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…

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…

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…

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 (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 (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…

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…