Stone Temple Circuit

You Just Have to Talk to the Cows!

Curt Gowdy State Park in Wyoming

Today we mountain biked at Curt Gowdy State Park which is a mountain bike destination that is highly touted.  We picked up a map, yesterday, at a local bike shop, so we were set.  The map was clearly labeled with color coded trails denoting easy, intermediate, advanced, and expert.  The trails also had copies of this map throughout and were VERY well marked. 

The start of Stone Temple Circuit

We decided to take an intermediate trail since it made a large loop around the park and back to our car.  We started a pleasant uphill climb on a nicely designed single track called “Stone Temple Circuit.”  Like my past three rides, the trail contained different sized boulders that needed to be maneuvered around and over.  No worries, I was now experienced with this terrain and feeling very comfortable.  The nice part about the trail we chose is that some harder loops left and returned to this trail so the hubby could get in some more advanced riding without having to wait for me to hike my bike through it. 

How could anyone be afraid of this?

For years, I have been terrified of being alone in the woods but mountain biking has helped me be more comfortable so I had no qualms sending the hubby off on his side trail (Ignoramus and 2%) while I rode alone. 

YEAH!  You KNOW something happened!!!  Soooooo, I was riding uphill and around this left curve and in the middle of my trail is a herd of BIG HUMONGOUS COWS!!!  Three times the size of the ones at Toro Park, I'm sure of it.  There was also a lone cow on a trail a little lower than me to my right.  Not knowing what to do, I stopped my bike thinking that I would wait them out.  They couldn’t stand on this trail forever, COULD THEY? 

The lower cow started mooing REALLY loud and the whole herd in front of me turned around to face me on the trail.  WHOA?!  I, then, got OFF my bike.  I kept reciting to myself, “Darius says cows don’t run people down . . . cows don’t chase people . . . these cows will NOT stampede me to death.”  Then I see movement to my right and the BIG black cow is racing up the hill towards me.  <Bad words inserted here>

I dropped my bike and ran up the hill desperately looking for something to hide behind.  About 1/3 of the way up, I see a rock next to a tree.  I jump onto the rock and turn to look.  <More bad words here> The cow is still racing up the hill at me.  I proceed to climb the tree by my rock.  My chosen tree had dead branches at my level so as I was climbing, the branches were breaking and falling.  I was willing to climb with my fingernails if I had to. 

Once I was higher than UBERCOW, I turned to look.  It had stopped about five feet in front of my tree and proceeded to bellow loud enough for my hubby to hear it where he was (he admitted wondering what was up with the cranky cow after all was over and done) up in the higher elevations.  All of a sudden three small calves came out from the opposite side of the mean ubercow.  Once reunited with her progeny, she then turned back the way I had come from and led her calves away. 

Then all the other cows turned around and went up the trail the way I WANTED to go.  I was in a conundrum.  I waited and watched until the cows were out of sight then dropped from my perch and said some choice words about husbands who don’t know squat about cows!  Then I cursed the park for allowing these BIG MONSTERS on the trail system without warning city girls like me of the hazards – the least they could do is tell me what to do when I see one.  After all, we all know what to do when we see bears and mountain lions – why no childhood training on COWS?!? 

So I finally get the courage to head out on my trail.  I go another half mile and ANOTHER herd of cows are on the side of the trail.  I thought, “OK, I will get off my bike and walk by them.  They are all lying down.  I am fine.”  But NO, the BIG RED cow has to stand up and face me.  I was D-O-N-E!!!  I hated this place and this trail and this state and . . . so I left my bike on the trail to trip up any oncoming bikers (in an effort to get ANYONE to help me past those darn cows) and walked up the hill to perch on a high level rock. 

I attempt to call my husband via cell phone.  Well, APPARENTLY he had no cell service where he was and the friendly voice on my phone tells me to try again later.  GEEZ, didn’t she know I needed him NOW?!? 

