This weekend Ryan, Allison and I headed southwest out of the Front Range to Almont via Cottonwood Pass. As soon as we got out of Buena Vista the aspens began putting on a show, fly fishing became easy, and my eyes were opened to Crested Butte. It's almost as if there was a magic line we crossed into the western third of the state that marked the change. Maybe it was just the Gunnison County border... hard to say. Whatever it was, we had a great weekend.
Friday night Ryan and I headed out to fish as soon as we had the Jeep unpacked. Before we even had our waders on we saw a bald eagle. Ryan and I each caught 2 kokanee salmon on the East River north of Almont. I also heard a nearby elk bugle for the first time. We had even better luck on Saturday, and probably caught over 60 salmon combined in 5 hours. It was incredible. Each fish weighed 2-3 pounds and put up a good fight as long as they weren't foul hooked. I had much more success than my trout fishing endeavors of last year, so it seemed a lot more fun. Even if we didn't catch a thing it would have been a lot of fun though. It was a beautiful place with great weather and great company... very peaceful and serene.
After lunch on Saturday we headed to Crested Butte. I had never been to Crested Butte, and was very excited to see a new place that I had heard rave reviews of. I was absolutely blown away by the drive into town... and everything about the place once we got there. 3 days later I'm still wondering how I can rig the lottery to afford playing there the rest of my life.
I don't want to overdo the praise, but I really don't think the scenery, authenticity, sense of remoteness, and culture of Crested Butte is rivaled within Colorado except for maybe Telluride. [I haven't been to Ouray or Silverton, so to be fair those should also be mentioned.] Outside of Colorado you might also add Jackson, WY into the mix, but that's honestly about it. [Again to be fair, I've never been to Alta, UT.] Crested Butte is now without doubt my favorite ski town that I've ever been to. I should probably shut up so all 3 of you reading this don't pack your bags and move there to ruin the place, but for me CB simply puts Vail, Steamboat, and Breckenridge to shame... and I really like those towns. With some of the steepest in-bounds skiing in the state, the Elks (my favorite CO range) out your back door for world class mountaineering, mountain biking, aspen and wildlife viewing, a fertile valley and fishing downstream, etc. the place just can't be beat.
On Sunday morning we headed back into town and I took a self-guided tour while Ryan and Allison were in church. I walked around with my jaw on the ground, jealous and daydreaming about dying penniless yet rich beyond my wildest dreams in terms of powder days and singletrack miles. The town is full of cool homes, neo-hippies (meant non-derogatory), more bikes than cars, prayer flags and wheels placed with pride, fences made out of old skis, front doors that haven't been locked in weeks, and a farmers market to boot. I people-watched in Camp 4 Coffee for a bit and my suspicions were confirmed; this is a true mountain town and not just a town which happens to be set in the mountains. Nearly everyone lives there for riding their bikes in the summer and their skis in the winter. Sign me up. No, seriously... where do I sign? I am praying they have free skiing in the early season again this year so I can see it again soon... not that just wanting to go back isn't a good enough reason.
None of us wanted to get back onto pavement when we crossed the Continental Divide atop Cottonwood Pass going from dirt road to civilization, but it had to be done. I don't like that feeling.
photos: http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157607420399314/
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi_NMzO5T74
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