So I left Golden, Colorado on Tuesday late PM with my KTM 525EXC packed away in my 87 Ford Van clunker that I thought of trading for cash last year in the new Government knows best plan – Cash for Clunkers.
I had been wanting to do more exploring in the Del Norte area for a few years now. Being the frontier of European expeditions into the North American West the area is full of old legends and history. With its abundant forests and game it was also a place many Amerindians cultures frequented. The Yutas and the Comanche both frequented the area.
Since the mid 1500s it also served as an entry point for Europeans into the American West. New Spain’s power extended to Santa Fe and even further to Taos and fringe rancherias like Ojo Caliente. Frenchmen also claimed stake to this disputed territory and made their way west from either New Orleans or Saint Louis.
Now any of you who know a bit about Colorado gold deposits will have heard of Summitville. Besides being a current Super Fund site it was mined by gringos for a century before. It was and is so rich a deposit that in the mid 1990s a 60 pound boulder with half its wieght comprised of metallic gold was found by a heavy equipment operator putting in a new road. YOu can see it at the museum. Summitville was indeed a rich gold deposit, so rich that back in the beginning the streams in the area were filled with grains and nuggets of pure gold for those who knew how to find and extract them. This was definitely one of Colorado richest deposits.
When Anglos first rediscovered it in the 1870s they found outcrops of pure metallic gold. Yes, but they were not the first to mine the area. My ride and interest started back with the earlier miners – a group of 300 Frenchmen under the secret orders of Captain Louis Villemont who set out from New Orleans in 1800 to look for gold. They spent 3 years in these hills mining and as per the report of the lone survivor found all and more than they were looking for. Extracting thousands of pounds of gold using mercury and then heat they smelted many an ingot right under the Spaniard’s noses. This did not bode well with the Spaniards who allied with the Comanches who wiped out all but one of the party that made it back to France to tell his tale. During the siege and running battles, the Frenchmen stashed the gold in the hills for safekeeping to return to it in better times. Ahh, but there was only one survivor and he returned to a France that was in disarray, broke and incredulous.
Remember, these were tumultuous times, the French revolution had just ended, the sale of the Louisiana Territory was just a few years away, Mexico was near declaring independence from Spain (1810) and so the records were never very clear. But the rumors persist of the Lost Frenchmen’s Treasure and the more time passes the more clear they become and tell the story of an amazing time known to few Anglos. A piece of history made by the French, Spanish and Amerindians right here in our own backyard.
So that is why I was really primed to ride this area and look for and feel the areas where the ghosts of our past had been.
It was dark when I found my camp site in Cedar Springs and the next morning when I awoke it was gray, overcast and ominous !
Rain was beginning to fall.
Being all by my lonesome made it even more ominous as I was about to ascend the Middle Fork Trail straight up Bennet Peak to 13,000′ plus.
Nobody was around, absolutely nobody. That is why I like riding week days, you can almost feel what it might have been like 100 years ago.
As I emerged from the forest the shrouded alpine peaks came into view. The sky was a lead gray and the clouds were whipping by.
Riding alone is a rush. Riding alone in a lonely desolate area is a BIGGER rush. My adrenaline was pumping as I rode these unknown trails into the sky. Soon I would be on top riding along the edge of the cliff in the photo below.
The fog was thick and sleet beginning to fall.
About 8 years ago I was on top of Bennet Peak with my fully loaded KLR. I came up the other (south) just as gnarly side, I was younger then.
The wind was howling at about 50 mph. One moment it was foggy the next it was clear.
Looking down onto the ridge I just rode up. Del Norte is down there somewhere.
On a clear day Bennet Peak offers unimpeded views in all directions, today it offered views of the wild side and I was loving it !
My adrenaline was pumping as I searched out the descent “road.”
Some would say I was stupid to ride alone. I agree but it makes me feel so much more.
Greyback Ridge and Blowout Pass far below
The winding alpine route beckoned.
Far below glimpses of the Alamosa River Valley
20 miles to the south lay La Jara Reservoir. It was on my planned route for the day but the weather was not looking too promising.
Descending into golden aspen groves the trail became slippery with leaves. Just imagine this area in the 1700s.
As I traveled the hills I felt those who came before. To lay my eyes on the same lands as they, to feel the same winds, to travel the same paths and see the same moon. This is what I live for.
And I was feeling it… the rain was setting in as a solid heavy drizzle. Descending into the valley I headed for one of my favorite old time Colorado relics. It was time to find shelter.
And of course one of my favorite biker lunches – smoked oysters, avocado and pita bread. Oh, and I almost forgot some good moldy Cambozola cheese.
I hung out in this barn for about 2 hours waiting for the rain to stop and making friends with the locals.
Please Check back tomorrow for Part II of Steve’s French Gold Adventure!!
