Upper Dome Reservoir to La Garita For only the third time this entire trip, I woke up to frost. Not surprising, as I woke up sometime in the night and put my beanie hat on. I was barely warm enough, and made a mental note to layer up if I experienced any colder weather. I got up before the sunrise, made coffee and slowly began the process of packing up camp. I draped the tent fly over a large sagebrush awaiting the sunrise. I took a short walk while drinking my coffee, listening to the cows and trumpeter swans and enjoying the view. Breakfast was a breakfast burrito purchased in Salida the day before. I warmed it up over the jet boil. I dragged my feet intentionally hoping the sun would dry out my frosted gear. My strategy worked, and I welcomed the sun and just stood there feeling its warmth for a while. I departed right at 10:00, with a relatively short ride ahead of me. It was a nice morning with no wind and a high cloud cover. Good gravel road made the miles roll by easily. When I got to the first climb of the day, I caught up with a single bike packer. We chatted for a while; her name was Amy from Wisconsin and she just retired in May! She had started in Banff as well, and her plan was to ride “until she’s not having fun anymore”. I admired her spirit. I then caught up with a couple riding with their dog! Steve and Joyce and Patches from California were doing the Divide section from Salida to Del Norte—about 160 miles—over 5 days. Patches would walk/run the uphillls and mellow flats, then ride in his trailer for the downhills. I dreamed of doing the same with Timber. I caught up with this trio right at the summit of the climb, and we chatted for quite a while. Amy reached the summit during our conversation so we had a nice little group. After parting, I caught one more person; Craig from Nevada. Craig was 68 years old and had left Fairbanks Alaska on May 1st! I peppered him with questions about the trip, and the 6 month adventure he was on. He had biked all over the US—it was his thing, for sure. We parted at the next intersection, and wished each other well. 6 miles of pavement with no shoulder until the next gravel road reminded me why I look forward to gravel. An RV blew by me at close range, spiking my blood pressure and causing me to speed up to get to the next gravel section. Once safely on gravel, I exhaled and began a long gradual climb up a pass called Carnero Pass, just over 10,000 feet. The road surface wasn’t great, but the views were, and with the lack of traffic I could pick my line. Up I went, and once again I climbed into pines and aspen and high meadows. The views made the climb almost unnoticeable, and I stopped frequently to take pictures. Once at the top of the climb, I took a little break and just soaked it all in: the view, the air, the sunshine, life itself. I tried to figure out just why I enjoyed doing things like this so much, and finally decided it doesn’t matter—I just do. I missed my person and our place and even comfort, but at that moment I felt so blessed to just be there. Philosophical ponderings done, I buttoned up and started the descent. I was a bit careful, as the road surface was still not great, but it gave me time to take in the sights. I simply loved the terrain! I descended through timber, then alpine meadows, then huge boulders the size of houses looking like they were just thrown about. Eventually I began to see some houses in a picturesque little basalt canyon. At this point I was back in juniper and pinion pine with thicker timber spilling over the side of the canyon. Again, the miles just slipped by while I was enjoying the view. This was a day where the terrain and views were a pleasant surprise! Better than I expected! Right at my destination—La Garita—the terrain opened up to flat farmland and plain with more mountains many miles in the distance. I made a short detour to check out the camping options near La Garita, then headed to the “town”. Town consisted of a convenience store and attached restaurant. The restaurant was closed, but the convenience store was open, so I bought a coke and some chips and asked about cyclist camping there. Turns out they are set up nicely for cyclist camping, with a nice lawn to pitch tents in, a full bath with shower, and plenty of plug ins for topping off electronics. Heaven! Or…if the weather is “iffy” and since there was no one else there, I was offered a little one room log cabin to sleep in. Well, I determined the weather was iffy so I hung out in the cabin. I had a freeze dried meal, and ice cream for dessert. What a day. I fell asleep reflecting on everything I’d seen today, hoping Jill was doing ok scrambling to get out of town, and retirement. Another good day in the books…