Segment 2

For me, this is one of the most difficult sections to get through of the ones that I've scoped out. It passes right through the heart of where the Hayman Fire burned back in 2002. This was the largest fire in Colorado history. It started when a forest service worker burned a letter from her estranged husband inside a fire pit at a campground. The fire spread and ended up causing $40 million in damages across 4 counties and ruining over 130,000 acres of forest. It's a bit weird to ride through it. The segment starts in the belly of South Platte Canyon and quickly climbs up into the burn area. It eventually leaves the burn area for a few miles before coming back into it again in Buffalo Creek.

In this picture, if you look directly above the singletrack in the foreground and all the way back to the second hill in the distance, you'll see the trail.


Same shot but a bit left. Segment 1 comes down a nasty downhill and ends at the bottom of the area clear of trees on tha far left and just above the pines.


Another shot showing where Segment 1 ends. Dead center in the distance.


Elevation at this point is right at 7,000 so this is not above treeline.


During a break today I was thinking about how hard this thing is going to be to complete. Just as I was thinking, I glanced to my right and saw this. I really hope this is not some sort of forshadowing of things to come.


It's nice to see some of the initial growth of small plants in the burn area. Obviously, the fire had some really devastating effects on the environment. The entire area is prone to floods b/c there's just nothing to slow the water down and erosion has been a major problem that causes entire roads (pavement and dirt) to wash away. It wreaked absolute havoc on the trout of the South Platte river. It shut down Cheesman Reservoir for 5 years. The river was a gray color from all the ash that dumped into the reservoir and flowed through the dam. Slowly but surely, the area is repairing itself.