Kelly Flats 2025

Thanks for filming, Mike! Was one of the best Wednesdays I can remember! Skipping work, wheeling, great weather, great scenery and great people!

It’s too bad steepness never comes across on camera as Heart Attack Hill definitely was the adrenaline rush for me for the day, but probably made for lackluster footage.
 
Thanks for filming, Mike! Was one of the best Wednesdays I can remember! Skipping work, wheeling, great weather, great scenery and great people!

It’s too bad steepness never comes across on camera as Heart Attack Hill definitely was the adrenaline rush for me for the day, but probably made for lackluster footage.

Yeah I was going through all of that footage and it looked like a bunny slope and not worth adding.
 
Maybe not worth the 4h drive for me then

Correct. I was up there for a conference so I thought why not. I wouldn't make the drive otherwise. Don't get me wrong, the chute is fun, just not worth the drive. If you want scenery, then yeah it could be worth it. Poudre Canyon is beautiful.
 
None in Lefthand Canyon, it’s been closed since the floods and they closed the fun part known as Carnage Canyon probably 15-20 years ago.

Yeah, same thing happened when I lived down in the Pine Valley, right near Pine Junction. I rode all over Rampart Range down there. Then the fires came through and the Forest Service Nazis used it as an excuse to shut a bunch of places down.

I was way back on the trail when the Buffalo Creek fire blew up. I had no idea until I was on my way back, and the smoke was drifting in. I made it back to my parking spot at Top of the World, and crammed my bike into the truck in a hurry. There was a guy who'd come up in a truck with a trailer; he was panicked and got jackknifed. I helped him get straightened out and on his way.

Stupid me and others, we sat high up on the canyon and watched the fire blow up. Mind-boggling, flames ripping, fire tornados, helicopters and planes dumping water. Finally the local first-responders came up and told us to get the hell out. We boogied; on the way out along the highway, the flames were creeping in a few yards out from the road.

I went home and watched it blow up from my deck. Never got to ride those trails again - Top of the World, Ruby Creek and a bunch of others.

And I can't believe that closing the trails made a Rat's Ass of difference in the recovery of the place.
 
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