Inches and Microseconds at Mile 103

The rugged terrain in the Narrows section of Poudre Canyon poses severe constraints on the alignment of Colorado Highway 14 through this portion of the canyon. Vertical rock walls and the tumultuous course of the adjacent river necessitated a highway design that has very sharp bends. At mile marker 103, an especially severe curve exists that is extremely dangerous for downhill traffic. This is a place where inches and microseconds have made the difference between life and death.

Three real instances that occurred on consecutive Friday mornings in July, 2004 illustrate the life and death facets of the mile marker 103 curve:

On July 2nd I was riding my peddle bike while making a “century” (100-mile) ride from Walden to Fort Collins. I had cranked up the west side of Cameron Pass and was enjoying the long, long downhill to Fort Collins, when in mid-morning disaster struck: small rocks and debris fell off the sheer cliff directly on to me and my bike as I entered the sharp curve at mile 103, at fairly high speed. I was thrown into the steel guard rail. The collision with the rail broke 11 ribs, and I flew over the rail and barely passed between two large trees, luckily avoiding a head-on tree strike. The steep slope between the road and the river at this point is completely covered with large rocks, except for one tiny grassy spot next to the river. I was airborne for about 25 feet before luckily hitting this small piece of grass! The impact tore all ligaments and tendons from my right shoulder. Had I hit any place else I would surely have had instant death. Had I hit one of the trees with my head, the same. I crawled up to the highway and was fortunate that a USFS Ranger came by, saw me, and radioed for emergency personnel. Trauma Center docs at PVH did not expect me to live. Twelve days later I was discharged. Inches, microseconds of timing, were the difference between my life and death at Mile 103.
Exactly 1 week later, in the morning on July 9th, a motorcylist descending Poudre Canyon hit scattered debris that had fallen off the cliff above Mile 103 and went down, bouncing off the guard rail and cartwheeling along the roadway to an eventual stop. She was badly injured, and hospitalized. Micro timing and spatial relationships between her bike’s contact with the debris and the guard rail prevented her soaring into the river. Microseconds and inches...
Exactly 1 week after this second incident, in the morning of July 16th and 2 days after I was discharged from the hospital, another motorcyclist hit dirt and stones that had fallen onto the highway at Mile 103 as she rounded the sharp curve. Unfortunately, microseconds and inches were not in her favor. Gloria Kay Nelson and her motorcycle flew over the guard rail and landed in the river, and she disappeared in the deep, roiling water. Gloria was 45. Search teams failed to find her body during 2 weeks of searching in the high river flow. Her husband, Johnnie, returned each weekend to resume searching, until the river froze over. Her body was finally recovered miles downstream, the following March.

Microseconds and inches made all the difference for life and death on three consecutive Fridays at Mile 103. Minute differences made ALL the difference in outcomes.

The cache container is in the guard rail at the approximate location where my body struck it. I must have passed over the rail within inches of the hide. Look at the nearby trees that I barely passed between without a collision. Look at the only tiny piece of open grass that I landed on, along the bank of the Poudre River. Inches and microseconds: life or death.

Since these remarkable incidents in July 2004 at Mile 103, the Colorado Department of Highways has erected a conspicuous “EXTREME DANGER FOR MOTORCYCLISTS” warning sign a few hundred yards above Mile 103. Highway crews diligently check and clean the road of any material that has deposited on it.