The Upper Arkansas Valley has the most 14 k peaks in the State and the ride today was the highest I have been at on a bike. Topping out at 12 k on the Garmin started out to do the Monarch Crest trail from Monarch Mountain with no shuttle. The plan was a out back on this world famous trail to see what all the hype was about. First point to note is the trail itself boasts some of the smoothest, flowing dirt ribbons I have ridden. The climbing with the exception of the start was not as taxing as I would have imagined given the altitude. Views for days and we only saw 4 other riders.
Monarch itself is a 38 mile point to point with over 4000' of descending and several options and shuttles to chose from. Classic above tree line route. Had to put the camera away......
