I’ve been planning my future Sawatch adventure and the more I looked at it, the more I realize that the reputation of the Sawatch being full of gentle heaps of talus hills and nothing else is only true if you decide to ignore some nightmare ridges just off to the side from the more popular 14ers. Those ridges of course are one in the same with the where I want to travel on.
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My survey of eleven different sun shirts is up at OutdoorGearLab – have a read:
I’m starting to try to gain a bit of fitness for my future Sawatch trip. To me that means a ton of elevation gain above all. This week’s goal was 15,000′ of elevation to ascent/descend, with the long-term goal of doing a week of 35,000′ of elevation gain, as that’s how much I roughly anticipate the trip to be.
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I was picking something up at the La Sportiva Factory Retail Store (the new Karakal!) after climbing, and finally had the opportunity to try on the new TX Guide Leather. I’ve been really interested in the new TX Guide since seeing them at OR, but even just holding the display shoe in my hand, I knew right away it was going to be too narrow for my foot. So enter the TX Guide Leather, which has a redesigned upper.
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La Sportiva recently released a new take on their reputable Ultra Raptor trail runner: the Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX. Building upon the battle-tested base of the current Ultra Raptor model, it adds a few new features and flourishes: mid top ankle cuff, Gore-Tex upper, a new black and grey colorway, and it comes in regular as well as wide sizes.
Purchase: La Sportiva NA | REI
Rather than being a conventional low-top trail runner, the Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX is a mid-height trail runner/hiker – the line on which I’d categorize it myself is pretty blurred. It features a Gore-Tex upper and – sit down since this is almost a first for Sportiva: it comes in both regular and WIDE sizes! Rejoice!
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For the 2019 Salsa Journeyman Apex 1 700c build.
Comments/Corrections certainly welcomed.
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I love drawing lines on maps and dreaming of sufferfests to do. I seem to squeeze out the most enjoyment from long ridge runs. I love being up high, teetering on top of a knife edge between two drainages, without the need of a trail to follow, yet having an obvious route in front of me. I revel in the exposure the position gives me to wind, weather, and of course: gravity.
The Continental Divide makes an obvious target for my doodles, and many of my past fastpacks have used segments of it already – either in whole or in part. Last year, I traversed the CD between Milner Pass and Berthoud Pass – located just outside my back door and earlier in that same year I traveled from Loveland Pass to Guanella Pass with a bike lashed to my back. Previously, I took on the Mosquito/Tenmile Range in total, where the CD makes an appearance for a few peaks (McNamee, Clinton, Wheeler), before bowing out. And of course, I’ve even ridden the Tour Divide Race on a mountain bike, which crosses the Continental Divide some three dozen times or so. All these trips had their unique aspects, and each one I believe is an ultra classic. What to do, next?
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I’ve released my first draft of Segment #5 of the Front Range bikepacking guide to the CO 14ers:
Segment #5 takes you from the East Longs Peak TH back to the beginning in Golden, CO via Lyons + Boulder, CO. And with this last segment, the first pass at the entire Front Range 14ers bikepacking route is done!
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I’ve released my first draft of Segment #4 of the Front Range bikepacking guide to the CO 14ers:
Segment #4 takes from around Georgetown to the base of Longs Peak! The MTB narrative rushes you down Argentine Pass to a resupply in Idaho Springs, then up Oh My God Road, to a mixed surface route to the trailhead.
Switchbacks with steep dropoffs! Ghost towns! 4WD mania! Alpine singletrack!
The Road narrative takes the same dizzying switchbacks of Oh My God Road to Richmond Street in Black Hawk, where you’ll wander up a steep, rough road up to the Peak to Peak highway. Peak to Peak is a ultra-classic road route in of itself, featuring wide-shouldered riding, perfect for all the rubber necking you’ll be doing because of the mountain views.
I’ve taken a ton of time to scout out free, dispersed, legal campsites near the East Longs Peak Trailhead – such opportunities get tight, as private property encroaches close to the route. But I think we’ve got some good ones.
Finish the Segment off with a summit of Longs Peak! The absolute Monarch of the Front Range and of Rocky Mountain National Park! All that’s left down is rocket you back to Golden – and that’ll be Segment #5.
Bikepacking to the Colorado 14ers is currently being written and published publicly. Get news and updates by joining the Facebook group, Instagram, Twitter, subreddit, and mailing list.
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