August 27, 2022
Up and over Rollins Pass
During the night a couple of trains briefly disturbed my sleep, otherwise my stealth camping beside the Fraser River was quiet.
It's sunny as I awake, but as I begin to try to dry my dewy tent, fog begins to appear.
So it's a foggy ride as I follow the Granby to Fraser cycle path to a supermarket which is located well away from Granby itself.
Past the supermarket the cycle path takes a hilly route, so instead I will take the shorter highway route for about 5 miles.
Yesterday the highway traffic was fine but today it feels busier on this Saturday morning and so the last part of this climb isn't much fun.
Thankfully I'm able to rejoin the cycle path which becomes undulating and scenic as it pass through a pine forest on a now sunny day.
As I re-meet the railway line at Tabernash, finally a long freight train appears in the distance snaking it's way along. While annoyingly the cycle route suddenly takes a short sharp hill before slowly descending to Fraser Park. I'm expecting the west bound Amtrak train to come through soon but it never appears. Just like yesterday the train must presumably be delayed.
Thankfully a cycle path continues up the valley following the Fraser River, allowing a mostly highway free ride.
Along the way among a shopping centre is a small street library, allowing me to swap my the recently finished "The Perfect Storm" with a Wizard of Oz book.
The only downside of using the cycle path is that when I pass the turn off to begin the climb to Rollins Pass, I can't access it directly due to the highway being way high above. The only benefit of having to travel further on the cycle path before back tracking, is that it gives me a chance to see the western entrance of the Moffat Rail Tunnel, which I travelled through in 2014.
Before the Moffat Tunnel was built, the railway line went over Rollins Pass, which was the highest railway line in Colorado. This route allowed a more direct route from Denver to the west and today is the only east-west route through Colorado.
After a short descent on the highway, a road leaves off to the north.
t's a decent dirt road at a railway grade which reminds me of other former railway climbs I have done, particularly Boreas Pass. At this rate it feels like I could be at Rollins Pass within a couple of hours.
Soon a few cyclists appear, mostly rushing down towards me, along with cars and motorbikes. While at one stage there are high views of the Fraser Valley, which appear more populated than I thought.
As the former rail route crosses a road, suddenly the surface is a lot rougher. As many ATVs pass me, I know why.
To find a smoother path, I'm now having to constantly switch sides of the road, which cars are also doing.Still I continue cycling as many more cars and motorbikes pass me, along with a few cyclists including a few who are carrying luggage. They must have just cycled over Rollins Pass, yet none of them stop to offer any advice, instead they are just racing pass me.
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As a track becomes available off the road, I will take the opportunity to get away from this rough road, especially as the railroad clearly went this way.
It's still a rough ride especially as many railroad sleepers are still here, so I'm often walking my bicycle. However with no one around it's more relaxing, despite clouds gradually appearing.
To allow the railroad to climb in this section, it went around the edge of a hillside twice, using a few wooden trestle bridges to fill in a few gaps. These bridges are slowly rotting away but thankfully as I walk my bicycle across, they feel sturdy. While helpfully the rotten wood provides a sort of gutter, which is helping to keep my bicycle stay upright.
Maps.me suggest I will soon see a larger trestle bridge but as I go around a corner it appears well above me. While in front of me is a landslides where I assume the railroad continued. I could either turn around and retrace my route over two trestle bridges or climb up to the large trestle bridge using a narrow track.
It's a steeper harder track than I expected and my bike is heavy, so if I'm not careful, I could drop my bike off the hill.
Eventually after slightly slipping a few times, I have made it to the top, where after lifting my bike over a large log, I'm level with the large trestle bridge and the road has reappeared. As for the bridge, it's clearly seen better days so I wouldn't risk walking across this much longer and higher wooden bridge.
From here the road feels a more gradual climb and is slightly less rough but still it's taking a while as the landscape is becoming more open and more alpine in nature. Some of the surrounding mountains still have patches of snow.
After 4 and a half hours of climbing I have now made the pass. It's overcast and windy, and apart from a few noticeboards and some cars, there isn't much here.
After reading the informative information boards on the railroad’s history, I'm soon itchy to begin descending, especially as it's cold up here.
From here a gate is across the rail right of way, with a sign saying a tunnel is closed ahead. Still I will continue as there is no other option.
It's rockier now but since I'm descending, I'm doing okay but still at times I need to walk my bike due to being shaken a lot from all the rocks. While east in the distance I can see the end of the mountains and just make out where presumably way down below must be metropolitan Denver.
As I meet three hikers, a large wooden refurbished bridge appears, which I'm able to walk over, along with a shorter second bridge.
Past here another gate soon appears, so I will leave my bike and go for a walk.
After passing numerous rocks, it's soon clear why as a short curvy tunnel is blocked off, with signs saying danger no entry.
It's annoying as I can see daylight through the tunnel. Instead, I will have to walk my bike over the top.
Over the top, it's a narrow rocky track, so I'm slowly walking my bike.
Thankfully there are some nice distracting views, particularly of the railroad route snaking it's way down below.
To get back onto to the railroad grade, it's a quick sharp descent.
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From here the surface is just as rocky and rough and its now 6:30pm. After a long day I'm low on water so I need to find somewhere to camp, near water.
While exploring the tunnel, I saw a lake down below, so I'm aiming for that.It takes a while as the trail snakes it's way down but mostly the rough surface means I have to constantly stop.
As dusk begins I have finally made it, to where a few people are camping up a hill close to the lake. Including one cyclists heading in the opposite direction. She tells me it's just as rough from here and there is still another 10 miles to descend.
It's windy here, so to try to get out of the wind, I'm camping between rocks.
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