25 miles, 2:47/4:00

Today is a short day in miles, but the rough rocky road and rolling hills make up for the lack of miles some. At the top of a big climb we stop to read the information sign that tells us about the geology and mining in the area, and that the naturally exposed rocky layers in the mountain we’re looking at is responsible for much of the heavy metals in the river, and that mining only added a small amount to that. While we’re reading a truck and trailer stop in the pullout and a friendly couple greet us. The man said that back in ’58 when he graduated from high school he and a buddy rode Hercules 3-speed bikes from Del Norte to Denver. He’s a fan of bicycles and touring and chats it up with us a bit, telling us he admires us.

We find a beautiful campground along the river but it’s closed, I guess for the season. So we tromp around it and camp just outside its fence right on the river. We have decided tomorrow is going to be a rest day and we want a really good spot to hang out for a day. This is it. Because the campground is closed there are very few people around. We only see one fisherman. Across the river is wilderness, so we won’t be seeing or hearing any cars on that side. We set up camp as it threatens to rain.