jeepr84
Member
I will try to keep this brief. I don't have room for all the tips I would like to include. With that said, if you are every considering doing this trip feel free to PM me, I will happily answer questions.
This is trip was truly epic. Seven days of riding, five of it had unreal single track to include The Whole Enchilada from the top of Burro Pass into Moab on day seven. There were six of us on the trip. Myself and my buddy were on AM bikes with only backpacks.....no bar, frame or seatpost bags. The other four had a combination of panniers and assorted frame bags and rode hard tails. Those four opted out of most of the single track, sticking to the main route which is a combination of fire roads and Jeep trails.
The trip is a combination of dealing with weather, navigation and being self reliant for bike repairs etc. based on the fact the the majority of the trip keeps you in very remote areas. In my opinion, a satellite communication device (Delorme or a Spot) is a must have because cell service was nonexistent for 95% of the time.
The San Juan Hut to Hut people recommend that you stay at the Durango Mtn Resort (DMR) the night before you leave on your trip. That is fine if you are going to take the fire road route that essentially leaves from there. A draw back to that is that you are stuck at the resort, which is actually 30 miles from Durango, with no vehicle, having left it in Moab. Day #1 singletrack option is 15 miles away from DMR and includes 21 miles of 100% singletrack on the Colorado Trail. If you miss this option, you are insane. That trailhead is only 6 miles from Silverton, CO (9318 ft.) which is an amazing place to stay prior to your trip, with multiple restaurants, shops and a brewery all within walking distance. We stayed here two days prior to leaving on the trip, rode some local trails and tried to get used to the altitude. I would recommend looking up the Triangle Motel (trianglemotel.com). It's family owned, reasonable and they can hook you up with a shuttle to the trailhead. You don't have to read between the lines to see I'm a huge fan of Silverton.
Trying to to get used to the altitude on a spin above Silverton.
Greene St. In Silverton......29ers and 27.5s are so this century
Trail on day one. The high point was 12,700 ft.
More day one. Afternoon clouds coming in. We got hailed on and spent an hour taking shelter as a lightning storm passed over us. To be continued....
This is trip was truly epic. Seven days of riding, five of it had unreal single track to include The Whole Enchilada from the top of Burro Pass into Moab on day seven. There were six of us on the trip. Myself and my buddy were on AM bikes with only backpacks.....no bar, frame or seatpost bags. The other four had a combination of panniers and assorted frame bags and rode hard tails. Those four opted out of most of the single track, sticking to the main route which is a combination of fire roads and Jeep trails.
The trip is a combination of dealing with weather, navigation and being self reliant for bike repairs etc. based on the fact the the majority of the trip keeps you in very remote areas. In my opinion, a satellite communication device (Delorme or a Spot) is a must have because cell service was nonexistent for 95% of the time.
The San Juan Hut to Hut people recommend that you stay at the Durango Mtn Resort (DMR) the night before you leave on your trip. That is fine if you are going to take the fire road route that essentially leaves from there. A draw back to that is that you are stuck at the resort, which is actually 30 miles from Durango, with no vehicle, having left it in Moab. Day #1 singletrack option is 15 miles away from DMR and includes 21 miles of 100% singletrack on the Colorado Trail. If you miss this option, you are insane. That trailhead is only 6 miles from Silverton, CO (9318 ft.) which is an amazing place to stay prior to your trip, with multiple restaurants, shops and a brewery all within walking distance. We stayed here two days prior to leaving on the trip, rode some local trails and tried to get used to the altitude. I would recommend looking up the Triangle Motel (trianglemotel.com). It's family owned, reasonable and they can hook you up with a shuttle to the trailhead. You don't have to read between the lines to see I'm a huge fan of Silverton.
Trying to to get used to the altitude on a spin above Silverton.
Greene St. In Silverton......29ers and 27.5s are so this century
Trail on day one. The high point was 12,700 ft.
More day one. Afternoon clouds coming in. We got hailed on and spent an hour taking shelter as a lightning storm passed over us. To be continued....
