2018 Bikepack of the CT

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Introduction

In late summer of 2018, I bikepacked the Colorado Trail solo. It was the longest and most difficult thing I had ever done. But it was also the most satisfying.

I covered 585 miles and climbed 85,567 feet in 18.5 days. If my derailleur had not self-destructed I probably could have done the trip in 17 days.

Despite all of my planning and preparation, I had no idea exactly how long this trip would take. I just did not know how many miles I could do each day. Rather than trying to do something like mail drops, I took advantage of the fact that my sister lives in Colorado as well. I provisioned a large tub with extra food and stuff. I could then give her a call and have her meet me at the end of a segment. I used this option only once on day 9 to grab some freeze-dried food and brake pads. Well and also a big fat burrito.

Another worry was water. 2018 was an extremely dry year in the Colorado Rockies. Except for one on day 16, all of the water sources in the Colorado Trail Databook had plenty of water, even the ones marked seasonal or unreliable. I could carry up to 4.5 liters of water, but usually I only carried less than 3.

See my packing list.

Day 1 - Saturday 2018-08-25

  • Segments 1, 2 and 3.
  • 35.0 mi
  • 6,158 ft
  • Strava

I met Rachel and Liam from New Mexico in the parking lot. They are thru biking to Durango.

I saw a bighorn sheep right after first short steep climb. He was probably only 20 feet away from me.

Met a pair of older thru hikers.

Met a young girl hiking to Telluride in 5 to 7 weeks.

Stopped at the abandoned quartz mine at mile 1.1 in segment 2 for lunch. The truck that was converted to pull ore carts out of the mine was kinda cool. The sun was blazing and this was the hottest spot on the entire trail. So I rested and waited for clouds before I traversed the Hayman burn area.

Camped at intersection with Redskin Creek Trail.

Day 2 - Sunday 2018-08-26

  • Segment 3, Lost Creek Wilderness detour.
  • 65.1 mi
  • 6,818 ft
  • Strava

Liam and Rachel passed me before I got moving in the morning. But I passed them mid-day.

I ran into a hail storm at 14:00.

I pushed hard to get to the Stagestop Saloon to get a burger and fries. The vision of a greasy cheeseburger gave me the motivation to power through the many miles of pavement along highway 77. When I arrived at 19:20 I discovered that the last call was in 10 minutes. And the kitchen was closed. All that work for nothing! I pounded two beers in those 10 minutes.

I told the bartender that I was leaving to find a campsite. She told me that the owner let bikepackers sleep out back. That was a total relief because I was dead tired. The downside was that I had to sleep on a chipboard platform. Soon it started raining and the tarp roof was leaky, so I moved under the picnic table. This was a 70 mile day. Way too much. In hindsight, I doubt that I could have eaten that burger and fries. In fact, I just had a handful of bar snack mix for dinner.

Day 3 - Monday 2018-08-27

  • Segments 5 and 6.
  • 31.9 mi
  • 5,400 ft
  • Strava

I had oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast. Then the owner came out and asked if I wanted anything from the store. So I also had a microwaved sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit and a chocolate milk! Passed a young female thru hiker with a 30 day budget.

Met a 60ish thru hiker who left Durango on July 29.

Just past Georgia pass, I passed a French couple hiking from Waterton to Gunnison. She was extremely tired.

Day 4 - Tuesday 2018-08-28

  • Segments 6 and 7.
  • 20.5 mi
  • 3,937 ft
  • Strava

I froze my ass off last night. Probably set up camp too close to the water. And I need to bring more clothes into the hammock.

I passed a young guy from New Zealand thru hiking the CDT! He started June 29 on a 100 day budget. He was hiking extra light except for 2.8 pounds of camera gear. As I was talking to him, 2 guys in their 40s came eastbound thru biking the CT. One of them gave me a joint.

Had lunch by Blue River bike bridge. Sweet and spicy tuna on tortillas. Yummy.

Met a middle aged couple thru packing the CDT northbound.

