Wanna go camping?

"Hey, whats up man?" 

"Nothn really, you?"

"Nothn...wanna go camping this weekend?  Forecast said it's suppose to be a little warmer"

"Yea, sounds good!"

"Where do you want to go"

"I don't care but we probably shouldn't get to high in the mountains, it'll still be freezing up there"

"Agreed. Alright, lets meet in the morning at 9 and go figure it out"

"Cool, see ya"

     This was a conversation that took place between myself and my good friend Aaron a few years back, in March,in Colorado.  The forecast was looking great.  Temps in the 60's and sunny, couldn't be better especially on the tail end of a long winter.  So that next morning we met up, bikes loaded with our tents, sleeping bags and other essentials and hit the road.  Not really having a plan we casually worked our way over towards Morrison along Hwy 285.  Morrison is a neat little town nestled in the foothills of the Rockies so it seemed like a good place to stop, grab some lunch and discuss our lack of planning in a little more detail.  It's a good thing we did, because after our bellies were full of burgers and fries we learned that a full stomach does not improve your ability to make decisions.  We did however decide that staying on 285 wasn't a terrible idea...as long as we stayed below 8,000 feet.  Straight up 285 we went.  Well, it wasn't actually that straight, 285 is a rather curvy road that climbs in altitude fairly quickly, alot of fun.  Anyway, we worked our way up 285 looking for campsites, not giving much thought to how far into the mountains we were getting.  The road was fun, the temps were great and the sun was shining...what was there to think about? Right?  Along we went, smiles upon our faces and couldn't be happier while passing sign after sign pointing towards a campground.  It just seemed a little early to stop for the day so we kept moving. 

      Along Hwy 285 there are plenty of cool little towns, one of them being Jefferson.  Now there isn't really much in Jefferson, basically a gas station/market, so we stopped to check it out.  By this point it was probably 3pm, seemed like an appropriate time to actually find a campsite.  As we had approached this little town we noticed a sign for Terryall Reservoir, perfect we thought.  We went into the quaint little market to inquire about this reservoir.  The friendly shop keeper let us know that there was in fact camping but it was 14 miles down the road so we had better take some food and water.  No problem.  We loaded up on the essential, high quality survival type foods such as hot dogs, chips and coffee, topped off our fuel tanks and worked our way down the tarmac ribbon.  The 14 mile long road to the reservoir was a blast, packed full of perfectly placed curves, dips and climbs.  The best part about it was that at the end of this scenic twisty road was an amazing reservoir complete with waterfalls, wildlife and trails.  

     It was rather easy to find a spot to camp as there wasn't anybody else up there, a little early in the season we figured.  We decided on a spot right on the water thinking it would be nice to wake up to.  What we did fail to think about was our conversation that very morning about not getting above 8,000 feet.  Tarryall Reservior sits at 9,111 feet. After we spend a few minutes setting up our makeshift temporary village while watching the sun go down, we decided to walk up one of the nearby trails and gather some firewood.  Surprisingly, there was a complete lack of firewood and the thought of having to burn a nearby picnic table just didn't feel right.  Luckily, Aaron came to the rescue, hopped onto his spaceship (Honda Goldwing)  and went back to Jefferson to grab some firewood.  It was a good thing he did because the temperature was dropping quickly and hot dogs taste a lot better cooked.  It didn't take long to get a fire going, as we are both professionaly trained in the use of a Bic lighter, and we were in business.  Everything was good.  We sat around our fire, ate, put on some more clothes, ate, put on even more clothes, swapped stories...talked about how cold it was getting.  Man, it was getting cold, seriously cold and we couldn't get that fire big enough to combat the dropping temperatures.  Time to climb into the sleeping bags and attempt to stay warm.

       Thinking to myself that I have a nice sleeping bag, I did't think staying warm would be an issue, but it was.  I laid there curled up, freezing, trying my best to get some sleep.  Didn't happen.  At somepoint in the night I was not only freezing but a truck full of kids showed up to do a little late night drinking, so I thought.  It turns out, after complaining to Aaron about it the next morning, that I imagined the entire thing.  Apparently there were no loud, drinking punk kids.  I'm still not sure about this.  The only thing I can think is that I was so cold I was becoming delusional, probably borderline hypothermic.  Who knows.  Either way, I climbed out of my tent tired and cold that morning.  How cold was it?  According to the thermometer on Aarons space ship it was 15 degrees.  The bikes were covered in a thick frost and just glared at us when we talked about wheather or not they would even start.  First things first though, coffee.  I got out my JetBoil to get some coffee going in hopes that it might warm us up a little as we deconstructed our hobo village, it didn't.  I would have been better off pouring it on my head.  It was ok though, we thought, soon enough we would be barreling downhill back to the warmth.  Luckliy it did eventually warm up, but not before we froze our unmentionables off trying to get to a lower altitude.  It was the kind of cold where the wind on your forehead is so cold that you can literally feel your brain freezing solid, but then, clearly they weren't being used anyway.  But like I said, it did warm up.  In fact, by the time we got back to Denver it was nearly 70 degrees.  A great way to end an overnite camping trip!

        I know this may sound like a miserable night so let me finish with a few things I didn't mention.  At one point in the middle of the night I was awoken by the moonlight.  We didn't realize that there was going to be a full moon.  Let me tell you, a full moon at 9,000 feet in a clear, dry sky is something to take note of.  It was so bright it not only woke me up but lit the reservoir like daylight.  I could see clearly across the lake as the landscape was blanketed in a cool blue glow.  I walked over to Aarons tent knowing he wouldn't want to miss it and woke him up.  Together we spent a few minutes marveling at the site, knowing then that these are the moments that make it all worth while.  These are the experiences worth a little discomfort.  Sure, I could have spent the night in my warm bed but I would have missed out 2 great days of riding, beautiful Colorado roads, discovering a new campsite, a full moon in the Rocky Mountains and quality time with a good friend.  There is nothing I would have changed.