Leg 3 of the Vision Quest took place in the Mountains of Colorado
| Day 13 Breckenridge 2 Cottonwood Hot Springs |
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| Click on the pic to see Day 13 Photo Gallery |
Day 13 By some miracle I woke up early
Sunday morning, so I limped out onto the balcony and wished everyone good luck in the Fat Tire Festival via cell
phone. I really wanted to be there with them but turns out they really didn't need me there after all. My
teammates on Bell & Co MTN Biking rocked out and won the covetted Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival Team Trophy!
When I found out I felt like a proud father. It made me feel so good to know that the team had become totally sustainable
and could thrive in my absence. Now when I take my journeys I know the team will keep rollin' on. Thanks to
Dad, Jeff, Greg, Wes, Todd, Kevin, Robert & everyone else for stepping up and leading the team to glory. As for
me, I had my own demons to slay and my journey of self discovery had only just begun. During the Breck
100 we had punished our bodies for
100 miles in a high altitude (9,000-12,000 ft elevation) pain locker. We had climbed over 14,000 vertical
feet and my body had been bashed for 14 1/2 hrs continuously (Record for longest finish in Breckenridge 100 history).
So that morning we all celebrated the masachistic affair by treating ourselves to a huge breakfast @ the Blue Moose Cafe.
Our rag tag mod squad of Moab Cullen, Denver Daniel, Mohican Ryan and myself devoured our body weights in pancakes, eggs,
and anything else we could fit into our stomachs. Over breakfast we discussed our war stories with the mastermind Breck
100 promoter (Thane) and his cool lady (Rachael). They decided to go ride the last loop of the course post breakfast
but I didn't even want to think about sitting on a bike seat, my ass was so sore I felt like I had just gotten out of
prison (that is a joke in case your reading this w/o your breakfast coffee). Next on my agenda was to drop the bike
off for a tune-up @ Absolute Bikes in Salida, grab some grub @ Bongo Billy's and do some laundry. My dirty
clothes bag was starting to get a little stanky seeing how I had not washed any clothes since I left Arkansas 2 wks ago.
After some relaxin in the laundry mat I loaded up on yogurt and headed towards Crested Butte. I was so tired that I
decided to stop early and camp out @ the Cottonwood Hot Springs. That was a good choice, I got to soak my weary and
beaten body in the warm therapeutic natural springs. No problem sleeping that night.
| Day 14 Cottonwood Pass 2 Crested Butte |
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| Click on the pic to see Day 14 Photo Gallery |
Day 14: No problems sleeping last night at
the Cottonwood Hot Springs. After soaking in the warm waters my muscles felt smooth as molasses but my ass still burned
with the sting of 14 hrs & 100 miles in the saddle. Leaving the hot springs and climbing up Cottonwood Pass brought
on an excitement that was almost palpable. The mountain gave way under the spinning tires of the mighty Elemente as
Blonde Redhead cried out with passion "I live up on Magic Mountain, no one leaves Magic Mountain." The lyrics
echoed how I felt deep down in the core of my soul. Like I was living in a different world than the one
I had known only weeks before. Colors of the flowers had taken on brighter hues, the clouds opened up above me welcoming
me in, all my senses were operating at a higher vibration, and I felt as if a chasm was opening up between my old life and
the new one which had just begun. Limitations to where I could go, what I could do, or who I could be all
began to dissolve. I was waking up. At the mountain’s crest I pulled over and looked across
the valley below, "How could I ever go back to my normal life?" School, obligations, self induced slavery, the
rat race of the city with all its bullshit, they all begged the same question: Why, why live like that, why go back???
Before long I was coasting into Crested Butte, Colorado. Little did I know how my heart would always yearn for this
bohemian little village. Mohican Ryan had warned me, "Don't go to Crested Butte, you'll never leave."
As I entered the town, drums called out from the park. Following the primal beats I found myself before the percussion
extraordinaire, Bones. Children were chasing after puppies; puppies were running after children, the aura
was exquisite. After the show I joined Bones and his friends at the local pub for a brew-ha.
Then it was off to Oh Be Joyful Campground for a night under the stars. Halfway there the
car behind me started flashing his headlights and waving me down. Much to my relief this was no cop, instead
a fellow Arkansas native had recognized the plates and wanted to discuss life in “The Natural State.”
