Sunday, August 10, 2008

Day 3 Stagecoach Lake SP to Gore Pass

Day 3: Stagecoach Lake State Park to Gore Pass crossing 1, 25 miles
Friday, 8/15/2008

Not all miles are created equal...this was a tougher day than yesterday was.

Well, today we hit our first batch of bad weather. It was cool with menacing clouds most of the day, but at the end we caught some rain, with lightning and thunder close by. Mom was spooked by the lightning and bolted (pun intended) past me. I thought it was very cool...the thunder was booming to our right, and echoing off the mountains to our left.

We had a treat to start the day...we crossed the dam that creates Stagecoach Lake, and then enjoyed our only singletrack of this trip...about 2 miles paralleling the lake.


Dam crossing

Next up was our first official (named) pass of the trip...Lynx Pass. This is a gravel road that connects Stagecoach Lake with Gore Pass. It climbs, mostly gradually, for 17.5 miles. There is one small respite around the midpoint of the climb in an area known as High Meadows, where the road flattens out for a few miles. The road was wide at first, and narrowed as we slowly spun up the pass.

Almost as soon as we left the lake, Richie complained of knee pain. Ruh roh, this happened one day earlier in our training on a rented bike, but he has never had trouble on his own bike. We fed him Aleve, and suggested he put his bike in the easiest gear on the hills. Also Grandman suggested that he raise his seat a quarter inch. Fortunately all these little things seemed to do the trick, and his pain lessened.

Grandman and Richie seem to think Grammi's hair looks funny. Not me (but I did have my camera handy to document the moment!)

We crested the Pass in a light rain, but it rapidly got cooler and rainier on the short descent (3 miles) to Gore Pass. We had hoped to ride another 5 miles, but we were all happy to see Grandman and we decided to end our day right there. Good decision, as it rained even harder over the next hour.

Atop Gore Pass...life is good until the lightning show started

Tonight we are staying at a ranch on the other side of Gore Pass. My Uncle Nelson and Aunt Jean have a wonderful ranch right here on Gore Pass, and we are enjoying their company (and roof) on this stormy and cool afternoon.

Link to Day 3 Pictures:

Click here to open Day 3 album in a new window



Click 'View Elevation' button to open full size interactive Day 3 map

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