The section from Salida to Grants is the hardest section of the route, with by far the most altimeters. It started immediately after the town, with high Marshall Pass. It was a 40 km/25 mile climb in which we had to climb about 1200 meters/4000 ft. It was a long, long climb but not steep because it was a former railroad track with a maximum gradient of around 3%. We saw mountain sheep and just before the top we saw 2 moose enjoying lunch on the side of the road. Aclimb like that is usually followed by a long descent and that was the case this time to. We ended up in Sargents and camped with a Trading Post. The weather was good and warm again, so we could enjoy the sunshine again.
In the next 2 days there was a pass every day, Cotchetopa Pass en Carnero Pass. But because we were at altitude already, these weren’t as long. The scenery was beautiful and we camped on an deserted little campground just over Cotchetopa Pass, where we were visited by a moose the next morning. On the climb to Carnero Pass we rode through green valleys with mountains and rockformations around us. And we saw our first live rattlesnake. It wasn’t as big as some of the dead ones we had seen earlier in the trip, but at least this one was still alive. And we let it live, of course. After a great descent and with a headwind through a desert, we arrived in Del Norte.
