Location: Grand Canyon National Park
Date: January 21-27, 2024
Distance: ~280 miles

My last two trips down the Canyon were 20+ day self support solo kayak trips and I was ready to share the experience with someone else. The only catch was I only had 8 days off of work, so it'd have to be a quick trip. And in the spirit of adventure it made sense to go all the way to Pearce. It wasn't an easy sell - paddle 40 miles per day, for 7 days, in the middle of winter, but a good friend from college agreed to come along and I was stoked for the adventure.

The forecast coming into the trip looked dubious. No snow, but lots of rain for the first two days and then lots of sun after that. With the pace that we were paddling we got to Phantom Ranch (mile 89) in just about 2.5 days. Robby had forgotten sunglasses (which we didn't really need yet given then rain), so we figured we'd try our luck and see if there were any for sale at Phantom. The answer was no, but then we saw the printed forecast calling for rain to continue through the next 2-3 days. We were having a good time, but that certainly wasn't a morale booster.

The days flew by as we kept to a pretty routine schedule. We'd both start breaking down camp once it started to get light around 7am, get on the water by 8:30, and paddle a variable amount of miles before eating lunch at some iconic location in the canyon. It felt a little sacriligous to see Nankoweap or Elves Chasm from the river and just keep paddling past - but miles had to be made. If it was a smooth day we'd get to a camp around 4:30pm or if we were trying to push we'd keep going just until dark around 6pm. Set up camp, eat some food, and repeat the process over. We started off making around 38 miles per day and then slowly ramped up from there. The biggest day was 47 miles. This trip also gave me lots of respect for the speed record - 34 hours is absurd.

That all being said it was a really fulfilling experience. It's always good to step out of the connected world and do something a little harder than you normally would. There was much more of a focus on the whitewater since we were paddling all day, and we were pretty evenly matched skill wise so we only ended up scouting Hance, Horn, and Crystal. Everything else was read and run (or I had written down the lines from a previous trip) and that helped us stay efficient on the water. Plus we rented Stinger XPs so the skeg and length helped us keep a good pace.

Would I do the same trip again? Yes, probably in a few years though and I'd take out at Diamond Creek since you could easily get there in 5.5-6 days and have extra time to enjoy the side hikes in the canyon. Having more daylight would also be huge, but permits for any other time of year are just so hard to get.

Here's a list of camps for the trip:

Day 1 - Tatahatso (mile 38)
Day 2 - Nevills (mile 77)
Day 3 - Mile 118ish (a random, no name camp)
Day 4 - Tuckup (mile 165)
Day 5 - Indian Canyon (mile 207ish)
Day 6 - Surprise Canyon (mile 250)
Day 7 - Takeout

Feel free to reach out if you’re planning a similar trip and have any questions!

I also make a video last trip talking about some of the specifics of self support kayaking which may be of interest:

Location: Grand Canyon National Park
Date: November 5th, 2022
Distance: ~ 54 miles (including some extra sections)
Time: ~ 15 hours
Elevation gain: 13,600 ft
Route info: https://www.trailrunproject.com/trail/7011064/rim-to-rim-to-rim-r2r2r

The R2R2R has been on my radar for a while now since it's such a classic route, but I never lived closed enough to make it a short trip. I briefly contemplated trying it in June when I moved out to Utah but the weather window wasn't quite right (and my legs were shot from the White Rim). I threw out the idea to some friends though and settled on the 1st weekend in November to give it a go, and it really worked out beautifully.

Ultimately just James and I made it down to the Grand Canyon for the run and the area had just received its first snow of the season a few days prior. Temps were looking to be in the low 20's at night rising to 60's down at Phantom Ranch which made planning and stowing layers a bit tricky. My greatest stressor? Whether to start out in shorts or wear light pants overtop.

The morning of I made the game time decision to wear some light pants and we set out around 5AM with the hopes of maybe finishing in the light? We had stayed at the Mather Campground and instead of shuttling to the trailhead decided to run approximately 3 miles to the South Kaibab trailhead for the start and then finish by running around 1.5 miles from the Bright Angel trailhead back to camp. The campground was actually really convenient from an access standpoint and the warm bathrooms were clutch for the cold weather out there.

The descent down the South Kaibab really flew by and we were greeted by some gorgeous sunrise colors and views from the ridgelines. Previously I'd hiked down Bright Angel a handful of times for river trips but had actually never explored South Kaibab. I was surprised how quickly we could see the river, and the trail overall felt more shorter and scenic than Bright Angel - I'm a big fan now!

In what seemed like no time at all we were at Phantom Ranch and refilling our waters. We chose to take it extra slow down the trail so as to save our quads for the rest of the run, but started to pick up the pace running out of Phantom. Following Bright Angel Creek out of Phantom was a new experience for me as I'd never hiked on the North Kaibab Trail, and it was both beautiful and a perfect grade for running.

Around 6 miles later we found ourselves at Cottonwood Camp which still had water running which was perfect. James was having some knee and stomach problems at this point so he decided to call it for the day and head back to Phantom while I gave the rest of the North Rim a go. I started to push a bit harder, letting my heart rate creep into the 150's, knowing that I was already about a third into the run.

I had gotten beta that the climb to the North Rim was the worst part of the run so I came into it expecting something horrendous. In the end it was definitely slow going in parts and it was hard to anticipate where the end of the trail was, but luckily there wasn't any snow on the trail and time passed fairly quickly as I distracted myself with Fritos Flavor Twists (my new favorite), dried mango (my forever favorite), and sour gummy worms.

