9.13.09 Cortez, Cortez

Busy day today. Up early checked out of our cheapo hotel in Durango and headed into town for breakfast, laundry and a grocery/milk/ice run and a small Coleman stove. Then hit the road south to Cortez about an hour south but unlike the mountains of Durango, Cortez is set down in the desert valley. We made our way to Phil's World, a twisting singletrack on the desert floor. We started around 1pm so it was hot but it was all worth it. The riding was fun and a lot different than anything we had done so far on the trip. Lots of people on this Sunday and we got some advice from riders who had done the trail before. All in all it was about 23 miles and mostly smooth and fast with lots of ups and down and not too much climbing. I think the largest climb was 500ft; nothing compared to what we'd been doing. But we were still high up, around 8000ft.