Roamin' The Western Slope: Hartman Rocks
The desert is an interesting place to ride a bicycle... Dryness. Vast. Waterless. Seemingly no signs of life existing around you. A sort of alien landscape to most. A place so ill-fit for the average human and all our needed comforts of the modern world. On the other hand, if you're a mountain biker you probably view the desert in a more positive light. Perhaps you have whimsical thoughts of embarking on a journey filled with drifty turns, lung busting technical climbs, and snappy descents. Here in Colorado there are many different places that resemble what you might dream up in your head when the word "desert" comes to mind. Located in the western slope region of Colorado lies Hartman Rocks. Just about 30 miles south of Crested Butte there is a gem of a desert terrain just waiting to be explored by the campfire savvy mountain biker. Camping, climbing, four wheeling, hiking, and biking are all things that Hartman Rocks recreation area embody to the fullest. You have anything from technical singletrack, flowy downhills, to huge castle-like rock formations, stretched upon the hills of this great desert zone.
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On my last visit to Hartman Rocks I met up with some friends at a low key camp spot at dusk. We blazed down a mighty fire until the wee hours of the night and then I snuggled up next to the warm embrace of the embers and slept comfortably under the stars.
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Something about waking up to the sunrise is just blissful. After proper sustenance, it was game time. Right from camp we pedalled along the mellow fire road up towards the trailhead. After about ten minutes we dropped into the first section of blazing downhill. Jumping sharp rocks, dipping and diving right to left, and pumping every roller along the way, we were led to the next longer, but bitter-sweet climb. After hacking a few pieces of lung up, the crew mobbed down once again. This time it wasn't as fast but more of a sustained, flowy downhill section. Then the dreaded technical; sustained climb. After overcoming several hill faces we weaved through large rocks islands. The rock grips magnificently as you put down serious torque to remain upright. Then a nice and peaceful flat section welcomes us. Slowly turning into a slight downhill to gain some speed without having to work too hard for it. Then the trouble comes... LEFT. RIGHT. And a roller to hop over some razor sharp rocks and..... PSSSSSSS! Pinch flat. Followed up by a charismatic friend, "NICE ONE, KOOOOOK!" Luckily we were in a beautiful area, so I didn't mind stopping to change a tube. Blue skies for days and a nice calm breeze to cool me down a bit.
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The ride carried on after the repair, and the last descent down to our camp was still to come. We starting to pick up momentum towards the trailhead and without hesitation we jumped right into beck's trail for the final hoorah. A mixture of small drops, jumps, and rollers flow us through a large rock filled area and funnel us out to a more open trail where we begin to really pick up speed through perfectly sculpted berms and dirt that seemed to be made of velcro. After what seemed to be the feeling of being shot out of a cannon you find yourself desperately squeezing the brakes as hard as you can to avoid overshooting the flat sharp turn to get back onto the fire road, which can easily result into a power skid to overshoot into the sage bushes. What a ride! 10 or so miles later we are a short pedal away from a cold brew and a welcoming campsite.
![Rollin into camp close to sundown.]()
We just happened to have a campsite that would allow us to sharpen our rock rolling abilities, post-ride. So naturally, the ride hasn't quite ended yet. After getting our cardio for the day we dieted strictly on adrenaline filled, rock roll lines for the evening. Very short scrambles up the rock faces ended up being well worth the effort in stoke points.
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![Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset]()
After everything was said and done, the sun had to drop at last, and the night time shenanigans began. Thank you Hartman Rocks and happy trails everyone!
![Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset]()
Words by: Jay Trautman
Photos: Aaron Pickys & Jay Trautman
Jay would like to thank his sponsors for their support: Transition Bikes, Deity and www.ridefox.com
Links to more info and trail maps below:
More Info
Trail Map
MENTIONS: @TransitionBikeCompany / @deityusa
Large fires are always satisfying to the eye.
On my last visit to Hartman Rocks I met up with some friends at a low key camp spot at dusk. We blazed down a mighty fire until the wee hours of the night and then I snuggled up next to the warm embrace of the embers and slept comfortably under the stars.
Bikes in a pick-up = All smiles
Something about waking up to the sunrise is just blissful. After proper sustenance, it was game time. Right from camp we pedalled along the mellow fire road up towards the trailhead. After about ten minutes we dropped into the first section of blazing downhill. Jumping sharp rocks, dipping and diving right to left, and pumping every roller along the way, we were led to the next longer, but bitter-sweet climb. After hacking a few pieces of lung up, the crew mobbed down once again. This time it wasn't as fast but more of a sustained, flowy downhill section. Then the dreaded technical; sustained climb. After overcoming several hill faces we weaved through large rocks islands. The rock grips magnificently as you put down serious torque to remain upright. Then a nice and peaceful flat section welcomes us. Slowly turning into a slight downhill to gain some speed without having to work too hard for it. Then the trouble comes... LEFT. RIGHT. And a roller to hop over some razor sharp rocks and..... PSSSSSSS! Pinch flat. Followed up by a charismatic friend, "NICE ONE, KOOOOOK!" Luckily we were in a beautiful area, so I didn't mind stopping to change a tube. Blue skies for days and a nice calm breeze to cool me down a bit.
Perfect flat-changing zone
The ride carried on after the repair, and the last descent down to our camp was still to come. We starting to pick up momentum towards the trailhead and without hesitation we jumped right into beck's trail for the final hoorah. A mixture of small drops, jumps, and rollers flow us through a large rock filled area and funnel us out to a more open trail where we begin to really pick up speed through perfectly sculpted berms and dirt that seemed to be made of velcro. After what seemed to be the feeling of being shot out of a cannon you find yourself desperately squeezing the brakes as hard as you can to avoid overshooting the flat sharp turn to get back onto the fire road, which can easily result into a power skid to overshoot into the sage bushes. What a ride! 10 or so miles later we are a short pedal away from a cold brew and a welcoming campsite.
Rollin' into camp close to sundown.
We just happened to have a campsite that would allow us to sharpen our rock rolling abilities, post-ride. So naturally, the ride hasn't quite ended yet. After getting our cardio for the day we dieted strictly on adrenaline filled, rock roll lines for the evening. Very short scrambles up the rock faces ended up being well worth the effort in stoke points.
3...2...1...
DROP!
After everything was said and done, the sun had to drop at last, and the night time shenanigans began. Thank you Hartman Rocks and happy trails everyone!
Hartman Rocks in a nutshell
Words by: Jay Trautman
Photos: Aaron Pickys & Jay Trautman
Jay would like to thank his sponsors for their support: Transition Bikes, Deity and www.ridefox.com
Links to more info and trail maps below:
More Info
Trail Map
MENTIONS: @TransitionBikeCompany / @deityusa
Author Info:
Member since Jan 13, 2013
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5 Comments
- 3 0
dsoller33
(Sep 17, 2015 at 21:20)
Hartman rocks. Rocks!! The smoothness of the fruita desert meets the granite rock and sage brush of the high mtn desert. Awesome combo!!
- 1 0
billybobzia
(Sep 18, 2015 at 18:06)
one of my favorite places on earth...
- 1 0
STMCO
(Sep 19, 2015 at 16:47)
Local Trail Map! www.singletrackmapping.com/hartman-rocks.html
- 1 0
danrowe
(Sep 20, 2015 at 6:01)
Where is the video footage?
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