At the top of the North Rim I took in the view of Humphrey's Peak in the distance and talked myself out of begging hikers for some extra water. Then I started to shuffle down the descent with the intent of moving expeditiously to Manzanita to fill up my waters. The rest of the trail from Manzanita to Cottonwood to Phantom was prime for running. Not too steep, mostly downhill, and then almost flat for the few miles before Phantom. I felt good, opened up my stride, and dropped a few 9 minute miles in there.

At Phantom I met up with James and we set off to tackle Bright Angel. I think both of us forgot how long it was - especially since descending down the South Kaibab was so quick. We kept a consistent pace under 25 min/mile on the uphill though and made it to Indian Garden before darkness truly set in. From there it was a 4 mile slog as we stared up at numerous headlights working their way up the trail. The rest was was a blur until I reached the rim.

In the end I clocked just under 15 hours for the R2R2R proper plus extra for the runs to and from the trailheads from the Mather Campground. I'd love to go next year and start from the North Rim and ascend/descend South Kaibab to see how much time I can shave off.

Overall it was an awesome experience and logistically pretty easy since the trails are so obvious and multiple water stops means you're never going more than 6-12 miles without access to water (depending on the season). I was also pretty impressed by how many other people were out there either running R2R2R or hiking rim to rim. I would have expected the crowds to slow in November but I'm glad so many people are getting to have that experience!

For now I'll stash the running shoes for the winter and start to focus exploring the backcountry skiing around Salt Lake. Feel free to drop a comment below with any questions about running the rim to rim to rim!

Key Gear

These are affiliate links to some of the gear I used for this run. Proceeds from this help keep the site running. Thanks for the support!

 Shoes: Hoka Speedgoat 4

 Pack: Salomon Adv Skin 12

 Poles: Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z

 Powerbank: Anker PowerCore Slim

Location: Grand Canyon National Park
Dates: 20 days during January 27th - February 15th, 2022
Distance: ~280 miles from Lee's Ferry to Pearce Ferry
Trip Size: Solo
River info: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/114/main

I'm fortunate enough to have been down the Grand 1.5 times previously. Once on a commercial trip from Phantom to Diamond and another full trip as a solo kayaker back in 2014. Both those experiences were magical and I've been scheming a way to return for years now. The schedule in medical school isn't very conducive to taking a month off on a whim, but I caught a lucky break during my 4th year.

All year I'd set aside January as a planned vacation month. I didn't get a permit in the main lottery and was also denied in the follow up lottery. I was crushed as I knew this would likely be my only totally free month until after 5-6 years of residency. The day after receiving the lottery info I got a call from an unknown Flagstaff number. Thankfully I answered as it was a river ranger saying I was next on the list for a late January launch - I was ecstatic!

I only had a month until the trip to plan, but I knew that I wanted to recreate the solo experience I had previously. I even borrowed a green Dagger Katana for the trip which was the same model and color from before.

In 2014 a large focus of the trip was documenting the experience, and the theme of this recent trip was very much exploring the area and discovering a deeper sense of place. I brought along a more detailed river guidebook this time and really took time to seek out and savor all the inscriptions, Puebloan dwellings, and other little pieces of history left in the canyon. Because of the this the trip really felt like more of an experience solely for me - perhaps the way it should. I took less photos and videos and really tried to imprint the sights and sound into my brain. Despite this the trip still seemed to fly by.

I also rediscovered my love for kayaking. After my last shoulder surgery I started to paddle less, but it was too much fun not to laugh for joy on the mostly friendly big water lines. I kept my head dry the entire time too so the muscle memory is still in there somewhere. My favorite day, much like last time, was routing through Horn, Granite, Hermit, and Crystal in a day and camping at Bass Crossing. So much good whitewater and such a good camp.

I focused on more hiking this trip as well. As my brain has developed more fully I’ve started to realize the risks of hiking solo probably outweigh the risks of paddling solo. Ultimately I kept it conservative without any mishaps. Two hikes really stood out to me from the trip. The first was the Tabernacle. Such a classic hike and beautiful view - I couldn't believe I hadn't done it before. The second was making a loop hike out of Tapeats Creek, Deer Creek, and Thunder River. Indeed  starting from river level a trail winds from Tapeats to above the Granite Narrows down into Deer Creek. I had seen the trail on my GPS but previously had never seen it published in a guidebook. This was definitely the highlight for me with some beautiful vistas and Puebloan ruins along the route.

Who knows when I'll return for a full run down the river. Next time I'll likely put together a group as I love the power of the solo experience but also tell myself that I want to share the memories with others. That being said I met a number of inspiring boaters and rafters while on the river.

I did end up recording a little video clip each day about the logistics and planning behind a solo kayak trip. It was pretty informal but has some good information that could apply to any extended river trip. If you're looking for a more focused guide on solo kayaking the Grand Canyon I'd point you to my article from 2014.

Enjoy the video & pictures from the trip and feel free to leave any comments or questions below!

Location: Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Date: June 14th, 2022
Mileage: ~ 100 miles
Time: ~ 15.5 hours
Elevation gain: 7,000 feet
Trip Size: Solo
Route info: https://bikepacking.com/routes/bikepacking-the-white-rim/

Note: Affiliate links in this article help support hosting this website. All media taken with a 2020 iPhone SE .

The White Rim has been on my radar as an iconic loop for quite a while now, and it was one of the first big adventures on my list to do after moving to Utah. Unfortunately I moved at the beginning of summer and temperatures were pretty toasty in the Moab area. Luckily I saw a one-day weather window of lows in the 60's and a high of 80 so I decided to go for it.

I started before sunrise at the bottom of the Mineral Bottom switchbacks in order to beat the heat on the strenuous climb up towards State Route 313. The switchbacks are definitely pretty steep and gnarly to drive down but the Prius made it down without issue as the road was in pretty good condition at the time. I started at 3:30 AM, and the climb up the switchbacks actually flew by in just 30 minutes. From there I hit SR 313 in time for a beautiful sunrise and then began the fun of descending the Schafer switchbacks while continually being in awe of the landscape around me.

