July 22, 2022 to July 24, 2022
July 23-24: Trampolín de la muerte
Our alarms went off at 7am and we readied ourselves to tackle the Trampolín de la Muerte. To give you an idea of what this route would be like, I give you this screenshot from Google Maps.
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Unfortunately, just as we were leaving the hotel, it began to rain profusely. We couldn't help but wonder what we were getting ourselves into. Mocoa was basically wiped off the map several years ago due to flooding, and the Trampolín is notoriously rainy and prone to landslides and road closures. We seemed to be in for an authentic experience. Luckily, the rain slowly dissipated as we began our ascent, and instead turned into a heavy mist for most of our ride.
The road slowly transitioned from tropical forest as we climbed from the river and ascended into the clouds. It was surreal, and I'm honestly finding it tough to find the words to describe how spectacular it really was. The fog would part and further up we would see more sinuous ribbons of road meandering before bending around a corner or disappearing furthwr into the clouds.
The drop-offs were stark, and the road often narrowed to one lane. We all couldn't help but remark at just how incredible it was, and how special it seemed. But then we would be humbled as a family would pass us in their little Chevy Aveo or moto. We were reminded that, although extreme to us, for many this road is their norm. They have to get from point A to point B, and this is the way for them to do it. It's frightening to think that, especially as you pass countlesd crosses and shrines along the roadside.
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The climb was relentless, but the grade was reasonable save for some of the steeper switchbacks. We ascended ever upwards. The Trampolín is fascinating in that you make little horizontal progress and almost all vertical progress. A true y-axis road.
We eventually summited the worst of the Trampolín and had a short downhill. We had heard of several roadside stops that would permit camping, so we decided to check those as there were no other hotels or safe spots to camp along the road. We set our sights on El Refugio, approximately 53km from Mocoa. Little had we realized that it would require an additional 1500ft climb on top of what we had already done, but we had no other option.
The climb was slow, but overall the day had been easier than we were anticipating. We made it to El Refugio where the owners allowed us to set up our tents to the side of the restaurant. We enjoyed warm soup and a chicken dinner before dusting off our sleeping bags and going to sleep.
We all slept rather fitfully as trucks continued to pass by the restaurant throughout the night. It also rained off-and-on, and Girish and Brian had trouble keeping things dry.
We were awoken around 5:30am by roosters around our tents doing their classic morning calls. Achy and baggy-eyed, we packed up camp and had breakfast before continuing our climb. In comparison to yesterday, today was much less stunning, but everything is relative. It was still a spectacular route. We stopped once for aguapanela before reaching the summit at over 9000ft under a steady drizzle. It was quite cold, so we dawned our warm clothes and rain gear and descended into Sibundoy. As we descended, racers in a local mountain bike race were making their way up to the summit. It was now our time to cheer them on as we blasted past.
We were thick with mud as we made our way into Sibundoy where Girish had located a warmshowers host. We were greeted by Wilmer, a local Colombian bikepacker who also operates an eco-resort. He let us set up our tents on a covered shelter overlooking the valley.
Today's ride: 83 km (52 miles)
Total: 2,018 km (1,253 miles)
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