Day 11 Baldy Lake to Los Pinos Creek

We woke to a 10 minute hail storm, our first moisture since day 1, before hiking up from the lake back to our bikes. The thru hiker we'd shared the lake with had left before dawn but we eventually caught up to him at the top of one of the numerous ridges we climbed in the AM. We talked a bit then pushed on. A series of fun switchbacks dropped us to Lujan Creek. We came out of the woods to a dirt road and immediately met a FS volunteer dressed in official uniform. At first I thought we'd done something wrong but it became clear that he just wanted to chat. As he pulled up lawn chairs for us to sit and cold root beer and cheese hot dogs (at 10am) for us to consume, he explained he was a "trail angel" along this lonely stretch of the CT and CDT. He helps out travelers (with a stock of fuel, water, food) keeps count of who is using the trail and their mode of transport (we were the first bikers he'd seen) as well as tests an infrared device for the FS to enable them to monitor the trails remotely. He was retired and did the same thing in the spring near his home in NC along the Appalachian Trail. We had a nice long visit but felt we should press on when we saw our thru hiker coming down the trail. We couldn't let him pass us again. From here the trail gradually descended on smooth rolling terrain thru miles of aspen glens and wide open hills covered in wild flowers. It was fast and fun to ride and a big departure from what we had ridden the last 2 days. We passed a young couple from VA and their dog thru hiking. She was quite pregnant and going strong. Eventually we reached our next bypass as the CT turned SW into the La Garita Wilderness and we turned NW onto FS roads. A big t-storm brushed by as as we passed Dome Lakes, the weather gods still smiling on us. We biked past the historic Ute Trading Post of Kit Carson and Chief Ouray and then thru a big dude ranch as the day dwindled. Dave and Cassi stopped to rest and I scouted out a nice camp spot down by Los Pinos creek. It even had a waterfall a bit upstream (see photo) It was only after dinner when our exhaustion had lifted and we took a little hike did we discover this was the spillway of McDonough Reservoir just upstream. Being in cattle country we shared the valley with numerous bovines. However, unlike Search and Rescue types, they quieted down at night.