Uncharted Territory

Last Friday all I wanted to do was ride. I've been working too much and when I've got the time it's raining. I'm not opposed to riding the roads in the rain, but for some reason the roads are always tremendously congested when it's raining and the ride ends up feeling more dangerous than it's worth. To my amazement last Friday was beautiful!

My cycling life is filled with sages, inspired men who inspire me to ride further and harder. I'm not a great rider by any stretch, but I'm plucky and don't give up easily. Jason is a long time mountain biker who is at ease on a bike. He appreciates that I'm not a chatty rider and I appreciate that he'll wait up for me when I'm trailing far behind.

We drove about an hour south to a place near Hot Springs. The trail we were set to ride was an easy one. We planned on taking easy, having a picnic and then heading into town for a soak in a mineral bath. On the way we saw a swath of white smoke marring the deep blue sky. It ended up being a controlled burn near the trail we were going to ride. The Forester who stopped us said he didn't know of any other trails. Another wonderful thing about Jason is that he doesn't give up easily. We turned around and headed up the other side of the mountain. At the top of an extremely winding road we found a trail marker and so we suited up. Tungsten, J's Alaskan Husky, is always ready to go and so am I. Jason has a few pre-ride rituals that we tolerate. Tungsten is most vocal before a ride you can almost hear him saying "come on, come on, come on" .

We head up the trail that is not too steep, but over grown and leafy. The leaves create a slickness and the grass is mushy. Riding up this trail is not unlike running in sand. Tungsten is far up ahead and Jason is keeping a good pace. I'm trailing behind. At one crest, I see the blur of a black bear climbing down a tree. Jason motions for me to stop and I do. I also turn my bike, just in case. The bear runs to the other side of the gulch and Tungsten heads him off at the pass letting him know that today we hold the trail. This is not an area frequented by bikers or hikers it appears.

We ride up into the sunny spot. It's beautiful, but so overgrown its hard to completely enjoy the ride. Nonetheless, it's lovely that not many come this way. We are on the road less traveled.

After the ride we happen upon a rare finding, an open fire tower. It's a jack pot. From the boughs of the tower we can see 360 degrees of forest and it's as though we're in a hot air balloon above these wonderful mountains. We eat a bite and drink from our growler. It's a good day.

Paths you thought to take

often times are obstructed

go with it, in joy