Day 14 Silverton to Bolam Pass

The hardest but the most rewarding day of the whole trip. We began by packing camp and riding into Silverton for a huge breakfast at the Brown Bear. At the grocery we resupplied with enough food for 3 more days of singletrack riding in the San Juan Mts. We climbed the hwy to Molas Pass. No one quite believed me when I said "That was a nice warm up". After Rollin Mt and Bolam Passes they did. The entire ride was stunningly beautiful- wildflowers everywhere, gorgeous views, creeks and waterfalls. But also there was lots of climbing, plenty of deadfall (not whimpy new growth lodgepole but big old growth spruce that took a lot of effort to climb over)and mud and rocky hike-a-bike sections. In short- the perfect mt bike ride. The highlight had to be climbing up to White Creek Falls (see photo) as it plunged through shelves of limestone. We encountered 1 thru hiker heading east toward Denver. We camped at another of John's favorite spots, a small lake just down from Bolam Pass.