Dan on the river crossing...An impressive Fail.
What we would have faced if we made it across the river. It looks cold up there.The Ultraquest training continues for Josh and I...somewhat. Yesterday we planned to ride up Chiquito and down Pinos. I liked the route because it covered a decent chunk of the Ultra ride - a chance to see the trail and test our legs. At least it would have. We ran into a problem at the base of the Chiquito Trail. Too much water. The stream seemed like it could be safely crossed (by an able adult), but not without getting soaked. I suppose we could have stripped down and re-dressed on the upper bank, but it was cold. Yes, cold. Cold enough to snow on Pinos Peak. See the bottom photo. If we would have ventured up to Pinos with wet feet and wet legs, we might have ended up like the folks in Lost Horizon - shriveled up and freezing, dreaming about crackling fireplaces and steaming Jacuzzis.
For the record, our buddy Dan donned trash bags and tried to cross the river. He claimed he had done this before. We weren't convince when he pitched the idea, and we still aren't, but we have to give him credit for trying.
After a couple loops on the short San Juan Loop trail - checking out the waterfalls and such - we drove back to the San Juan Hot Springs and then rode up to Cocktail Rock and back. It was 39 degrees at the turnaround spot. It would have been another five to ten degrees colder on Pinos...and snowy. Perhaps we are fortunate that river stopped us.
