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Ride hard and relax. It's the motto for Durango High Country and all Hermosa Tours.
The singletrack and scenery of the Durango High Country tour are second to none. The San Juan Mountain Range has been referred to as "America's Alps"..a comparison with which we think you will agree. Hermosa Tours' expert guides will take you on some of the area's most classic routes, as well as a few special home-cooked secrets that surprise even Durango veterans.
Our base camp for this tour will be Cascade Village. Tucked away in a quiet mountain setting, this village of private condo retreats features a flowing indoor/outdoor patio area complete with barbeques, a pool, and no fewer than three hot tubs. Each day after your ride we encourage you to grab a shower or soak in the hot tub before settling in next to the campfire! While you relax under the clear Rocky Mountain skies, let our guides fire up the BBQ for the night's meal as well as clean and professionally tune your bike in anticipation of the next day's adventure.
We'll roll out early each morning to get ahead of the unpredictable weather that so often moves in during summer afternoons in the high mountains. This one of the primary reasons we elect not to camp along the trail for this tour. We usher you a world class ride and help you unwind in the cushy comfort of Cascade Village. "Ride hard and relax."
The Hermosa Tours van will pick the group up at Hassle Free Sports at 7:00AM sharp. Today’s ride starts at the lowest elevation of the week, giving guests a chance to get their “altitude legs.” From the top of Hotel Draw we’ll begin a pleasant traverse on the Colorado Trail. Stunning views of Blackhawk Pass to the north are seen early in the ride as are long views of the Needles Mountains and Weminuche Wilderness to the east. The trail tilts upward, climbing to the junction of Corral Draw, a lightly-trafficked trail featuring a 5 mile descent on a ribbon of singletrack into the Hermosa Creek drainage. After a quick ford of Hermosa Creek our guides will lead you south down the Hermosa Creek Trail. We’ll finish off the day with this true Durango classic. Like every day, we’ll be at the end of the trail waiting with refreshments and snacks. Once we’re all ready to roll, we’ll shuttle up to Cascade Village where you will find your luggage waiting for you in your condo, which will be your base camp for the week. Ride length is about 23 miles.
We’ll be packed and rolling early for Molas Pass, the launching point of today’s ride. Even the drive is gorgeous today as we cruise the San Juan Skyway!! Setting off at nearly 11,000 feet on the Colorado Trail, riders are treated to 360 degree panoramic views of the San Juan Mountains right from the word go. The first 1/3 of the day will consist of a little up, a little down and a lotta beauty. Vivid red soil set against vibrant green vegetation is the theme today. Guests can expect cascading mountain creeks, wide open meadows, thick forests, and during the right time of year, spectacular wildflower displays. The middle section of today’s leg will challenge your fitness with a steady (but beautiful!!) climb to the day’s high point at over 12,000 feet. After catching our breath we leave the Colorado Trail after 10 miles and head east on the Engineer Mountain Trail. As its name suggests, this trail sports views of Durango’s signature peak, Engineer Mountain, from many different angles as we sweep around its flanks. At the end of the ride, your physical effort is rewarded with a long downhill run on fast singletrack that snakes through thick pine forests and aspen groves. Ride length is about 19 miles.
Today’s route is frequently cited as a favorite by our guests. We begin with a crawl up a seldom-used 4WD road with more great views of the San Juan Mountains. Thankfully the Hermosa Tours high-clearance vans are up to the challenge! Get your camera ready - the start of the ride is an especially scenic stretch of the Colorado Trail, ridden in the best direction. This morning, you’ll face some of the most challenging technical sections of the entire week, interspersed with several rushing mountain creeks and waterfalls. Some of it has to be seen to be believed. After a switch-backing climb we break out into an alpine meadow where deer and elk sightings are a regular occurrence. We’ll make our turn onto a “secret stash” singletrack traversing an unnamed mountain peak. The views from this section make a strong case as the best of the tour. What’s next? How about a long singletrack descent next to a cascading creek in a thick pine forest? Consider it done!! Along this downhill plunge, we’ll encounter a few technical rock sections that may force some of us off the bike for a few quick walks, but we promise it won’t spoil the backcountry experience of this remote trail. Ride length is about 14 miles.
By Day Four you’re starting to understand the local Durangoan joke: “What’s your favorite ride in the area?” Answer: “The one I just rode.” We’ll roll out from Celebration Lake near historic Graysill Mine, where we start with a short climb up the Colorado Trail featuring long views south of the Animas Valley and the La Plata Mountains. We continue on the Colorado Trail on rolling singletrack that hugs the perimeter of Hermosa Peak’s rocky talus fields, ascends up and over Beach Peak and then gently cruises through a thick forest to the base of Blackhawk Pass. This is a choice spot to rest and grab a snack under towering peaks before starting the climb up to Blackhawk Pass. This climb will test your legs and lungs. Its steep pitches may result in a little hiking for some riders. You'll be at the top in no time, and the payoff is well worth it. The long descent off Blackhawk Pass is one of the best in the whole Durango area and serves as a nice reward for your hard work. Feel free to catch some air off the "whoops" near the end of the descent!! Ride length is about 15 miles.
Kennebec Pass to Durango….a 5000 foot descent….a true Durango classic. This ride starts at tree line and immediately sends you on a thrill ride down narrow singletrack hugging the mountain side. After regrouping at the Champion Venture Road crossing, the downhill bonanza continues through thick, forested singletrack, past a gorgeous waterfall and finally onto the rocky singletrack cutting through the lush vegetation alongside Junction Creek. Wide-eyed and grinning, we'll regroup again at the Wall's Gulch Bridge and start a hefty climb away from Junction Creek….sorry, it can't ALL be downhill!! The top of the climb makes for a great snack location. Refueled, we'll take our time traversing up and down on narrow singletrack through a variety of aspen and pine forest. The beauty of the singletrack in this area is the stuff of which magazine photo spreads are made. Finally we'll reach what the locals call "High Point", named for its status as a turn around for riders climbing up from Durango. They climb, we descend. The downhill buzz continues for another 2500 feet of great Colorado Trail singletrack to the tour end at Junction Creek Trailhead. Ride length is about 25 miles.
After a great week of riding, we'll return you to Hassle Free Sports in the early afternoon…plenty of time to get cleaned up and catch a Friday evening flight.
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