schnauzers.ws

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to do two things I am passionate about at the same time.  I was able to volunteer and ride with my friends.

It was great to get out to some higher elevation and techy trails.

We took the time to setup our shuttle.  After ending with South Saint Vrain trail, there is very little energy or muscle left to climb back to the car.  Though it’s not a ton of mileage, it makes up for it in brute force.

We headed up and down Sourdough trail on our way to Waldrop trail.

While it may start with a walk in the park, you get pummeled uphill and downhill pretty quickly.

Chunk is king here.  You either carry the momentum or get stuffed.  Standing still is deadly, as I have the bruises to prove it.

Chunk brings reward and that is in the form of some spectacular trails.  Just a short drive from Boulder, but you’d think there was no one around for hundreds of miles.

There was quite a lot of deadfall, but that didn’t stop us.

This is what kicking arse over rocks is all about!

Once we hit the Waldrop trail, were weren’t shown any mercy.  Yup, snow drifts in June and they were icy.

I am not easily impressed, but Maureen and her husband Brad humbled me.

By this point, I had the opportunity to talk to a few hikers but only saw one other biker.  It was odd that there were so few people on such a beautiful day.

Something to test everyone, including some skinnies.

Ok, so it’s not that skinny, Fun, none-the-less.

Which way do we go?

We finish Waldrop into the awesome new campground at Brainard Lake.  I didn’t take any photos, but it’s pretty posh for a USFS campground.

Meh!  What’s so special about this place, anyway?

SSV was rockier than I remember.

What I didn’t capture in this photo was the steepness, nastiness, and awesome-ness of Maureen clearing the whole thing.  You would have to be there to appreciate it.

After taking some time to speak with a few more hikers, it was time to fly on out to the shuttle truck!