Hermosa creek trail ride near Durango CO.

NMS_0273, originally uploaded by Richard Grabbe.

This trail is open to mountain bikers as well as dirt bikers. I have ridden it on both. I rode it on my dirt bike this time and started at the bottom. It is mostly tight single track with lots of drop offs and tight switch backs. At one point my rear wheel slipped off the trail and could not get back on for about two hours. my wife was waiting at the top for me and knew something was wrong. I struggled to get the bike back on the trail for most of the time, and then decided to start walking up to the top of the trail. it was going to be a 10 mile trek to meet back up with my wife. after i walked for about a mile or two I ran into a couple that were mountain biking going the opposite direction. they helped me get my bike back on the trail and I was so grateful because I was completely out of water with no cell phone reception and the thought of walking ten miles in motocross boots was about the worst thing I could think of. I got blisters just walking for two miles. I got back to my wife fairly late but all was well, except for some altitude sickness and dehydration. It is really amazing how quickly things can go south when you are by yourself in the deep mountain woods. In other words, don't go by yourself bring a partner