I realized during the day what CT-14 stood for. CT is Colorado Trail and 14 is for segment 14. We've ridden just a portion of that trail, from 274A southward for maybe 8 or 10 miles.
GWolfe wrote:
Just got back from Taylor Park on Sunday. The trail up to the Alpine Tunnel is an easy one as it follows an old railroad, plenty wide as it is traveled by Jeeps, side by sides and ATVs. The trail mentioned above that goes from the Alpine Tunnel over to Tincup is only open during the month of August and is wide enough for side by sides and ATVs but not sure about Jeeps.
This is actually a little different than the trail I was talking about. What GWolfe is talking about is Williams Pass, which goes from the east entrance to the Alpine Tunnel, over the top to the west portal. Williams Pass is tough on a bike with lots of big deep mud holes on top. Once over the top, the ride up to the west portal is easy and straightforward on a gravel road. They've put some effort into restoring some of the buildings, roundtable, etc. We used to ride this and loop back over Hancock Pass, but Hancock Pass has gotten so rocky with all the traffic that last time we did it, we had to walk
down the east side of the pass. Not much fun with all the effort it takes to get to the top of the pass. :(
If you look at MTBProject, the trail I was talking about looping from the east portal of the tunnel is called the Tunnel Lake Trail. Looking at the pictures, it looks like fun, but who knows what they're not showing! It's on our list of trails to try.
If you get as far north as Leadville, there's some interesting singletrack they've put in above the college campus. It's called the
Timberline Trail System. It's located right off the paved
Mineral Belt Trail that encircles Leadville. We park at the Dutch Henry trailhead right on the the highway then ride counterclockwise about 2 1/2 miles. The Timberline Trail can be subtle if someone has taken the laminated paper map they post, but IIRC, the trail crossing is just after mile 9 on the Mineral Belt Trail. Never done Lower Boulders or Jump Trail but have done all the rest. Giddy Up is technically easy, but the trees are really close together -- watch your handlebar ends! We like Cold Feet down better than Golddigger down. If it's lunch time, there's a nice little platform with great views on Upper Deck. This is a fun bunch of trail with just a few technical spots. I think at one time or another, I've cleaned everything out there we've ridden.
Once we've done all the Timberline singletrack we want, we return to the Mineral Belt Trail and complete that loop. There are interesting signs all the way along with historical information, many with photographs of that area from the boom days.
Yeah, one can spend a lot of time mountain biking around Chaffee and Lake Counties. We typically spend at least a week and generally two every summer riding that area.
