Day 06 - GSDNP to Gunnison, CO

During a hearty breakfast at the lodge restaurant this morning, we watched the sun light the sand dunes and we looked forward to our hike on them.

After crossing the expansive dry lake in front of them, which fills in the spring from winter’s thaw, we started to ascend. The sand was surprisingly firm, in some areas hardpacked, and in many unexpected areas it was soft like the beach. We made a rookie mistake by standing in one place for too long taking pictures, when the wind picked up dramatically. This was the result.

Ok, that’s not really true but we couldn’t resist goofing around. The sand dunes were about 650 feet high where we hiked, with the highest point at 750 feet. The dunes were eroded from mountains maybe 440,000 years ago. They are nestled against the Sangre de Cristo mountains behind them. We had perfect weather to hike up the ridges that formed perfect points in areas.

During summer months, the sand can reach 140 degrees! No bare feet here. 

After the dunes and lunch, we headed west. In Del Norte, we took a rest break and chatted with a group of four men from Alabama. They trailered their bikes to Amarillo, then were riding around Colorado, also heading to Gunnison today. For awhile we followed them on the Silver Thread Scenic Byway (Colorado Highway 149 between South Fork and Lake City).

We crossed the Rio Grande River, in full rapids.

And came across a few surprises in small towns, like this big fork.

And llamas in transit.

We followed the Rio Grande until it ended in a large basin area, down to a mere trickle. Highway 149 passes very close to the birthplace of the Rio Grande in Canby Mountain.

We began to ascend the San Juan Mountains crossing first over the Spring Creek Pass at 10,889 feet and then over the Slumgullion Pass. The scenery got more impressive around every turn. We were thrilled to see pops of gold in the treeline, and as we ascended higher, we were surrounded by the changing aspens.

The temps dropped rapidly as we ascended, reaching the Slumgullion Pass at a whopping 11,530 feet.

The descent was equally interesting, as the weather began to turn and the skies turned dark. In the distance we could see massive mountains.

Our descent took us through Lake City, a resort town with tons of cabins along the river.  We closely watched the weather radar on the Wing and saw rain ahead for us. A few sprinkles didn’t bother us and we hoped for the best. Then it poured. There was no where to safely pull over to put on our rain gear, so we toughed it out for about 5-10 minutes.  Michele’s thighs got wet, but otherwise we were ok, staying relatively warm with our heated jackets on. At this point we had about 60 miles remaining to Gunnison. We got to our hotel at 5pm and the skies opened. After unpacking the bike and covering it for the night, we walked in a very chilly 51 degrees to a pizza place for dinner. 

Today was filled with spectacular scenery. We saw plenty of animals, including horses, hundreds of loose sheep (pictures are a bit too blurry to share), buffalo (raised, not wild), pikas, deer, chipmunks, goats, and the llamas in a box