Morgan Territory on a Mountain Bike

[Veronica]

I've ridden my road bike over Morgan Territory Road many, many times. I'd noticed the gates to to the many fire roads of course and we've hiked up there a few times. Yesterday we decided to take the mountain bikes and do some exploring. I can tell you why no tour companies will ever put Morgan Territory in their itinerary. It is freakishly steep! The lowest grade hill we climbed was an average of ten percent and we had one that averaged 22% for a tenth of mile. It was the one section I walked. But the views out to the Delta and of Diablo were amazing. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. We saw a few hikers. The search and rescue dogs were out practicing but we didn't see them. When we finally decided to head back toward the road we had 1.25 mile descent that dropped 900 feet - average grade of 17 %. The fire road was covered with leaves and clearly doesn't get much use. It was a blast! We rode down the paved road a short way to another fire road that climbed alongside a dry creek bed and had more awesome views at the top. For the most part the fire roads were pretty well packed. There was only place that was rocky, about a ten foot section that covered the entire road. Thom told me I was showing off when I powered through it and passed him. The climbs were steeper than anything we did in Crested Butte. But elevation wise we topped out at 2,200 feet so a lot more oxygen was available!

It was a really fun day!

Veronica

[Irulan]

Boy does this bring back memories. I learned how to drive, on a stick, on Morgan Territory Rd.