No matter where I wander there are always amazing folks to meet, they all have a story to tell.
| Day 15 Crested Butte "Wildflower Capital of CO" |
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| Click on the picture to see Day 15 Photo Gallery |
Day 15: Crested
Butte. As I crawl out of my tent, my senses are fully awakened. The
river rushes below me and the MTNs nod with approval in the distance. First full day in CB and I’m
eager to see the infamous trails for myself. Today I’ve lined up the epic Reno-Flag-Bear-Deadman’s
Gulch with Rosebud Extension. Along the drive to the trailhead, I stop to tap some H20 and submerge my
head in the pure waters of a mountain stream. The refreshing sensation of coldness feels like a mini baptism
as the tingles extend down my spine. Surely no man could dunk my head with such conviction and passion
as that which is inherently exuded by the pure mountain streams which provide life to all they touch and peace to a traveling
soul. As I reach the trailhead a small squirrel catches my attention and I ponder the meaning of his life
and my own. Are we really so different? Down the trail the overwhelming beauty of the
ubiquitous wildflowers overwhelm me and I am forced to stop and soak up their radiance. Surely no place
can be so beautiful where God is not all pervasive. This trip has become much more than an adventure or
an escape from the doldrums of normalcy. It has now taken on the character of a spiritual resurrection;
although I had begun to feel the change I could have never prepared myself for what was to come.
| Day 16 Crested Butte Deer Creek Trail |
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| Click on the pic to see Day 16 Photo Gallery |
Day 16: CB Deer
Creek Trail. “God I love this place. This morning I cried when I looked
out across the MTNs and wildflowers. I’ve never seen you in so many places all at once.”
If I could have stayed in that moment of bliss for all eternity you would not have ever seen me again.
The day took me one step closer to finding myself and finally truly beginning to see. After a typical
breakfast of ~4 eggs over 4 pieces of jam & toast and a bowl of oatmeal I headed off to discover the Deer Creek Trail.
Never in my life had I had the pleasure of riding a more enjoyable trail. At one point I actually
screamed out how much better it was than sex! Some experiences transcend the physical, this one undoubtedly
qualified. I can’t express in words how it felt. Maybe it was the flow or the
submersion into being totally in the moment or maybe it was the wildflowers and wild cabbage up to my shoulders or the
groves of aspen trees which all share a common root system making them one giant living being with many faces or maybe it
was something more: a state of mind that I had not previously experienced. As I rode back towards the car
in complete euphoria the rain began to fall. I laughed and welcomed its presence. As
the wheels rolled the storm intensified and before long hail was flung from the sky. By the time the car
was in sight I could barely see, I grabbed some clothes out of the Element but they became soaked almost instantaneously.
There I was 50 yards from million dollar condos, stripping naked as a jaybird in the middle of a fierce hail storm,
trying to keep the ice out while putting new clothes on. If anyone saw I’m sure they laughed hysterically
at the scene and I can’t blame them. After finally getting into the shelter of the Element I blasted
the heat but could not get warm, the cold had already penetrated my bones but not my spirit. On the way
back to town the storm began to subside and a multicolored fox crossed my path. Stopping the vehicle did
not seem to disturb this 4 legged child of nature, after removing myself from the rolling box we were able to sit in each
other’s presence for several minutes. As I snapped photos of his orange, black, red and white coat
he treaded to and fro trying to decide whether or not to trust me. Eventually he tired of my company and
meandered into the unknown of the twilight. As he went deeper into the wild, I returned to the comforts
of domestication with a hot cup of herbal tea at a local coffee house. It would be my good fortune that
the sole worker was an intellectually intriguing blonde haired beauty who was as kind as she was pretty. We
talked of life and medicine; you know small things like that. I helped her shut down shop and gave her
a ride to her father’s so she could avoid the rain on her bike. It appears bicycles are the
main form of transportation in this bohemian village tucked far away into the MTNs of “Colorful Colorado”.
| Day 17 Crested Butte 401 Trail > Grand Junction |
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| Click on the pic to see Day 17 Photo Gallery |
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