Trail 401, Gunnison National Forest
Dave Wiens, six-time winner of the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race, one of the toughest races in the world, considers Trail 401 one of the best trails in the country.
Mountain Biking Trail 401 in Crested Butte
Jet black bedrock drainages against the lush backdrop of electric green alpine meadow and pine forests make this one of the most dramatic landscapes int eh country.
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Red Mountain towering above the valley is one of the largest formations of molybdenum in the world.
Close call, as a late afternoon storm rolled in, kicking up high winds. this tree exploded and crashed to the ground so close that we had pieces of bark on our bumper. Just one of the estimated 100,000 trees that are falling each day in Colorado National Forests as a result of the pine beetle epidemic.
Simply put these were some of the most incredible landscapes we have seen anywhere in the country.
Mule deer family foraging in the lush alpine vegetation.
Dramatic drainages carving their way towards a glacial carved hanging lake.
Bumble Bee making the rounds in a field of Fireweed.
Dave Wiens and Andy Shabo, co-owner of Big Al’s Bicycle Heaven in Crested Butte, descend
8-miles of incredible singletrack follows the contour of the landscape as it descends into the valley below.
There isn’t a moment on the trail without stunning views.
Ross Klienberg and Jim Jacobsen, trail advocates from Marin, California, were drawn to Crested Butte and Trail 401.
In the distance on the left you can see three riders, providing a sense of scale of the landscape.
The valley below has one dirt road offering access to the trail and many campsites. The open space on either side of the road is designated Roadless.
This is Andy Shabo’s local ride, out his backdoor!
For locals, Trail 401 is simply one of many trails they enjoy riding. For the rest of the world it is one of the most beautiful trails they have ever experienced.
Dave Wiens, satisfied with the descent, exits Trail 401.
Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel fattening up for the coming winter on the seeds and grasses near it’s rocky burrow.
Dramatic shale outcropping disintegrating in flakes sloughed off from the swelling caused by the recent rains.
Red mountains of Molybdenum uplifted from the valley below hit at the power of tectonic forces that shaped the rocky mountains.
