Day 47 - June 19 - Aspen Glen Campground, CO to Walden, CO - Two Old Guys Take On A Continent

June 19, 2023

Day 47 - June 19 - Aspen Glen Campground, CO to Walden, CO

Over the Hump!

Ed’s Story

I woke up early this morning in anticipation of a long climb we had ahead of us to get to Cameron Pass. Everything got packed up; ate breakfast; and we hit the road.

It’s interesting that the campground was level; but if you looked out at the road, you can see a definite grade upwards.

I told John that I was going to climb to the pass at my own rate. If I had to stop every mile, I would stop. If I had to stop every half mile I would stop. There were times I was stopping every 1/10th to 2/10ths of a mile. As my legs got tired I stopped; rested for a minute; and then I was able to continue.

There wasn’t much snow in our area so I wasn’t too much worried about avalanches. But signs like this make you wonder.

I continued riding and continued stopping. Not sure how long ago but there was a Cameron Pass fire. It must’ve really devastated the area. In some locations people put out signs thanking the firefighters.

Compare the trees on the left hand and the right hand side of the road. You can see the fire damage on the left side of the picture.

Not quite at the pass. Still almost 300 feet to climb.

We stopped at an access point to Zimmerman Lake. I talked to a gentleman who is going out fly fishing on the water in a small boat. He said the water was really cold.

Fishing rules for Zimmerman Lake and the reestablishment for fishing.

Snow on the ground is just 20 feet away from me.

We made our last stop about two miles from the pass. We were almost there.

We made it. I rode the whole way up. I did not push my bike 1 foot to get to this pass.

I wasn’t worried; we were in no danger of an avalanche. But it’s good to know the warning signs.

It was pretty much all downhill from the top of the pass. There was a little bit of climbing but not much. We had to descend 2,200 feet to get to Walden.

8 miles after the pass we stopped at the Colorado State Moose Visitor Center. This place is all about the moose. I didn’t take a picture, but there is a whiteboard out front where people can list their moose sightings.

As you can read, the moose in the picture above is made of barbed wire.

We continued riding until we got to Walden. We found the city park and set up our tents. John’s is further behind me by the overhang. I did not want to set my tent up in the deep grass.

The showers were taken at the city pool about a five minute walk away. It was well worth the five dollars since we did not have a shower yesterday.

After our showers, we headed to the laundromat to wash clothes. We found a local bar where we could drink a beer or two while the clothes was washing. There are no grocery stores in the immediate vicinity, so we just bought orange juice for tomorrow.

Tomorrow we head to Saratoga, Wyoming. We will be staying at a WarmShowers host maintained by the local Episcopal church. It will be about a 67 mile ride. Right now the good thing is we will be headed north to northwest. The wind is from the south. We should have a nice tailwind tomorrow.

Until then, happy biking!

John’s Story

Short and sweet tonight. Mostly captions.

Sunrise creeping down the mountain. The sound of a dead tree falling in the burned area. Hummingbirds flitting about.

OK, we know what they’re full of. Why not clean them out?

Hazel helped her family pack into and out of Zimmerman Lake.

My happy face at the top of Cameron Pass. It persisted for the next 5 miles as we descended 1,000’ in that distance. Nice that 25 mph was now a bicycle speed not a headwind. And brakes were for slowing down, not preventing the bike from rolling backwards.

New flowers on the west side of the pass.

In the middle of nowhere but ready for Christmas.

The only real moose I saw today. Excuse the graphic image.

Wide open mostly flat sagebrush country surrounded by snowy ranges.

The flowers were sometimes so thick on the ground they looked like snow cover.

Gentle downhill grade with a tailwind. Gotta love it,

Tonight’s destination in Walden, the moose viewing capital of Colorado.

Plenty of evidence in the city park that moose do indeed play here.

After we rode in, we were joined by Nikolai, then Paul and Nate, then Louis and Steve. They are all riding the Transamerica route east to west from Virginia. The Transamerica and the Eastern Express meet here at Walden. There are now 6 tents pitched in the park. We will have company when we head out tomorrow for Saratoga, Wyoming.

One of the attractions in Saratoga is the Hobo Hot Springs. I called the city today to confirm what we had heard about closures due to river flooding. They told me the large hot pool is closed, but the smaller not-so-hot pool and changing rooms and free showers are open.

On to Saratoga!

Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 1,796 miles (2,890 km)

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