Although it was only a day trip I actually packed quite a bit of gear with me since the route is remote, exposed, and I was alone. There's no access to water on the route so I carried 6 L with me from the start (3.5L in a MSR Dromedary & 2.5 L in a USWE Outlander) as well as a ton of bars and food purees so I could eat something around every 30 minutes. This made for slower going on the trail, but the goal was to be safe and not blaze through it.

I will note that the FKT is somewhere around the 5:28 mark which is insanely impressive. I naively thought that even if I rode the trail at half the speed that maybe I could fit in two laps in a day, but I certainly gained some humility by the end of my 15+ hour lap!

The trail itself is a mix of jeep road with some classic slickrock features which are really fun to ride. Despite the pictures it's not smooth easy riding - in fact much of the ride felt like a subtle grind uphill, but then again I rode it in the clockwise direction. There are also a handful of seriously steep ascents, especially at Murphy Hogback. I caught up to a group of motorcycles and Jeeps here and was super impressed as I saw them climb the road. It's doable on a mountain bike but you'll be lactic at the top for sure.

Throughout the day I only came across one other mountain biker while all the other traffic was motorized. Just goes to show there aren't that many people naïve enough bike an exposed desert trail like that in the middle of June. I'd love to return during a cooler month and spend more time exploring and taking in the history of the area during a 3-4 day bikepacking trip. Do be prepared for some sections of sand especially once the trail drops down to the level of the Green River. I was running 2.2 tires in the rear and slogged through those sections but it wouldn't be as fun on a gravel bike. I will say I washed out twice in the sand near the end as I was starting to get a bit loopy.

Overall this trail was fun riding with innumerable, jaw-dropping scenic vistas. Numerous times I would top out a small climb and be taken aback by the view in front of me. I loved being immersed in Canyonlands and seeing so many different aspects of the landscape while covering a large distance under my own power. Certain sections of riding were somewhat technical but as a whole it was pretty straightforward. Enjoy the adventure and be ready for a beautiful dusty, sun exposed ride!

Here are a few more pictures and some video from the ride. Please leave any comments or questions below!

Dates: December 21st - 25th, 2021 (5 days, 4 nights)
Total Miles: ~ 240 miles
Elevation Gain: ~ 8,000 ft
Route Info: Monumental Loop on Bikepacking.com

Update: Andrew Strempke put down a blazing fast FKT of just over 24 hours on this loop in March 2022!

Backstory

With a hut trip planned in Colorado for the holidays Amelia and I set about brainstorming another adventure to tack onto what seems to be our annual road trip out West. Last winter we did the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande, and would have loved to return, but there's only been a trickle of water coming down that section lately. Bikepacking came to the top of the list for warm(er) weather activities, and we kept hearing about the Monumental Loop in Las Cruces from two local riders who had completed it earlier in the year. It seemed like the perfect activity to welcome the winter solstice.

We had both done the Gila River Ramble a few years ago, and were excited to experience a bit of the Chihuhuan Desert before heading up to the snowy mountains of Colorado. Personally I'd spent time exploring Northern New Mexico in college - areas like the Chama River, Valles Caldera, and Santa Fe, but never got to explore the landscape around Las Cruces.

Amelia did a great job gathering beta, and I took a bit of a backseat in the planning. The route looked like a nice mix of dirt road, some pavement, and a bit of singletrack with a moderate amount of climbing. Unsurprisingly, the route was quite a bit more strenuous than I anticipated.  Part of that was Amelia being in really good shape, but the wind was also a force to be reckoned with. More on that later though.

Origins of the Route

The Monumental Loop is the brainchild of Matt Mason and Pablo Lopez, and it has helped put Las Cruces on the map for bikepacking. The route weaves through the Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks National Monument which was granted monument status by President Obama in 2014. Pieces of history on this land include an Apollo training site at Kilbourne Hole, sites used by Billy the Kid and Geronimo, and parts of the Butterfield Stagecoach Trail on its way to San Francisco.

Logistics

Outdoor Adventures bike shop, where Pablo Lopez is the manager, is a great source of information about the route as well as any last minute gear needs. I was told that they recommended cyclists park their car at the convention center in town, but it's worth checking on this closer to your trip.

Resupplies: We were able to refill water and grab food in Hatch, Vado, and Vinton. The grocery store in Hatch is extensive, and we only grabbed gas station snacks in the other towns. We left half of our food in our car in Las Cruces to resupply with when we started the second loop.

Weather conditions: The southern loop is very exposed and dusty. We rode the northern loop first in the traditional style, but if there is a significant wind event in the forecast I would prioritize doing the southern loop on the calmer days.

Water: All the marked cattle tanks had water of varying qualities when we rode through. It took a bit of creative problem solving to get water from a few but it's doable. The southern loop is very dry so keep your waters topped off. We were able to drink mostly water from town stops, but used some cattle water for cooking.

Bike gear: Bike lights are essential if you want to make miles during the shorter winter months. Tubeless tires are a must - mine are still studded with the thorns sheared off from goatheads.

Day 1 - Las Cruces to County Road E006/Barksdale Road (50 miles)

We took our time rolling out of Las Cruces, adjusted gear, and biked a few miles through town to the link up with the route heading north out of town. We were quickly acquainted with the expansive pecan groves, a staple crop of the region, as we followed irrigation ditches towards the Dona Ana Mountains. The singletrack below the peaks here was surprisingly fun and offered a fast, sometimes loose descent down a powerline trail back to cross under Highway 25. The next section under the Robledo Mountains consisted of a flat multiuse trail paralleling the Rio Grande and then fast road miles on Hwy 185 until turning off towards Cedar Hills.

