Hut 2 to Hut 3

The day started like any other. Aunt Jamima fixin' us some coffee and pancakes. Then off to face the reality that our morning ritual of sitting on the porcelain throne had been reduced to sitting on a stand constructed of 2x4s and plywood with a garbage can full of feces as a receptacle only to more humbled by having to throw scooped ashes or dirt on to your excrement.

The ride started off by back-tracking a mile or so from the hut back on to the main road. We followed this road for when felt like an eternity. The scenery was much like day 2 with rolling hills, open fields, an occasional ranch, and the mountains as a backdrop. As we rode the reality sunk in that the beautiful mountainous back drop is what we were going to have to cross before we would start our descent in to Moab. The good news was that this climb through the mountains was still a couple days away. The bad news was that this climb through the mountains was still a couple days away.

It was on this day that we would have our first experience with the cattle, and their desire to impede our progress. Along the ride we would see the cows grazing in the pastures and never paid much attention to them. Then it happened. We were faced with cattle in the road. Not just cows, but a bull. The 8 of us "city folk" stopped and pondered our next action. As we stood perplexed by the current situation Mark (not the sharpest knife in the drawer) decides the only way around (or through) the cattle is to charge them. Mark, in one fell swoop, went from Aunt Jamima to the Alpha male of the group. He peddled towards the cattle yelling and hollering. Sure enough the cleared the road and the rest of us followed Mark's lead.

The road continued on and once again the group conspired to let Rod have another break away. We all stopped and Rod rode on, and on and on....It was at this point I made a conscious decision to always keep someone in my peripheral vision. I figured that if I was going to make an "epic" break away I'd have someone else with me. We continued to watch Rod until he took a detour off the trail. We assumed he had realized our vindictive game and decided to get even with us. We rode up to the point where Rod turned off and discovered it opened up in to an overlook for the Uncompahgre National Forest.

Abandoned mine shafts and ghost towns dot the landscape, emblems of the Uncompahgre's Gold Rush past. Prospectors staked their claims in the 1800s and built up towns like Telluride that have since become wildly popular vacation destinations. The roads built by the miners now serve as major thoroughfares into the forest's vast backcountry.

We took in the views and several pictures before we attempted to move along. Mike discovered his front brake had locked up on the rotor, just for the record Mike has Hayes brake, just like Al's brakes that failed in Telluride. Mark and Lawrence checked the brakes and were able to force the calipers apart. This seemed to resolve the problem.

As we continued on our journey we arrived at Columbine Camp ground. Rolling past the camp ground someone spotted a water pump, you know the kind, has a long handle and is manually operated to pull water out of an underground source. Like little kids seeing a toy store for the first time we stopped. Our intent was to rinse our clothes, but before you knew it we were all pumping ice cold well water on ourselves in an attempt to wash off 3 days of dirt and grime. A few guys took a quick shower, some rinse clothes, we all filled our camelbacks and everyone basically relished the fact that we had clean water.

After cleaning up several of us laid out in the sun on the rocks by the water well while others rode off to find the hut. After basking in the sun those of us who waited behind gathered up our stuff and headed down the road. It wasn't more than 20 minutes before we found Hut 3 and were greeted by the others with beers and laughter.

In Hut 3 we found a note from a group called "The Water Lilies" The note made reference to the locals being real nice, the well at the camp ground and some beers they left behind for us because they could not finish them. It was at that point that the ride for Mike took a turn. He was on a quest for the Water Lillies like a kid waiting for sundown on Halloween. It was Water Lillies this and Water Lillies that. 

It was also at Hut 3 we experienced "Spamrritos". What the hell is a Spamrrito? It's fried Spam with Velveeta cheese wrapped like a burrito in a flour tortilla. Doesn't sound good, but considering the circumstances it was the best we had.....until we got home and someone asked why we didn't use the canned chicken to make chicken burritos. Of course I think our reluctance to open the canned chicken had something to do with the drive out to Moab....

As night fell on us, we looked to the sky for what was supposed to be one of the most spectacular meteor showers in years. This particular shower is referred to as the Perseids. Since we were in the woods with absolutely no ambient lighting and not a cloud in the sky we had a huge advantage over someone with city lights. I personally saw a few go by, but grew tired of waiting so I went to bed. The others cuddled up and and continued to wait.

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