Day 5 - Wednesday 2018-08-29

  • Segments 7 and 8.
  • 16.2 mi
  • 4,236 ft
  • Strava

Again I froze my ass off last night. Maybe the fly is to high and letting too much of a breeze to come through. Also a good idea to get my face as close as possible to the screen so my moisture laden breath goes out.

Liam and Rachel caught up to me about a mile before the crest of the Tenmile Range. At that time we met an eastbound thru biker who started on Thursday. His goal was eight days. He should be on Colorado Trail Race leader board. When we got to the bike path at Copper, Rachel noticed that my handlebar bag was gone! I went back up the trail about a mile before I found it. Luckily it was only a foot off of the trail, it could have rolled hundreds of feet down the hill and I would have never found it.

In the Conoco gas station right off of I-70, I pounded donuts, a huge brownie, a chocolate milk, a large lemonade, and a large bag of Taco-Litos.

2.5 miles up section 8, a spoke broke in my rear wheel. I replaced it with the FiberFix spoke and rolled on.

Day 6 - Thursday 2018-08-30

  • Segment 8, Holy Cross Wilderness bypass, Leadville.
  • 30.5 mi
  • 3,714 ft
  • Strava

I slept better last night.

The Kiwi hiking the CDT passed me when I was breaking camp. I never saw him again.

It was very steep coming down from Kokomo Pass, but fun.

I met a young couple thru hiking form Denver to Salida with their large dog. They said that their distance was dropping each day as the dog was losing endurance.

I rolled into Leadville at about 16:30 and went directly to the Cycles of Life bike shop. Unfortunately, they are only open from 10:00 to 18:00 like most other businesses in town, so I cannot pickup my bike until late tomorrow morning.

Checked into an eclectic hostel called Inn the Clouds. I grabbed a loaner town bike and went to the Tennessee Pass Inn for a huge bison burger with a fried egg, bacon, and BBQ sauce on it.

Had an amber ale at Periodic Brewing.

When returning to the hostel I met Ellen, a young woman who is thru biking the CT. I directed her to the hostel. It turns out that she is being held hostage by the bike shop as well.

Talked to my brother-in-law John and planned on meeting him Sunday afternoon at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.

Day 7 - Friday 2018-08-31

  • Leadville, Holy Cross Wilderness bypass, segment 11 and Collegiate Peaks Wilderness bypass.
  • 35.0 mi
  • 3,458 ft
  • Strava

Had a big breakfast with two large chocolate milks at the Golden Burro.

At 10:00 I picked up my bike from the bike shop. Ellen was there getting her shifter fixed. It turned out that my front shifter was broken as well. The mechanic also replaced my rear brake pads. I picked up some taint lube, maybe that will help with my rash.

At about 13:00 I met three ex-army guys that were climbing Mt. Elbert. They were carrying 40 to 60 pound packs with some Coors Lite for the summit. They were crazy starting that late. I told then to start earlier next time and to carry whiskey instead.

Ellen caught up with me mid-day. It was a surprise because I thought she was ahead of me. We rode the rest of the day together. She is a stronger climber whereas I am faster on the downhills.

Met a young thru hiker who started from Denver, did the Collegiate West, then the Collegiate East, and then was going to hitch to Salida to resupply and continue.

Day 8 - Saturday 2018-09-01

  • Collegiate Peaks Wilderness bypass, Buena Vista and segments 13 and 14.
  • 47.0 mi
  • 5,397 ft
  • Strava

Rode with Ellen all day. She says I am faster, but she chugs along. So taking into account my breaks, we are a good match.

Stopped in Buena Vista for a Mexican hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll. Also went to City Market. Individual drink packets seem to be a better deal than Nuun tablets.

I went over-the-bars when negotiating a small root on a downhill. Luckily I fell into a slash pile, otherwise there was a significant potential for pain. I lost my sunglasses and did not realize it. Luckily I stopped for water 500 ft later and realized that they were missing and easily found them when I went back.

Then Ellen went down while were descending a dirt road. She got caught in a rut and washed out. She was lucky to escape with only some road rash.

