Frisco ahead of me, I decided to get on the road relatively early again. I was shocked to wake up to dense fog!? Like coast fog. Not bad in itself, but not helpful if you’re trying to dry things out! I scurried about packing up my wet things while drinking coffee and eating oatmeal. While not ideal conditions, I still got on the road relatively early—about 8:30. The days route started with a climb right away, so up I went through the fog, thinking it would burn off soon. Well, I rode in fog for about 3 hours before I could start to see the horizon again. I rode past the town of Kremmling, resisting the temptation to go hang out in a warm restaurant and drink coffee for a while. I pedaled past vast farming and ranching areas and then by a large reservoir before climbing out of that high valley into mountains and pines again. I was heading up a creek toward a pass named Ute pass when the sun finally made its first appearance of the day! I stopped in its warming rays and just soaked it in for a while. What a lift to see the sun and blue sky once again! My spirits buoyed, I climbed up Ute pass without any significant difficulty, past an enormous mine of some sort. Once at the top of Ute pass, I was greeted with one of the best Mountain View’s I’ve seen since Canada. Vast rugged peaks on the other side of a deep valley as far as the eye could see! I stopped to take pictures and soak in the view for a few minutes. Then, the road plunged down into the valley, all the way to the bottom. It felt so good to fly down the hill at speed after many hours of climbing. Once at the bottom of the valley, I was met with a headwind that made my progress slower than I wanted, but I kept my spirits up thinking of my destination for the day, and admiring the views. Upon reaching Silverthorne, the route jumped on a very nice paved bike trail that I would stay on all the way into Frisco. But first, one more thunderstorm! I had been dodging thunderstorms for the last 3 afternoons, resulting in varying degrees of wetness. Yet again, I found myself racing a beauty of a thunderstorm heading my way. Once again I thought just maybe I could stay ahead of it, but quickly realized the folly in that! Luckily, the trail I was on went under a bridge, so I decided to take a break under it and just see what this thunderstorm was go to do. The bridge was clean, with a mural painted on the wall, and no broken bottles, pee smell or trolls underneath it. Well, except for me—I kinda look like a garden gnome now! I waited there watching the trout rise in a beautiful, crystal clear creek. It wasn’t long at all before the skies opened up and the deluge began! Heavy rain and hail was accompanied by lightning right over the bridge. It was really an impressive thunderstorm, and I was honestly feeling a bit smug for being smart about my choice for once! Jill would be so proud… Once the storm passed, I emerged from my refuge and continued on the path toward Frisco, riding through up to an inch of hail in spots. The rest of the path went without incident, and I finally arrived in Frisco to find a beautiful little mountain town with the hotel I booked just a few blocks up the street. I was very relieved to see the hotel, and was ready for some food and rest. Turns out there was music and free snacks in the lobby in about 15 minutes! I caught a quick shower and went down to the lobby and helped myself to a charcuterie plate that felt like it saved my life! I relaxed, listening to music and eating my snacks, done. Physically and mentally done. And life was good…I love it all.