Riding the Colorado Trail: Day 1

Video

Map

Want more detail, or the GPX version of this map?  Click here.  

***Although, my GPS was doing funky things this day, so take the route details with a grain of salt…

The Holy Grail

If comparing the Colorado Trail to ancient relics makes any sort of sense at all, I’d say that the Colorado Trail is the ‘Holy Grail’ of bikepacking in the United States.  It’s long.  It’s beautiful.  It’s unyielding in its scope and severity.  And it sort of offers trail completers eternal life, as you can receive a completer’s certificate and your name in the annals of the Colorado Trail Foundation’s website.

If this comparison doesn’t work for the masses, it at least worked for Andy and me, as we had both set out to embark on part of the Colorado Trail two years ago, and vowed to return at some point and complete the entire thing.

My bikepacking pile – VERY organized…

Leaving Sunriver – Colorado bound!

My bike rack broke while riding on the highway, so I had to stuff my bike in my car. Good thing I have a relatively spacious hatchback.

It was clear that I was no longer in Oregon.

Our worksite was near an old mining town called Hancock, and some of the remnants still remain intact.

My Subaru navigating ‘High Clearance’ roads with ease.

My campsite for the week.

This was the year, and my initial plans were to complete it once with Andy as part of my scouting party, and then ride it again for the Colorado Trail Race.  After completing once, however, I realized that the trail is a mountain bike ‘experience’ more than it is a ride, as one almost spends as much time hiking the trail as they do riding the trail, which I wasn’t keen to do twice in a row.  Still, it felt like an accomplishment to complete it once, and what follows is a catalog of events, pictures, and a video of each day on the trail.

The Colorado Trail Foundation

Andy and I started our adventure by volunteering on a trail crew via the Colorado Trail Foundation.  The CTF is an amazing organization that maintains, educates, and informs people of everything they need to know about the Colorado Trail.  Our job on the trail crew was to help build a new section of trail that would help get trail-users on singletrack rather than old Jeep roads, and we accomplished a lot with our 4 days of work.

Starting to come together.

A 2 mile hike carrying all these tools is no small feat.

One of our lunch breaks.

The completed trail.

Wednesday was a rest day for the trail crew, so Andy and I headed out on the trail.

Old Jeep roads are sometimes more technical than singletrack, as was the case here.

We’d quickly grow accustomed to doing this.

And this.

And this.

What we hoped would be a 40+ mile ride ended up being just under 16, as we walked our bikes almost the entire day.

Our trail crew leaders were Scott and Laura Smith, two absolutely delightful individuals whose expertise on the trail was vital to the crew’s success.  Perhaps even more vital, though, was their expertise in the kitchen.  Scott is the owner of the company Trail Magic Sauce, and makes a whole line of incredible sauces of which we got to sample throughout our time volunteering.

The entire experience was incredibly rewarding and got me excited to work more on my local trails in the Pacific Northwest.

Most evenings after the work was done were spent in the comforts of this tent.

Or spent at the beer Jeep swapping stories.

Trail magic.

I discovered through our evening festivities that Coloradans can drink beer just as well as Oregonians.

Day 1: So Young and So Naïve

We finished our trail crew work on Saturday, and rolled into Denver Saturday afternoon.  There was a lot to do in terms of packing, buying food, and buying a new bike rack as mine broke on the way out to Colorado, and Andy and I didn’t complete everything until close to midnight.  Exhausted, we both finally got some sleep before getting up for a relatively early morning.

All our crap laid bare in Andy’s friends’ house. Thanks Andy’s friends.

The bikes finally packed and ready around 11:30pm.

We decided to sleep in until 7am, and didn’t roll up to the trail and start riding until around 11am.  The trail starts in Waterton Canyon with some gradual uphill climbing on gravel roads for 7 miles, before starting some challenging, but rideable climbs.  At the end of day 1, we completed 41 miles of riding – which includes segments 1, 2, and 3 of the trail – and climbed over 6,000 feet of elevation.  It was overcast most of the day, perfect for riding, and we saw lots of people on the trail, which was a lot of fun. Overall, spirits were pretty high for both of us after our first day.

Packed and loaded on my new rack.

With all our camera and drone gear, our bikes ended up being a little heavier than we would have wanted them to be, but it was worth it in the end.

My backpack weight.

Andy’s bike weight.

Andy’s backpack weight.

Ready to start the trail!

Wildlife.

The first bit of singletrack.

The first of MANY walks to come.

My Why S7 loaded down heavy.

Andy’s Kona Hei Hei also filled to the brim.

The first casualty: Andy’s Elbow.

Figuring out our evening routines.

Sleeping was close quarters for sure, but it was worth the weight savings in the end.

Categories: Pedals and Packs

Tagged as: 27+, bikepacking, colorado trail, Colorado Trail 2017, Kona Hei Hei, Mountain Bik, Why Cycles, Why S7