Thankfully, Jason is not training for any races right now and finished school for the Summer. Last weekend, we crammed in a heap of workouts and adventures. Sat morning I rode 28 miles with a friend, then ran 4 miles off the bike. Jason went for a hard trail run up and down a few local mountains Sat afternoon.
Sunday morning we woke early and packed the family in the car. Drove to Littleton, CO and met friends to practice open water swimming. At first, I panicked. But eventually I settled into it and got over 1 mile of swimming in.
After grabbing a quick breakfast with our friends, we headed to Waterton Canyon. Jason hopped on the mountain bike and started up the first segment of the Colorado Trail. He mountain biked 6 miles up the double track and then locked the bike at a covered picnic area, next to a flock of bighorn sheep. He then proceeded to run 10.4 miles (mostly uphill) along the single track trail.
I drove the girls around, through Conifer CO, to the end of segment 1. We had never been to this area before and I was not confident that we were in the right spot. When we parked, next to a few other cars, I saw a bear on the hill just above us. The bear was small... not a newborn cub but not quite a teenager, either. He was cute, and playing in the rocks. I was not afraid of this bear, and he was a little ways away from us, but I kept an alert eye wondering where the mamma bear might be.
As I set up a picnic with the girls, other people came and went at the trailhead. Many people were there to fish. I saw the bear here and there, and it was slowly approaching our area. I warned another family that the bear was coming closer to their kids by the water, and I prepared to move my kids into the car. The parents went in search of the bear, on foot, with their camera. That really irritated me. I moved my kids into the car and we watched for 15 min or so as the bear came near our picnic site, and people gathered all around to take pictures of the bear. Still no mamma in sight. Just many curious humans. The little guy eventually scampered away over the hill.
Jason had not arrived yet and I was nervous that we weren't in the right spot. Rachel and Ava were both getting cranky and needing to sleep. I had asked several people if I was at the Colorado Trail parking lot, and received various vague answers. Finally someone told me the actual trail head was 1/2 mile or so up the road still, so we got in the car and drove up there. It was hot... probably mid 80s. We arrived at the very clearly signed and marked trail head just in time to see Jason arriving safely.
Jason and I switched, and I started off going back the way he came as he got in the car and drove the girls back into cell service and into little girl slumber. I climbed for 2 miles and then had a lovely fun descent all the way back to the bike. Most of the way I clapped and shouted and thought of bears. I saw 2 other people and felt slow and sluggish. I was delighted to make it back to the bike, see all the bighorn sheep, and ride down Waterton Canyon double track back to the car. Jason and the girls were there for me in the parking lot, and we drove home.
This was my second piece of the Colorado Trail. I've ran about 6 miles near Kenosha Pass and now have completed the 16 miles of segment 1. There are 28 segments for a total of 486 miles. We've got some work to do!! Completing all the segments is another item on my bucket list, but a goal that will take me a very long time to complete.
We hope to do a similar adventure soon in order to get in some more training and another segment...
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