Mt. Princeton Hot Springs is much fancier than I remember, but we did not stop.

A aerospace guy interning in Colorado Springs joined us for dinner. He had lost his stove, yet somehow he still had his fuel container.

Day 9 - Sunday 2018-09-02

I missed the remains of my cookie when packing up in the dark. Some critter pulled it out of the plastic wrap and ate around the edges.

Ellen rolled out at 07:15. It took me an extra hour to get going.

I had problems with my rear derailleur, the chain kept coming off of the lower jockey wheel. It appeared bent, so I bent it back. In addition, I discovered that there was almost nothing left to my front brake pads. This caused me to be an hour late getting too the end of Segment 14 where John was going to meet me.

But it turned out that my sister and mother-in-law were the ones to meet me. They hiked a couple hundred yards up the trail to greet me. We then drove down to Salida to go to Absolute Bicycles to get new brake pads and have someone look at my derailleur. Some guy who maybe actually did not work there took a look. He had a tattoo for the 2015 Tour Divide. He said that it just needed some lube and slight adjustment. In hindsight I should have had him try to backpedaling which seemed to cause problems. He did not charge me for labor, just for the pads.

In the shop I met two guys that were biking the divide southbound. I do not remember how much time they had allocated. They were on an extreme financial budget. They had a problem with a derailleur hanger. They had a spare that they were told was correct, but unfortunately they had not verified it.

Got a burrito at Mo Burrito. Ate 3/4s and saved the rest for dinner.

We returned to the trail head after a detour along Hwy 285 because my sister took a wrong turn. Replaced the front brake pads at which time I found that one of the old pads was down to bare metal. Then I stocked up on food and went on my way. But I forgot to grab a 8mm hex wrench from my supply box.

I wanted to get over the hump on Segment 15 today, but I gave up 2 miles from the top at 18:00. I did not think that I could get over and down to a lower elevation before dark. Unfortunately the whole part of this valley is moist and swampy. It is impossible to get far from the water.

Day 10 - Monday 2018-09-03

  • Segment 15 and Salida.
  • 31.9 mi
  • 1,257 ft
  • Strava

In the middle of the night it started raining on and off. Around 04:00 it settled down to a steady rain. Since the sky was clear when I went to bed, I had laid out my jersey and chamois out to air out. Now they are soaked.

It turned out that I had camped much closer to the top than I thought; it was less than 2 miles. It was barely misting as I started to climb, but it turned to snow near the top.

About a mile past the shelter, I met a guy that was doing a day ride and we rode together awhile. But then I started having problems backpedaling, and then shifting in the rear became very difficult. We stopped and to a look. Again I noticed that the cage was bent. But then the other guy noticed that there was a crack in the cage near the bottom. So I put a zip tie on it to reinforce it. That is when the bottom part of one side of the cage just broke off. I picked a low gear that seemed to work and finished Segment 15 and then headed down to Salida. Luckily it was downhill all the way. I could pedal almost all the way until I got to Poncha Springs, at which point my chain locked up, right next to the Tesla charging station. From there I had to coast all the way down to Absolute Bicycles.

Scot? replaced my rear derailleur and did not charge me for labor. He also adjusted my front derailleur. There was a woman in the shop whose voice sounder familiar, so I asked if her name was Andrea (from JRA). She said yes and I told her that I was sorry that I did not have any maple flavored jelly beans.

I then went to Moonlight Pizza for a calzone and a beer. By now it was to late to start back up to the trail, especially because I had no idea where to camp along the road. So I checked into the Great Western hotel and went next door to Soulcraft Brewing for a beer. There I talked to a couple that had been biking in the region for the long weekend.

Day 11 - Tuesday 2018-09-04

  • Salida and segment 16.
  • 34.8 mi
  • 5,561 ft
  • Strava

Staying at the hotel made it easy to dry out all of my stuff. But then I remembered that I should really pick up a pad to put under me in the hammock to reduce heat loss. That is when I again discovered that nothing opens before 10:00 in these mountain towns.

