Day 11: Wolf Creek Pass

Day 11 of the 1933 Harley-Davidson VL cross-country ride took us from Lathrop State Park onto US Route 160, over Wolf Creek Pass and the Great Divide, then down to Pagosa Springs for a low-mileage Rocky Mountain day.

Sunrise over the Lathrop State Park campsite before crossing the Rocky Mountains on the vintage Harley ride — Sunrise over the Lathrop State Park campsite before the Rocky Mountain crossing.

Day 11 Ride Stats

Date: September 29, 2015
Start: Lathrop State Park near Walsenburg, Colorado
Finish: Pagosa Springs Campground, Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Distance: 145 miles
Route: Lathrop State Park west on US 160 over Wolf Creek Pass and the Great Divide to Pagosa Springs
Motorcycles: 1933 Harley-Davidson VL and 1934 Harley-Davidson VLD
Gas added: 2.351 gallons total
Oil added: 1 quart total
Roadside issues: rich running and backfiring at altitude mostly corrected with a high-speed needle adjustment

Day 11 Ride Journal

After watching a perfect sunrise over our campsite, it was time to conquer the Rocky Mountains. Based on advice from a good friend who lived in Colorado for a few years, we chose to take US Route 160, which is the lowest route through the mountains. Still, this is the Rockies and the road took us over Wolf Creek Pass, which is at an elevation of 10,856 feet! That thin air meant the bikes were running pretty rich, but a few clicks of the high-speed needle cut out most of the backfiring.

Our timing for the trip couldn’t have been better as we reached the Rockies just as the aspens were starting to turn yellow. They added a nice splash of color to the already breathtaking landscape.

Yellow aspens beginning to turn in the Rocky Mountains during the climb toward Wolf Creek Pass — Yellow aspens were beginning to turn in the Rockies during the climb toward Wolf Creek Pass.

If you’ve been following along with our journey, you’ve probably noticed that all the pictures are nice and sunny. We’ve had great luck with the weather and I guess we were bound to hit some rain sometime. I just wish it wasn’t when we were climbing the highest mountains of the trip. The rain wasn’t too heavy, but even a little rain when riding an 80-plus-year-old bike isn’t ideal. We still took a quick stop at the Great Divide for a photo, even with the wet conditions.

Wet Great Divide photo stop near Wolf Creek Pass during the cross-country vintage Harley ride — A wet Great Divide and Wolf Creek Pass photo stop during the rain.

As we started to descend toward Pagosa Springs, the rain quit and the sun came out. The view down into the valley was spectacular and even though the overlook was closed for repairs, we found a spot to pull off and take some pictures.

View descending toward Pagosa Springs after crossing Wolf Creek Pass on a vintage Harley — The view descending toward Pagosa Springs opened up after the rain quit and the sun came out.

After riding down into the valley, we pulled into the Pagosa Springs Campground, which was located directly on the San Juan River.

San Juan River at the Pagosa Springs Campground on Day 11 of the vintage Harley ride — Pagosa Springs Campground was located directly on the San Juan River.

We only put in 145 miles today, but we planned ahead for low-mileage days so we could cross the Rockies without putting any undue strain on the bikes.