After a few minutes, I hear a rider and pop my head up from my rock.  It is my lucky day; my hubby’s trail met my trail right where those stupid cows were hanging out.  I hailed him to my rock and relayed my story.  I was shaking so bad, I could hardly walk.  I had the best adrenaline high I’ve had in years. 

Together we walk by the cows and the SUPER BIG ONE starts walking towards us.  My hubby calmly says, “Go away Boss.”  And sure enough, that cow turned away from us.  He sure knows a lot about cows.  Me?  I now officially HATE cows.  It took me almost twenty minutes to stop shaking as we rode further along our trails.  FYI – I have been informed that you must talk to the cows and not stare at them directly – ooops – NOW he tells me!!! 

Downhill Section of Play Area

After the cow incident, we stumbled upon the first “play area.”  Turns out that all along these trails, little practice areas were set up so you can try your hand (OK, bike) at different styled, natural and manmade obstacles.  I managed to videotape the hubby on a cool rocky part and then we headed back out on our trail. 

Rocky Trail

We then come across an option to continue on Stone Temple Circuit or jump onto “Albert’s Alley.”  I was feeling pretty perky (still feeling that adrenaline rush) so I said sure and off we went.  This was still rated intermediate but seems more rocky that Stone Temple so I was forced to play hike-a-bike off and on as we rode.  I can’t even count how many times I banged my pedals on rocks – some were too close together and too high for me to get through so I now have bruised all up my legs from my pedals banging against the back of my calves as I hit yet ANOTHER rock (boulder?). 

Beautiful place to have a snack.

We reach a little creek and stop for a break where I get some more biking pointers from my man (and maybe come cow pointers too).  Back on the trail again, we complete Albert’s Alley and jump onto “Crow Creek” trail. 

Things are getting really gnarly and I’m doing more walking than riding.  I would have felt bad, but the hubby was humping his bike over three foot rocks too and telling me that this was rideable by him but he would have to scope it out before attempting it.  Sometimes he would walk a sketchy part and go back and ride it after working out the logistics but I just kept lifting my bike up and down over these oversized boulders.  Later as we looked at the map, it turned out that the middle section of our trail was really rated advanced.  I wonder what expert looked like after dragging my bike through this part. 



The rock just keep getting bigger and bigger

 Gradually the trail became easier to navigate and I get back on my bike.  Funnily, I began taking bigger drops because I was getting tired of getting off and on my bike.  I still haven’t figured how to climb those big rocks yet but, hey, I was half way there. 

Narrow bridge

Just as my confidence was at its best, we found out one of our bridges were out and we had to drag our bikes across the creek or return the way we had come from.  NO WAY was I going back to the cows, so we did the creek crossing. 


SOMEONE has dirty knees

As I was pushing my bike up the bank back to the trail, the dirt gave out underneath me and I fell.  Guess where?  Just like Fort Ord, I found a bush to land in – so I thought.  When I tried to get up, I had a hundred needles poking into me.  ARGH!  I called to Darius to come help me – he very laughingly tells me I have landed in a wild rose bush.  <man my language was getting bad on this ride – drunken sailors had nothing on me>  

Darius pulls my bike off of me and we painfully maneuver me out of the rose bush.  Due to the heat, I wore shorts and I had rose thorns embedded in my knee (discovered when I finally was able to wash up) and I was all muddy from the river bank.  A little blood was seeping from my knee but I didn’t know this at the time – too much mud. 



Me rockin' some downhill

I was feeling pretty cranky after Crow Creek Trail so we decided to return to the car via an EASY trail called “Shoreline.”  It ran along the water just like you would think (name – shoreline) only the trail was several hundred feet above the water with lots of exposure.  I was so frustrated with my ride that I just got off my bike and walked.  I was a big, muddy cesspool inside and out.  When my legs were too tired to walk I rode again and managed to get back to the car in one piece. 

A break on Shoreline Trail

Curt Gowdy NOT my favorite place even though the trails were pretty cool.  Maybe if they got rid of the cows. . .