Cedar Hills marked the start of the real meat of the day where the climbs flexed their muscle. Most of the elevation gain in the route happens within the first 100 miles, so prepare for this if you do the northern loop first (the standard direction). There were a few impressively steep pitches which put my 1x12 granny gear to work, a few cruisy sections, and couple patches of loose sand to prep us for the rest of the trip. We reached the cattle tank at mile 47 at dusk, topped off water, and rode a few miles in the dark to camp on a dead-end offshoot road.

Day 2 - County Road E006/Barksdale Road to County Road D010 (47 miles)

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise view and kept our puffies as we enjoyed the downhill cruise towards Hwy 185 which took us into Hatch. Unfortunately Sparky's wasn't open the day we passed through, but we resupplied at the very well stocked Village Market (they have really good fried chicken), and packed a burrito and green chile burger from the Village Café for dinner that night. From our beta we knew that the climb up to Big White Gap was the crux of the trip so we tried not to linger too long in comfy civilization.

The section from Hwy 26 to Big White Gap is…interesting. You turn off the highway at a dairy farm, get some whiffs of cow manure, and then begin a deceivingly difficult 9 mile trek up doubletrack of increasingly poor quality. It starts off as loose sandy and then develops into loose rocks that seem to grow in size. It's mostly all rideable if you're committed but it's slow going. The last few pitches are more hike-a-bike style so I'd pack some shoes for this. It's best to plan to clear this section in the daylight, and don't let your guard down once you crest Big White Gap - the loose boulder rocks make for a squirrely downhill if you choose to ride it.

The trail treated us right though. Just as the day started to get long we popped out on paved County Road D012 right below Magdalena Peak. This was a screaming downhill with views towards Las Cruces, and easy miles to get to the roadside Camp 2 near the intersection of D006 and D010. I really came to appreciate the nice mix of strenuous climbs followed by fun downhills on the route…it makes for a really nice way to end the day.

Day 3 - County Road D010 to the Bishop Cap (51 miles)

The return to Las Cruces! The day started off with mellow flats as we rode towards the horizon and promise of town. A few sandy sections here warned us up for the looser sections on the southern loop. A fun downhill dropped us into a rather bougie neighborhood overlooking the town, and then a welcome paved descent pointed us back towards Mesilla.

Coming back to Las Cruces to restock and fix gear is nice, but it's always difficult to pass through your start point as the halfway point. We kept things brief as we loaded up food from our car, filled up water, and eventually mustered the determination to enter the dust world again as we started climbing up to the NMSU Observatory.

We quickly figured out that the climbing wasn't quite over for the trip. The afternoon was a slog with resupplied bikes and the singletrack repeatedly dipped only to reveal a steeper climb ahead. The initial sections of the Sierra Vista Trail weren't easy and somewhat overgrown with thorns. Things came to a head when a large goathead sent a stream of sealant started spewing from Amelia's tire. The sun had just begun to set and the lovely colors of the golden hour were ignored as we quickly pulled out a tire plug to fix the leak. Luckily after a minute the sealant took hold and the tire was solid for the rest of the trip.

We were behind our goal mileage for the day but luckily we had topped out on elevation for the Sierra Vista Trail just before sunset. The next two hours were memorable as we cruised down singletrack by headlamp. Eventually we settled for camp just at the base of the Bishop Cap and fell asleep to the hum of the nearby powerlines.

Day 4 - Bishop Cap to Aden Lava Flow (56 miles)

While at our pitstop in Las Cruces we had seen the ominous forecast of a NWS Wind Advisory with 50 mph headwind gusts, so we knew the day would be interesting. The silver lining was that most of the elevation gain was accomplished in the previous 150 miles. The descent into Vado was fast and flowy, and we beelined to a gas station to top off our waters and enjoy some snacks before the wind truly set it.

The stretch along the Rio Grande from Vado to Vinton was the least enjoyable of the trip for us. Winds buffeted us, dust flew all around, and stray dogs added to the ambience. Eventually we rode down from the gravel path into the packed sand of the Rio Grande just to shelter ourselves a bit from the wind.

Morale improved once we turned onto County Road A020 outside of La Union. We were back on dirt roads and seemed to be making good time despite the winds. The southern loop had a totally different feel from the northern loop - much more remote and desolate. A local resident driving by informed us that 70+ mph winds were forecasted over the night and even invited us to join their family for Christmas Eve dinner. We ultimately declined, but it was incredibly generous.

A highlight of the trip was viewing Kilbourne Hole with winds whipping and a few scattered raindrops. It made sense why they used this site for lunar training missions. Our final camp was just along the border of the Aden Lava Flow Wilderness. Luckily the winds abated after sundown and we had a peaceful night.

A quick glimpse into the wind we encountered on the southern loop.

Day 5 - Aden Lava Flow to Las Cruces (30 miles)

We woke up to a heavy dew in the morning which was unusual, waited for the sun to dry gear, and then set off to finish the trail by early afternoon. We stopped at the last labeled cattle tank to top off our waters and it turned into quite the adventure! An old railroad tanker car had been repurposed to store the water, but the water was over 4 feet below the hatch at the top. In the end I ended up attaching a bottle to a cam strap to dip into the tank.

Soon after this we took a wrong turn but did some creative route finding to get our way back to the railroad track crossing. It's labeled on the route map, but essentially you can take a 15 mile detour around the tracks or save some miles and cross illegally. Look carefully in the corners of the barbed wire fencing for a gate to pass through if you choose this route.

