Day started out pretty fast, I had a little downhill to start, and then a pretty gradual climb. After the climb the roads meandered up and down steeply, until I spit out onto a highway and rode a few miles into the town of Richfield. I was looking forward to food and drink, and a new fuel canister. I always try to find a park for free water first thing upon entering a town, just to ensure I am topped off and wont be tempted to buy water or Powerade at the store. First park was full of people at a sort of market Saturday thing, so I rode on to another one by the interstate which was really nice. Tall trees, green grass that begged to be walked on with bare feet, covered picnic tables and a working water fountain. Also bathrooms, I didn't know it at the time but I would swing by here again just before leaving town. I went by Walmart first to get fuel but they were out. I got some thread while I was there and also a bunch of food. I stopped by the nearby Burger King for a quick meal and tried the Ace next door for fuel, and man they had all kinds of stuff there. Biggest Ace I've ever seen. Lots of options. I ended up with a smaller version for less weight and space. They had a selection of freeze dried meals and so I got one to compare with my cheaper go to Knorr pasta sides. I rode away from town under the interstate and was instantly on dirt, straight uphill. Steep and loose. I was afraid the motorized traffic would be bad since I saw quite a few at the beginning but as I climbed the traffic thinned out considerably. I was really bouyed by all the caffeine I had just drank and I got over the intital climb up to above 7500 without too much extra effort. Before today when I peeked at the elevation profile, I wrote off the several miles of undulation between the completion of the climb from Richfield but before the big downhill to Kanosh. In actual fact, this was the hardest section of the entire trip so far. By a long shot. It was a succession of short, super steep climbs. Straight up, then straight back down again. Loose and washboarded. This was fine, I was doing ok just going slow. While climbing up from Richfield I had enjoyed having the sun blocked by a little storm. Nothing major. Well that storm rained on the super steep section, and turned black moon powder into the most powerfully sticky mud glue I have ever seen. It wasn't that much rain. But just getting it wet did the trick. I couldn't even push the bike, and there was no grass to walk through. I could barely scrape it off my tires. My shoes became mud bricks. I picked up the bike, draped it over my shoulders and backpack, and trudged down the 12% grade, and back up a 14% grade. Eventually after several stops to let my back rest, I found that after painstakingly scraping off my tires I could walk through a little bit of grass on the side. This went on for awhile. When I got to the top, I coasted down and let the mud sling off and it went everywhere. But I got off and pushed for the hills still. I knew the storm was small so I figured it would dry out soon enough. And so it did. I was finally able to start riding. Steep up, steep down, rocks and washboard. Rinse and repeat. The surface got drier and drier. It became like powder. On a little downhill I caught a powdery rut wrong and went down into a bush. Only a little scrape and the bike was good. I continued on. Up another really steep, longer set of hills. Now for the downhill into Kanosh. As I crested the hill and committed to the descent I second guessed myself and knew I should be walking. It was extremely loose and crazy steep and with such deep powder covering the deep ruts, I couldn't really see a good line. My front tire washed out on a rut. I wasn't going fast at all but it was so steep I actually rolled a bit, and so did the bike. I was absolutely covered in black dirt. And I had a dirty road rash on my elbow. But more importantly my rear derailleur hanger was bent. Thankfully the bike still pedaled, but I couldn't use all my gears. I walked down the steep grade. My brakes needed adjustment and I feared they were shot. I rode some of the slightly less steep downhill. Then had to walk again. I came upon a little rushing creek and instantly made the decision to stop and clean up, fix everything, and rest. It was late anyway. Not nearly as far as I wanted to go today. But I cleaned myself and my gloves and jersey, replaced my hanger, and both front and rear brake pads which were indeed both almost to the metal. This is my last descent off the Rockies. What a way to show me the door on my way out.