Sitting on the path next to the Arkansas River waiting for the shop to open, a guy walking his dog walked up and asked if I was touring. I immediately recognized his voice and I asked if his name was Matt and he said yes. That made 2/3s of the JRA team. I told him that I was sorry that I did not have any maple flavored jelly beans. I told my derailleur story and we talked about riding the CT Marshall Pass.

I bought a Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sleeping Pad at Salida Mountain Sports. It is a full length pad, so I immediately pulled out my knife and cut off a third of it and handed it back to the saleslady. She asked what she should do with it. I said "make it a dog bed". I had no need for the extra bulk. I ended up carrying the pad strapped to the top of my handlebar bag.

I drank a quart of chocolate milk at the Poncha Springs market.

I passed a guy riding the CDT. He rode from Oregon to Tennessee earlier this summer. 8000 miles touring this year. Rode with him for 4 miles.

At Tank 7 Creek, there were two ladies camping (one who tend your to be Bridget from Quebec). One (Bridget) is thru hiking southbound and the other is doing Silverton to Breckenridge northbound. Had a difficult time finding a suitable location for my hammock. It started raining right as I finished setting up the hammock. I had to go to bed with only a tablespoon of peanut butter for dinner. I have a cookie, but once I was in the hammock, it was inaccessible.

Day 12 - Wednesday 2018-09-05

  • Segments 16 and 17.
  • 24.5 mi
  • 4,222 ft
  • Strava

It lightly rained early in the morning before I got up. Luckily I got a break and it stopped as I was packing up. But then 15 minutes before I was done, it started again so i had to finish in a rush. I did get a chance to eat some oatmeal and hot chocolate and my cookie! Just as I was pulling away, I realized that I should put on my helmet cover. So off with the over gloves, off with the fleece gloves, dig in the pack for the cover, put it on, put the gloves on, put the over gloves on. What a PITA!

In the first 5 minutes, it started to hail.

I saw a northbound thru hiker near the end of the segment, but I was off of the trail lubing my taint and did not have much conversation. This was about when the rain stopped.

I wanted to visit the Soldierstone monument, but I passed by without seeing it.

I met a northbound thru hiker as he wad stopping to put on his rain jacket. I am sure that it came off 30 minutes later.

It keeps alternating between intense sun and cold blowing wind. Hard to choose the right clothes.

Stopped to have lunch. When I was done, I decided to pee just off the trail because I was not expecting anyone to come along. Just as I was finishing, a young girl northbound thru from Texas caught me in the act! One of the first things that she mentioned was that there were see couple of hikers close behind her. Of course there were not. It must have been a safety statement. She was going to stop halfway through the trip because of ankle pain. Her budget was 6 weeks.

In the early afternoon it started raining again. At about 15:30 I caught up with Bridget. At this point I was considering stopping and setting up camp because of the rain. Bridget had paused under a tree because of the rain, but she started again a few minutes after I arrived. If she could do it, then so could I. So after a 15 minute break, I started back up again. At this point the rain had slacked off.

I cannot say much about the scenery from Sargents Mesa. Usually all I could see was clouds above me, clouds at my elevation, or clouds below me.

The trail was extremely rocky, so progress was slow. There was some nice flowy singletrack at the end though.

Because of the late hour, I set up camp near the beginning of Segment 18. Unfortunately right across the valley from the highway. At least the traffic is infrequent.

Day 13 - Thursday 2018-09-06

  • Segment 18, La Garita Wilderness bypass.
  • 50.0 mi
  • 3,476 ft
  • Strava

I saw very few people today.

The first half of the detour was pretty desolate. When I had lunch it was very sunny and I was able to lay out my stuff in the grass to dry. Once I got to Upper Dome Reservoir, a 25 to 30 mph headwind kicked up. I could not complain because it kept the storms away. But 5 miles from the top off Los Pinos pass, I was caught in the rain. I kept seeing what i thought might be moose tracks in the muddy road, but I was not absolutely positive. Then I came upon a moose in a beaver pond right by the road! It most have been 30 feet away!

