First Camp on private land at dusk after about 108 miles and 2 passes from Kremmling

Second day was the longest at somewhere over 108 miles.  (My odometer bellied up in the rain the first day so I don’t have an accurate measure other than using the maps.)  It’s easier to ride long days when you’re solo, have great distances to cover, prefer to find some camp with trees, and the late afternoon thunderstorms are brewing.  Rather than set up a camp and sit out a passing storm I often opted to ride though until about 7 PM hopefully skirting the storm and reducing my “tent-time”.

By this time I was surprised to learn that the Great Divide route was primarily on back county roads, Forest Service and old logging roads.  I’d envisioned single and double track segments which really aren’t included, unless to regard the narrow line thru miles of washboard roads as single track.  As many forums and articles said you don’t need a FSR mountain bike for this route.  My “craigslist” aluminum road bike (which I treated as a rental car in Thailand) would have navigated all the roads dispatched by the Great Divide trail maps.  This was by no means a disappointment, just a frank realization that almost anyone can traverse this course, given motivation, time, water and food.

South Park

For example crossing South Park on a back road is a long, long open plain.   Fortunately I was able to traverse it early in the morning before the strong winds fetch up.  I’d heard from the Warmshowers travelers that this section in the wind was a 6 MPH grind.