Jones Pass Shuttle, an epic descent along the continental divide trail across an exposed ridge line at 13,000 ft in the heart of the Colorado high country. We begin at the Herman Gulch trail head, load the bikes in the back of a pickup truck, and drive east on I-70 through Empire, Colorado, past the Henderson Mine, and up Jones pass to the start of the ride. It’s 9:30 in the morning and the sun is still rising from the east as we begin our southern descent along the CDT. The wind is light and the clouds are few. Weather is anticipated for the afternoon so we must make haste across the exposed ridge. The views were grandiose, the hikes were steep, and the riding was epic. Over 2000 ft and 8 miles of descending was all that was on our mind as we pushed on to the summit. As more clouds moved in we pushed harder. At the summit we are stoked and ready to go. We began our decent with sharp turns and loose dirt. As we progressed further down toward the Herman Gulch trail head we encountered a mix of trail conditions including the “occasional” hiker. It was a fast and burly decent with large exposed root systems and undulation. The final stage of the trail was down fast strait-away with hittable water-bars every so often. Three hours after stepping foot onto the CDT we’d arrived back to the cars, elated and proud that we sent it and made it back alive! Cold Beers and Cheers for the high riding in the Alpine, hail to thee.