Again, the elevation profile in the map book did not seem to match reality. I rode down Los Pinos Pass in the rain, not very fun. I was going to camp once I got to the Cebolla Creek turn, but it was all private property, so I was forced to keep riding. I went through a couple of very cool canyons at this point. I ended up camping in a USFS day use area right by the creek. I prefer to not be so close to water because of the humidity and the cold, but I was beat and could look no further. It was a 50 mile day.

Day 14 - Friday 2018-09-07

  • La Garita Wilderness bypass, segment 22.
  • 21.6 mi
  • 4,671 ft
  • Strava

After Slumgullion Pass, I could see Baldy Cinco on the left.

This bypass was longer than I expected. All the roads were dirt and there was no hike-a-bike, but it was a long distance.

The beginning of Segment 21 had an extreme amount of hike-a-bike mainly because of the rockiness of the trail. I arrived at the yurt in the late afternoon and I had had enough. I talked to a thru hiker who said that he recognized me from a few days before, but I did not recognize him. He had decided to not stay at the yurt and to push on for a couple of miles. I am glad that I stayed there because there was poor camping beyond it.

There were 7 other people staying at the yurt. A group of 4 from Colorado Springs, a group of 2 from the same and a thru hiker guy from Nevada. The yurt only holds 8 so I was lucky to have a spot.

Day 15 - Saturday 2018-09-08

  • Segments 22 and 23.
  • 18.8 mi
  • 4,327 ft
  • Strava

The beginning of the day was slow because of the elevation and rockiness of the trail. There was an extreme climb 3 miles after the yurt.

This section of the trail was extremely beautiful.

I saw 3 marmots together before Coney Benchmark.

I had lunch in a beautiful valley 2 miles after the start of Segment 23 with a marmot and a pika. The first half of the valley was smooth singletrack, the second half was hike-a-bike.

Talked to a hiker that had already setup his camp. He was heading to Silverton.

My target was to finish Segment 23 today so I could get below treeline but it was slow going. I ended up making a bivy out of my hammock for the night. I cut open my garbage bag and used it as a ground cloth.

When setting up camp, I realized that I had left my headlamp hanging from the bunk bed rail at the yurt.

Day 16 - Sunday 2018-09-09

  • Segment 23, Weminuche Wilderness bypass, and segment 25.
  • 25.1 mi
  • 3,799 ft
  • Strava

It started raining at about 04:30 today. My bivy setup worked well and I did not get wet, although there was water on one corner of the garbage bag ground cloth.

While I was packing up I saw clouds a few hundred feet below me.

It was cold and I was short on water so I skipped breakfast.

The pond at mile 13.5 of segment 23 was supposed to be a reliable water source, but it was just two mud flats. This turned out to be the only water failure on the entire trip.

Again there was a lot of hike-a-bike today. Elevation was the biggest reason. I saw a lot of marmots.

I did not see anyone today on the trail except for a young woman day hiker near the end of Segment 23 when I was getting water.

A quarter mile after getting water I went heads over heels over the side of the trail down a scree slope. Luckily I only fell about 8 feet.

The dirt road down from Stony Pass was very steep.

Lunch in Silverton at Avalanche Brewing Company was a Hawaiian pizza, 2 beers, and cinnamon pizza dough dessert. I had a Butterfinger ice cream bar at the grocery store.

The climb up Molas Pass was long, but the grade was constant and the weather perfect. I met an older couple at the pass who are hiking from Waterton to Durango. They camped next to me about 1 mile into Segment 25.

The start of Segment 25 is totally different than Segments 22 and 23. Smooth singletrack, dirt instead of rocks, lower elevation, and trees!

Day 17 - Monday 2018-09-10

  • Segments 25 and 26.
  • 20.9 mi
  • 4,242 ft
  • Strava

I met a young girl with an umbrella as a substitute for one trekking pole. She was hiking from Durango to Breckenridge or further if the weather holds.

Endured pellet snow and rain 1 mile before first the pass.

Met older guy returning from an out and back. Doing the CT in pieces and he wants to finish before he is 70. Had 1.5 years left. His wife no longer drives him to trail heads.