The rest of the ride after the crossing was a slight downhill grade with endless false summits as we got closer to town. It was a nice, mellow way to cap off the adventure before we dropped steeply back into town to end the loop.

Impression

It's not an easy endeavor, but this route really had it all. The mix of riding terrain made it feel like an adventure, and each loop had a vastly different character. Cycling by pecan groves, a dry Rio Grande, country roads, rolling hills, steep passes, and small towns gave us a rich experience of the landscapes and communities around Las Cruces.

I remember remarking that from the road many of the rolling hills and mountains didn't seem that impressive, but once we were immersed in the middle of them the landscape really came alive. Not only was the riding a great experience, but the local community has really embraced the influx of bikepackers as well. Quite a few people asked us if we were riding the loop and had either personally ridden parts of it or knew friends who had done so. I have no idea what the current use numbers are for the loop, but I imagine it will only become more popular as a classic route. Thanks to the creators for a really fantastic adventure!

Feel free to leave any comments or questions below!

More Photographs

Location: Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV
Date: September 5th-7th, 2020
Duration: 3 days
Mileage: 20.92 miles
Time: around 15 hours
Elevation gain: 1,649 ft
GPS Info

Dolly Sods holds a special place in my heart as I was brought there a few times as a Boy Scout. At the time I remember being fixated on the unexploded ordinance signage & the otherworldly landscape of this area. Later on I began to realize how special this corner of West Virginia was with Canaan Valley, Dolly Sods, the Blackwater River, and White Grass cross country skiing all nearby. Davis & the surrounding areas really are one gem of an adventure town.

I had last backpacked in Dolly Sods in 2012 and recently took advantage of a 3-day weekend over Labor Day weekend to explore the area once again. Amelia & I decided on a fairly standard route that followed the perimeter of the park & then looped back up the center following the Red Creek Canyon. There's some great info on Hiking Upward when choosing a route & camps. The route was fantastic & really gave us a taste of the different sides of Dolly Sods - from the high windswept sandstone meadows to the creeks and bogs below.

We took our time on the route and used the shorter days to focus on the gourmet side of things! We succeeded in our backcountry pizza preparation and pulled off cinnamon rolls even though we forgot to bring butter. It was luxurious & definitely worth the extra weight.

The area was incredibly busy due to a combination of spectacular weather, a holiday weekend, and people being tired of staying indoors due to COVID. The access trails looked a bit like a theme park, but we got some solitude after hiking in a handful of miles. Many of the prime backcountry camps were also taken so we had to work a bit more but ended up with two beautiful spots.

The first night we camped in a forested section after the trail temporarily left Stonecoal Run, and on night two we camped along Red Creek by the junctions of trails 509 & 511. This turned out to be a great option for some solitude since the Forks of Red Creek campgrounds were inundated with campers.

One final word of advice is to be aware of is that Dobbin Grade (526), trail map here, can be used to link trails 509 & 522 but it is very, very boggy. We weren't aware of this, and while it was a fun adventure we both ended the hike pretty muddy. I even managed to post-hole once up to mid-thigh as I threw my cares to the wind and confidently walked across a mud pit. Take trail 521 if you're not into that type of adventure.

Below is a map of the route with a downloadable GPX track:

I hope you get to enjoy one of my favorite areas in West Virginia! Remember to leave no trace & enjoy the adventure.

Drop any questions or thoughts in the comments below!

Description: Escalante Route via Lipan Point & exiting via Grandview Trail (GPS Track)
Dates: March 13th - 17th, 2020
Total Miles: 36.5

After studying weeks for my STEP 1 board exam I was ready to return to nature & embark on a warm desert adventure, or so I hoped. The Grand Canyon has always held a special place in my heart after doing a 27-day solo kayak journey through the canyon in 2014, and backpacking seemed like the perfect way to experience a new side of the canyon with just a little less free time.

I knew relatively little about piecing together a backpacking trip in the canyon, aside from the fact that permits were relatively competitive. I came across a few Escalante Route trip reports, and both the style & mileage of the trip seemed to fit my goals well. It seems the NPS makes planning information a little hard to piece together, likely to deter hikers without sufficient experience. My girlfriend & I called in a month before our March departure date, and it took a creative mix of camps & signing a waiver that our route was an “Aggressive Itinerary”, but we were permitted!

 Planning Notes

 We quickly were reminded that the first rule of the Grand Canyon is to be prepared for anything. We camped just outside the park the first night and had an intense thunderstorm with tent flooding followed by 2” of snow. Luckily the weather steadily improved and the rest of the trip was very enjoyable & dry. That being said, always plan for hot, cold, and precipitation.

The NPS also advertises rentals of Outsack mesh bags for food-storage from critters, but they charge $8/day from the Market Plaza, and didn’t even have any for sale when we were there. I’d suggest buying one ahead of time to save some money, and they’re useful piece of gear for critters on all types of trips.

 *Note that the mileage differs between the Gaia maps & NPS literature. Distances below are from NPS data, and seemed to be more accurate.

 Day 1 – Lipan Point to Cardenas (12 miles)

We knew this was going to be one of the most punishing days, so we got off to an early start at Lipan Point. The well-worn Tanner trail starts just down the road from the viewpoint and quickly starts a steep, switchbacked descent with a bit of snow & ice. Early on you’ll notice the Desert View Watchtower on your right. Keep an eye out for it the rest of the trip, it truly is omnipresent throughout the hike.

The Tanner trail consists of two steep descents separated by about 2.5 miles of flatter gradient. In total the trail drops around 6,200 feet, so it’s certainly punishing on the knees. The river starts to come into view about halfway through the hike, and the emerald ribbon of water seems both tantalizingly close but also so distant.

