TLDR: I'm hooked.


So I have one question (and this is something I deal with every time I camp, whether car-camping with the Fam or even in the backyard with the kids once in a while): How do you relax and go to sleep? It's really hard for me to get past feeling so vulnerable at night. I mean, I'm just a burrito in the woods out there, a bundled up man-snack behind a thin nylon coating that's just keeping me warm like a heat lamp at the buffet. I slept very lightly, trying to discern if sounds I heard were hooves or my rain fly rustling in the breeze (no, it wasn't super snug, I knew it wasn't going to rain so I just wanted it on). I slept with the bear spray next to me. Then it would get unbelievably still and quiet. I laid there, heart pounding, for like an hour, then fall asleep for an hour, then wake up, then back to sleep for an hour or two, then back up. Not the best night sleep, BUT-- The pad and bag were plenty warm. I had my smartwool layers and merino socks. I didn't need gloves or a beanie. I am a warm sleeper but in all the obsession I didn't want to over-estimate how warm and end up accidentally under-packing. I kept alternating between my back and side, and the pad was surprisingly comfortable for side sleeping. Nice! The coldest part of the night, honestly, was 6:30am after I got up to catch sunrise over Pikes Peak and then find a sunny spot to get warm.

I took my time packing everything up and after texting the wife, I chose a different route out of the park to see a couple ponds (maybe catch some wildlife?). I ended up hike-a-bike a couple times climbing out of the park. The Lezyne was approaching 20% at times. I knew I would at some point; I just didn't want to hike-a-bike a mile and a half. Ended up just a couple hundred feet a couple times. Not bad. Sadly, no wildlife. I crest the trail and back onto pavement just as a line of 20 people on trail horses were heading my way, to go down the trail I just came up!

The ride back to the car was fast. I'd planned the route to be mostly downhill on the way back and I'm SO glad I did. 2700+ Ft of climbing on Sat, barely 1k on Sunday. I stopped in Divide for a hot cup of coffee and a bacon/egg/cheese biscuit called out to me. Ironically, I spent the night in a state park that touts its wildlife and the only wildlife I did see was in Woodland Park (deer). Oh well. It was a fantastic experience and I want to do another one this weekend!










Hot breakfast

Tubeless for the win! I had no idea it happened until I put the bike back on the car on Sunday....