Lost at 13,000 feet

Have you ever put yourself in a position where you kept wishing you could go back in time and not be in the position you’re in? That’s exactly what I found myself doing yesterday, while I was lost in the San Juan Mountains at 13,000 feet in the rain. Luckily, it didn’t rain long and I was prepared for both the cold and the rain as well as having enough food and water packed for the extra two hours I ended up riding. Not the first time I’ve been in this position so I go prepared. I started in Telluride at about 11:30 and climbed what seemed like a never ending 5,000 feet. I had a map, but as usual, there were a plethora of trails not on it, and I ended up taking a wrong turn onto one of them. The trail slowly dwindled into the high country and I found myself using the sun to identify mountain peaks in hope of heading in the right direction. This is about the time I had to consciously keep myself form panicking and stay focused on getting out before dark. About 30 minutes later I reached a summit and saw the tiny town of Opher in the distance below. It was a super gnarly descent down and then a 20+ mile ride home on some pretty cool single track. The ride it self was amazing and the scenery was probably as good as it gets. Too bad I was too freaked out to enjoy it most of the time. Today is going to be a recovery day, which after 13 hours of riding in two days, I think I deserve. It’s been a great little vacation and I’m not going to want to leave tomorrow. I have ton's of great pictures I took along the way but for some reason I can't load them to the page. Sorry.