Meet 3 hunters 1/2 mile before the pass south of Rolling Mountain. They barely grunted a greeting. They probably thought I was scaring away all of the game.

It was cold and windy at the pass, so I did not stop for long.

Passed 2 young guys with a dog thru hiking to Durango. Started Aug 1. Doing in memory of their grandfather who hiked the trail in his 60s but who is now dead.

At mile 14.2 in segment 25, you cross a tributary of the Cascade Creek. I walked a couple of hundred feet upstream to a waterfall where I had lunch. It was so beautiful that it was hard to leave. But I would not want to drink the water (even if was filtered) because it had stained all of the rocks orange. At a creek later on the rocks had been stained all white.

About 3/4 of a mile into Segment 26 I was traversing a steep slope in my lowest gear. This is when my front wheel usually begins to wander. Well, this time it wandered over the edge and took me with it. I tumbled about 20 feet down the steep slope (maybe 45 degrees?) until I was brought up short by a tree. Scrapes on my elbows and knees, but nothing serious. It was so steep that it took me awhile to git back onto the trail. Probably bent my new derailleur a bit, I will take a look at it in the morning. The trail was not extremely narrow at that point, I was just tired.

Day 18 - Tuesday 2018-09-11

  • Segments 26, 27 and 28.
  • 33.1 mi
  • 5,591 ft
  • Strava

A elk bugled for about 15 minutes staring at about 04:00. He did it a couple more times later in the morning.

A mile after starting, I startled a doe. But she let me approach to within 30 feet and then started eating grass. Very peaceful.

Segment 26 had plenty of singletrack with some hike-a-bike caused by elevation.

I passed the unrecognized guy again. He thinks that he will finish on Thursday.

Passed a middle aged blonde woman from Colorado Springs who is thru hiking. She started at the end of July, and she thinks she will finish on Thursday.

Just as I was pulling out after lunch, the blonde woman caught up with me. She said that a bear ate all of her food at Bear Creek in the first segment. She had tied her bear bag just out of her reach, but apparently not out of the bear's reach.

I saw a number of hunters camps, but no accompanying hunters.

Segment 27 was mostly nice singletrack with some rocky hike-a-bike mixed in.

I was planning on camping near the end of Segment 27, but I could not find any good spots. So I pressed on into Segment 28 and finally found one at 19:45. I had to setup in the dark.

Day 19 - Wednesday 2018-09-12

  • Segment 28.
  • 22.2 mi
  • 1,798 ft
  • Strava

Because it was the last day, I started late at 10:00.

I startled a large bird that ran along the trail a few feet and then tried to hide in the brush along the trail. My best guess is that it was a turkey hen.

Right before the last 4 mile climb, I talked to an older and younger pair of hikers who where doing the last few segments. They told me that there was a southbound thru biker who was 15 minutes ahead of me. That did not really make sense and I pushed on.

When I got to the top of the climb, there was a bikepacker that had just arrived and was taking a break. This was, and it turns out that that I had been just behind him for days. He had even traveled with the New Mexico couple for a few days. He had started out backpacking, but his feet hurt so much that he changed to bikepacking at Breckenridge. He had heard stories from multiple people about me.

We then rode into Durango together. Then we came across a young woman who was hiking the first few segments from Durango. I asked her about the carbon fiber bear container that she was carrying. She said that she worked with bears and that the Ursack did not work; the bears would still destroy your food. I did not ask if that meant that the bear actually got something to eat or if it just crushed everything. I insisted that we stop at Gudy's Rest and sit on the bench for awhile and contemplated what I had just done. A half mile before the end of the trail we passed a young woman who had started from Denver. I forget when she started. We went to Carver Brewing in Durango and each of us got a free beer for our success.

Bikepacking Summit

The 2018 Bikepacking Summit was held from Friday 2018-09-14 to Sunday 2018-09-16 in Gunnison Colorado. Every day there was a group ride (even an extra one on Thursday) with like-minded souls and even Jefe who placed second in the 2018 Colorado Trail Race.