We surprised ourselves by getting down to river level at Tanner Rapids in just 5 hours. From there it seemed like an easy stroll to Cardenas, but it took around 2 hours as we skirted behind the large sandy beach and paralleled the river to Cardenas Creek. This is a popular rafting camp with a nice beach and numerous campsites tucked behind.

Day 2 – Cardenas to 75 Mile Canyon (7 miles)

Following the first day our calves were pretty sore, but we were excited to experience the bulk of the Escalante route as we paralleled the river to Seventyfive Mile Creek. This section of trail quickly left the river, and led to a sheer cliff high above Unkar Rapids. From here the trail left the river and gradually gained elevation as we crossed large boulder fields & traversed tight, loose trail with significant exposure. We caught glimpses of the river now and again before descending down into Escalante Creek and following the creekbed to the river. There wasn’t any dependable water between the river at Cardenas and Escalante, so make sure to stock up for a hot, exposed day.

We were excited to see the backlit waves of 75 mile rapids just a stone’s throw downstream, as we dreamed about an early camp. Our hopes were quickly dashed though when we realized we had to do a 1 mile loop up & down 75 Mile Creek to gain access to the river again. 75 Mile Canyon is stunning inside, and walking between the giant slotted walls was certainly one of the best parts of the trip. Multiple open beaches line the shore of 75 mile rapid.

Day 3 – 75 Mile to Hance (2 miles)

This was by far the most technical day, but with the low mileage we were still at camp by lunch. We elected to choose the low route, following a river-level trail to the lower beach at 75 mile and then traversing the rock slabs before Papago Canyon on a moderately well marked trail. The low route offered ample shade and also seemed less strenuous than taking the high route from 75 mile (as shown on the GPS track).

Papago Canyon was by far the most technical portion of the trip and requires scaling a 20-30 foot wall with solid ledges & grips, followed by descending a large rockslide back down to river level. Plan to do this section in the daylight. The wall climb, directly visible from the bottom of Papago Creek, is very exposed, but doesn’t require any technical gear. I’d recommend scaling the wall without a pack to find a suitable route, and then giving it a go with your gear. There’s also a large ledge in the middle crux where a pack can be passed on to someone above. Here’s a good video of the climb for reference.

After scaling the wall we climbed up a steep trail with a little exposure before getting to the rockslide. The slide is very impressive when viewed from the top, but it is easily broken down into manageable sections. Make sure to do it one at a time to avoid rockfall injuries. Once down the rockslide we caught a glimpse of the top of Hance & proceeded to follow the shoreline trail to camp.

Day 4 – Hance to Cottonwood Creek (11 miles)

This was one of our longer days, and on the ranger’s advice we decided to follow the Tonto Trail up Cottonwood Creek since it was a flatter, albeit longer route to camp.* The Tonto Trail gradually climbed from the river and then leveled off as we approached a Hance Canyon, which is unmistakably large. We walked along the rim with occasional views of the bottom until we spotted cottonwoods lining the bank of Hance Creek. The shade & cool water were a welcome respite from the heat.

*One could also climb to Horseshoe Mesa from Hance Creek and then descend to Cottonwood, but in that case you’re trading a bit of mileage for a very steep ascent & descent. Pick your poison.

From Hance Creek we followed the Tonto Trail as we traversed around the bottom of Horseshoe Mesa. This section was particularly arid & desolate, with a few scattered campsites for the masochistic hikers who enjoy dry campsites. Soon enough we reached a canyon with cottonwoods and crossed a small waterfall to the other side of the creek as we searched for camp. A number of small options exist in the canyon here, but it looks like a prior flash flood mangled some of the trees in the area. Further upstream there’s evidence of fire along the creek, so beware of deadfall.

 Day 5 – Cottonwood Creek to Grandview Point (4.5 miles)

The last day was short, but it certainly packed in continuous vertical with around 4,600 ft. of ascent. The trail followed Cottonwood Creek and soon opened up into expansive views followed by two lung busting switchback sections that bring you to the top of Horseshoe Mesa. We started to see day hikers around here, which meant we were close to the exit at Grandview Point, but it was still a good ways away. The last few miles of this trail consisted of answering day hiker’s questions of “how long to the bottom?”, soaking in our last views of the canyon, and wondering ourselves where this trail goes & wondering at how steep it was.

Bottom Line

The Escalante Route is reportedly one of the more difficult, non-technical routes in the Grand Canyon, but it offers a sampling platter for all the Canyon has to offer. It gives you a nice feel for the topography of hiking both near the river as well as through the exposed rock & side canyons that feed into it. There are significant sections of exposure as well as the rock wall at Papago, so be prepared for those sections to be the crux of the trip. Typically hikers will exit this route via New Hance Trail, but exiting via Tonto & Grandview gave us an additional night of camping and let us take in the landscape around Horseshoe Mesa.

Dates: June 27th – July 1st, 2019
Section: Schafer Meadows to Paola Access Area
Length: 38 miles
Flow: 4,300 – 3,400 cfs @ MF Flathead West Glacier Gauge

Backstory

Packrafting has always interested me, but it wasn’t until I won an AIRE BAKraft at Gauley Fest last year that I seriously considered putting a lightweight river trip together. Yes, I know a BAKraft isn’t a true packraft but the portable size and lighter weight lend it to the same purpose. I had previously used IKs on the Tatshenshini and Nahanni, so I knew how much gear they could haul, and I was excited to put my new craft to use on a remote stretch of river.

