Semi-Epic

For some time now I’ve been trying to think of a way to do the Monarch Crest trail without a shuttle.  That is, ride to the top of the pass from Salida and then ride the Crest trail in one big loop.  But the logistics are daunting.  The Crest is long enough on its own at approximately 36 miles, so to ride it from town you’re looking at least a 70-mile round trip and probably eight hours in the saddle.  

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Somewhere over the burning Rainbow

Our house is on Methodist mountain, the northern most peak in the Sangre de Cristo range.  Methodist is more of a big green lump than something spectacular like the Sawatch range across the valley or the Sangres further south.  Most of the peaks around here are named after Native American chiefs or ivy league colleges so I was curious how Methodist got its name.  I did some research (ok, I Googled for 30 minutes) but didn’t turn up anything definitive on the name origin.  I like to think that it had something to do with Methodist pioneers who lived in the area performing long-forgotten rituals in the woods, druid pot luck dinners, bingo games and such.  But I digress.

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