At a Glance Pros: Easy to set up/take down, simple, lightweight, roomy Cons: Tarps in general don’t have the greatest protection from bugs like mosquitoes Weight: alone: 91 grams, w/FK Tarp + 6 stakes: ~544 grams Interesting To: Ultralight enthusiasts Best For: FKTs/Self-Supported Races, sub-24 hour missions Available: Fall 2019 Price: around $25 – $35 Continue reading…
I’m currently writing some notes about my 2017 Tour of the Highest Hundred, where I bikepacked to the trailheads of all 105 Colorado Centennials, and then summited them by foot. This is a work in progress and the notes are currently spread in the post archives of this site: GPX Files/Caltopo Map Found here. Talk Continue reading…
Currently, I’ve been setting up my Surly Bikes ECR for Winter bikepacking. This usually means really variable conditions, with lots of slop on the road and invariably on me. For that, I want fenders. Fenders must be one of the most finicky accessories for a bike to set up correctly, and the thought of even Continue reading…
The Colorado Trail is an awesome thru-hike route! But I noticed while hiking the CT, that much of the time that the best parts of an area you hike through just aren’t really showcased. The trail just weaves itself along a contour line below treeline, and you miss out on seeing most of the high Continue reading…
Adventure Cycling‘s Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR for short) is one of my favorite off-pavement bike routes in the country. I’ve done two tours of it myself while racing it, and have used segments the route itself quite a bit while doing shorter bikepacking tours. It’s well-designed, lots of beta about accommodations exist, and Continue reading…
View/Download this route on Strava View this route on Google Maps With another run of the Tour Divide this year, I’m reminded again of this awesome cross-country route and the many great memories I have on it. The last time I was riding on the GDMBR was on my Tour of the Highest Hundred, where Continue reading…
Stats (approx.): 32 miles 10,000’+ elevation Total time: 1 day, 2hr, 30min Three Centennials Summited: “Phoenix Peak” San Luis Stewart Peak I questioned framing this leg of my Tour of the Highest Hundred as a, “Fastpack from Hell”, as the numbers really don’t compare to the Crestones, Sierra Blanca – let alone the mighty Weminuche. Continue reading…
Miracles of Miracles, I managed to complete my Big Project for the year: The Tour of the Highest Hundred! There’s many projects that I’ll be branching off from this summer’s trip, but below are some articles/interviews covering the Tour – I’ll update if/when others are published: Climbing Magazine Justin Simoni Summits Colorado’s 100 Highest Peaks Continue reading…
Centennials Summited (11): Mount of the Holy Cross Holy Cross Ridge Mt. Oklahoma Mt. Massive Mt. Elbert French Mountain Casco Peak Lackawanna Peak Capitol Peak Snowmass Peak Hagerman Peak Total Mileage: By foot: 76.9 miles, 31,821′ elevation gained By bike: 200.1 miles, 15,165′ elevation gained
This was most likely the largest week in the entire tour, in terms of number of peaks summited. Access in the Sawatch is generally easy, resupply is plenty, and most of the peaks don’t pose too much technical problems. Centennials Summited (19): Cronin Peak Mt. Antero Mt. Shavano Tabeguache Peak Mt. Princeton Mt. Harvard Mt. Continue reading…
Centennials Summited (6): Dallas Peak Teakettle Peak Mt. Sneffels Wetterhorn Peak Uncompahgre Peak Mt. Ouray Total Mileage: By foot: 41.1 miles, 17,815′ elevation gain By bike: 249.1 miles, 27,561′ elevation gain
Centennials Summited (13): Pigeon Peak Turret Peak Jupiter Mountain Windom Peak Sunlight Peak North Eolus Eolus Peak Jagged Mountain Vestal Peak Wilson Peak Gladstone Peak Mt. Wilson El Diente Total Mileage: On foot: 98.1 miles, 42,073′ elevation gain On bike: 42.7 miles, 5,342′ elevation gain
Centennials Summited (8): Jones Peak Half Peak Handies Peak Redcloud Peak Sunshine Peak UN 13832 UN 13811 Vermilion Peak Total Mileage: By foot: 63.2 miles, 21,631′ elevation gained By bike: 72.2 miles, 7,636′ elevation gain
Centennials Summited (11): Mt. Adams Kit Carson Peak Challenger Peak Columbia Point Humboldt Peak Crestone Needle Crestone Peak Phoenix Peak San Luis Peak Stewart Peak Rio Grande Pyramid Total Mileage: By foot: 85.4 miles, 29,916′ elevation gained By bike: 276.3 miles, 12,298′ elevation gained
Centennials Summited (9): Pikes Peak Culebra Peak Red Mountain Ellingwood Point Little Bear Blanca Peak “Huefrano Peak” Mt. Lindsey California Peak Total Mileage: By foot: 62.4 miles, 23,625′ elevation gained By bike: 362 miles, 21,242′ elevation gained
To my surprise, people seem curious in the gear I use that comprises my sleep system. I’ll be describing my current setup that I’ll be using for the Tour of the Highest Hundred, a two-month bikepacking and peak bagging adventure. Like everything, it’s a constantly evolving kit, that changes depending on weather, seasons, geographic location/environment, Continue reading…
My time in Salida on tour soon came to an end, after a little time at the hostel with an honest to goodness shower. Time for me to travel north! Out of Salida, there’s some pretty awful highway riding to get directly to the next town, Buena Vista, and the day I set off saw Continue reading…
Thanks to Bikepackers Magazine for mentioning my Tour 14er super ride in their 2014 Year in Review! My thoughts usually span quite the spectrum. I remembering it wasn’t really all that long ago that I bought my first thrift store beater bike for < $15, and it didn’t take too long after that for me to wonder Continue reading…
Check out Neil Beltchenko’s summary of the Tour 14er! at Bikepacker.com
I’ve reported a finishing time of, 7 days, 2 hours, 57 minutes and 58 seconds. Happy to have just finished; a day past what I guessed for myself and two day past what I had hoped from myself. Story to be expanded, as my fingers heal enough, to allow me to type. Until then, I think Continue reading…
6/12/13 – 6/17/13 The trip’s itinerary was to hit up most all the 14ers in the path between Denver, CO and Alma, CO, taking the I-70 corridor to Breckenridge, and then HW 9 to Alma. Ambitious, as the routes picked weren’t the easiest, or shortest: Bierdtstat from the East Ridge, then over the Sawtooth to Continue reading…
Waking up at 2:00am on the Sunday of the weekend St. Patrick’s Day festivities in a drinkin’ city seemed a strange way to begin a trip. I needed to go from the North side of Denver, through the South side, without incident – and then far beyond. Plan: ride the bicycle from the back door Continue reading…