With a few ideas in mind I reached out to Thor at Alpacka Raft, and he suggested this stretch. The Middle Fork of the Flathead had never been on my radar before, but a quick Google revealed a gem of a river that actually inspired the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act back in 1968. Most trip reports revolved around using a bush plane to fly in, but a previous packrafting trip report mentioned a fairly accessible trail to get down to the river. I only had a week off to attempt the trip, but a small crew came together with Kristen Bryson and Zane Randell. Kristen guided with me at Northwest Rafting and I knew Zane through my time at Colorado College. None of us had really done a packrafting trip before, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to see what it was all about!

Day 1 – Hike in via Morrison Creek Trail (#154)

Note: here’s the GPS information for the hike if you’re interested.

The trip got off to an interesting start as we drove out of Missoula with hail pelting our car and two days of solid rain in the forecast. Our plan was to drive up Highway 2 to just beyond Essex, and then branch off on Skyland Rd to get the Morrison Creek Trailhead (Trail #154). We slept at the trailhead, and awoke to more rain as predicted. We were joined by two groups at the trailhead: a small group of rafters hiking in to meet the party, and a pair of horsepackers preparing for a fishing trip down to Schafer. While talking to the rafters we learned that flights into Schafer are only around $400. Tempting, but that would make things all too easy.

In an effort to fully embrace the packrafting lifestyle I drove down to the Essex Creek takeout, enjoyed the last steamy minutes of a warm car, and then threw on a rain jacket to hitch 17 miles back up to Skyland Road. After a surprisingly long time I ended up getting picked up by a native from Whitefish who was currently on her way to buy a goat after her previous one was mauled by a mountain lion. You really can’t make that up. From there it was a nice 9 mile run to the trailhead where we put on our backpacks and I realized I was far from perfecting the art of lightweight packrafting.

The weather cycled between sun and rain throughout the day as we hiked the 14 miles down to Schafer Meadows. The trail is straightforward and mostly all downhill, although it was pretty slippery following the mud tracks of the mules. We crossed Morrison Creek multiple times, and it was almost boatable, but we figured it would be worth maximizing our river miles and hiking all the way to Schafer. In characteristic fashion the rain picked up again just as we waddled into Schafer, and we set up a hasty camp at the river’s edge. All of those pictures in the Missoula airport of happy people fly fishing with bluebird skies? Lies. I was also very glad to have a full drysuit for the trip.

Day 2 – Schafer Meadows to Castle Creek

The morning started with low fog and a fascinating walk around the airstrip and Schafer Meadows ranger station. The airstrip is massively long at 3,500 feet and the bush planes need less than half of it to take off comfortably. Check out this narrated video of a windy flight into the meadows. After seeing two flights come in within the hour, I realized that the river might be a bit busier than anticipated. Looking at the river log it seemed that the river traffic really started to pick up the last week of June, which is historically a sweet spot between good fishing and manageable river flows. I had read that it was only a matter of time until permits would be required for the Schafer to Bear Creek section, but the ranger down there disagreed, saying that river traffic had stayed pretty consistent over the years.

Clouds finally began to lift, and we had sun as we put on the river. The trip suddenly turned into a leisure float once we started to float on the cool, clear water. We put in work the previous day and now it was time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We began to feel out the capabilities of our boats as we eddy hopped down the river, smiles abounding. Most all rapids were read and run (being able to stand in you boat is very helpful), with two rapids in the Three Forks section needing a quick scout from shore. Miles flew by, especially after Three Forks where fun, splashy Class II just went on forever. I happily let the river carry me along as I sat transfixed by the pristine landscape surrounding me.

The water was unusually low for this time of year, and at least one of the rafting parties actually had to de-rig and portage a rapid with some tight slots. Luckily this was a non-issue for our boats. +1 for packrafts. Castle Creek was the popular campsite on this stretch, and two other parties camped in the vicinity that night, but there was plenty of space for everyone.

Day 3 – Castle Creek to Spruce Creek

We took a hike from camp up to Castle Lake in the morning where we saw tons of bear scat, but no bears. I highly suggest checking out the lake as it is one of the few established “side hikes” on the river. Another party also had great luck fishing for dinner up there. The river gradient continued through this section with Spruce Park being the highlight of the day. Every river has a certain rapid in its lore, and for the MF Flathead that’s the Spruce Park section.

It’s hard to tell where this section starts, but you’ll pass by a cabin on river right which is most visible when looking upstream. From there it’s just a mile downstream to the first rapid which you’ll easily recognize by the horizon line. The walls come together in a tight canyon here, and the crux of the rapid is a move left or right around a set of undercut rocks in center. The move was straightforward at these levels, but a paddle memorial on river left gave a healthy amount of respect for the river before running it. The rest of Spruce Park was straightforward and boat scoutable, so we took in the numerous side-stream waterfalls and steep canyon walls as the sun started to dip below the horizon. We ended up at a beautiful camp just above Spruce Creek where the walls started to open up again, placing us just a few miles above Bear Creek.

Day 4 – Spruce Creek to Goosenecks above Paola

Our last full day on the water was full of lounging. There weren’t really any notable rapids between camp & Paola, and the swift current made the miles pass quickly. The trip started with some true Type II fun with the rainy hike in, and each day got progressively more relaxing after that. I suppose it’s never bad to end on an easy, good note!

We passed Bear Creek after just an hour on the water where we were reacquainted with highways & the numerous raft trips launching on the day section. Our packrafts definitely stood out on this stretch, and we got quite a few questions on our trip as we lazily floated down. While the Bear Creek to Paola Section is considered “roadside” it still retains a remote feel, and the river is just as beautiful. We even had the pleasure of viewing two mountain goats at a lick on the river banks. We got out at Essex to check on our car which happened to be dead, jumped it, and decided to drive it down to Paola to extend our river miles. After that detour we floated down to a long sandy beach in the goosenecks just above Paola and soaked in our final night on the river.

