7 summits, or lack there of

So after not enough planning but a sense of adventure to compensate, Kris and I headed to Rossland BC on Sunday night of Labour Day long weekend. We drove through pouring rain with a yellow lancer loaded with bikes gear and an indespensible bbq. We arrived for the last day of the Fat Tire Festival, set up the tent in a no camping- rest stop and bbq'd pop tarts for diner. We had a meeting with the shuttle guy the next morning to take us up to the epic 40km 7 summits trail. The next morning, after bbqing corn for breakfast (i know the corn should have been diner and the pop tarts for breakfast, but whatever) we went to meet the shuttle guy. He said that we were now the only ones who wanted to ride the trail, and due to the small crowd, rides were now 45$ each. That seemed like way too much to pay to ride through the blizzard and landslide that were reported at the top, and the driver decided that we were not going. So, up and ready to ride at 8:00 am, we went in search of some other epic rides that didn't involve parkas or sketchy shuttle drivers. We ended up on some of the wettest rootiest rockiest single track ever. After the 2 km push to the top of the mountain that is. Every intersection choice was answered with "keep descending!" and we rode miles of forested trails that kept the tires sliding off the wet roots. After 10 or so km so, the trail opened into some of the fastest open singletrack through a sweet grassy meadow. Then the climbing began. We pedaled and pushed our way across a golf course, up some gravel roads and then pedaled aross town to where we had parked, stopping at a grocery store to get something else to bbq for lunch. Then we did it again. this time the trail took us around and up a different mountain, along still wet and loamy rooted trails through what felt like a rain forest. After another 10 or so kms, we returned to the car again, with just enough time to pack up the bikes before another torrential downpour hit us. Thus began the return trip home, in the rain, with the bbq.