Bottom Line

It’s appropriate that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act originated with the Middle Fork of the Flathead, as the river truly embodies those two qualities. The rapids are fun, and the continuous gradient makes miles pass quickly, but gnarly whitewater certainly isn’t the draw to this river. Access to the river was fairly easy with the drive and hike it, but the river retains a very remote feel once you’re floating down it. The water quality is also unbelievable, and you’ll likely end up mesmerized as you stare at the smooth cobbles just below the surface. The MF Flathead seems to be most popular as a world-class fly fishing raft trip. I’m partial to smaller craft such as inflatable kayaks and pack rafts for wilderness runs like this as they offer more flexibility with water levels, and this came in handy with the unusually low water this year. Rafts can certainly scrape down at lower levels, but as one of the local guides put it: “You’ll be Lewis and Clarkin’.”

 If you’re looking into planning a trip on the MF Flathead, then make sure to check out the regulations and resources linked below. Questions? Post below in the comments!

 Resources

• Middle Fork Flathead Regulations

• American Whitewater (Schafer to Bear Creek)

• Walk About: Packraft Trip Report

• North Idaho Rivers & Creeks Information

Update: So far one person has volunteered to do some data analysis. If anyone else interested feel free to shoot me an email.

In January 2016 I released an online survey with the intent of determining whether shoulder injury rates differed among whitewater kayakers who used bent shaft or straight shaft paddles. Shoulder injuries are incredibly prevalent with whitewater paddlers, and I was personally interested in the data since I sustained multiple subluxations while kayaking, which ultimately resulted in surgery.

Many kayakers must have had a similar level of interest in this subject since there were over 2,700 responses. I fully expected less than 100 responses, but the survey truly went viral. Thanks for providing that data and rallying to spread the survey around! Unfortunately there are many confounding factors present, and I never had the time or technical skill to do justice to the sheer amount of data collected in the survey. I'd like to say I could put aside time for a project like this, but I'll be starting medical school next week and I don't think it's going to happen. Thus I'm making the raw data public so that people can sift through it if they're interested. If anyone with a strong background in statistics analyzes the data and finds some interesting results I'd be happy to post the results here or provide a link pointing visitors to those findings. Just leave a comment at the end of the article, or shoot me an email.

The Data

Here are the two surveys with links to the Excel files. The survey was updated slightly in the second version based on comments from previous respondents. Note that all results are unedited, but any email addresses included by the respondents were removed for privacy.

Shoulder Survey Version 1

Shoulder Survey Version 2

Brief Discussion

There are a variety of opinions on whether bent shaft or straight shaft paddles play a direct role in influencing injury rates, but based on a quick scan of the results there's no question that high bracing and improper technique account for a vast majority of the shoulder injuries among paddlers.  Wondering about your technique? Check out this great article by Ken Whiting on preventing shoulder injuries through technique. In addition, quite a few comments mention that underdevelopment of muscles, such as the lower trapezius, can predispose someone to shoulder injuries. 

Here are some notable quotes from the surveys regarding these two topics (spelling is unedited):

Hi, I've been a paddler for 50 years, 40+ whitewater, instructor for 35 years. Over that time, I've known 3 or 4 people with shoulder dislocations, heard of lots more, though none for nearly 20 years. You have made me think about it again as it's not something that's worried me for years. In the UK, when there was a spate of shoulder dislocations, the reasons were analysed by coaches of the BCU and the key reason was seen to be badly executed High Brace. The old high brace from the days of 13' glass slalom kayaks was always shown with the whole arm above shoulder height and the elbow straight. This resulted in a direct pull on the shoulder joint should the supporting blade catch a rock, get an excessive pull in a big hole etc. and the pull on the straight arm resulted in the dislocation. This was such a strong likelihood that I took advice from an army medic on handling it in the field and possible relocation in the field. The training and training materials were modified to have the elbow bent (as much as 90 degrees) and the hand between waist and armpit height, NEVER above shoulder height. This change has meant that shoulder dislocations have mostly disappeared. The low arm position and bent elbow act as a shock absorber/damper and give the paddler time to "unload" the blade.

I was 100 yards from the takeout on Class II boogie, not paying attention. When I flipped, the water was so sallow that my knuckles were dragging on the river bed. I initiated a back deck roll by essentially doing a push up off of the river bed. My paddle blade caught a rock and pulled my shoulder back. 4 months to full recovery from a rotator cuff strain. Lesson learned: you're not done paddling until both of your feet are on dry ground.

The issue of shoulder inhury is mostly texhnique and good instruction. I see many teaching rolling incorrectly which leads to undue stess on the shoulder. Also poor mechanics being taught as well improper bracing.

Flipped in the Notch at Gorilla, landed in a highbrace, subluxing my right shoulder. I've used a Werner bentshaft Sidekick for about 5 years. I was just a sloppy paddler than, I've been putting a ton of focus into technique and how I paddle now. No more injuries and my shoulder is now stronger than its ever been

I was on an extremely high brace way out of the paddler's "box."  I think the injury would have happened with either type of shaft.

At the time I injured my left shoulder I was comfortably paddling small and big volume class V on a regular basis and I had previously earned a spot on the Canadian National Freestyle Team. I don't attribute my injury to my paddle in any way. I was careless when I set up for the offside back-deck roll and I underestimated the power of the hole I was playing in. The physiotherapist who worked with me to rehab my shoulder identified a major under development of my lower traps and a number of other muscles in my back. She warned me that if I didn't even out the muscles surrounding my shoulder blades, namely my lower traps, with my pecs and the muscles in the front of my shoulder I was likely to experience the same injury again. For the next two months I was quite diligent in doing the strengthening exercises I was shown and I tried not to rush back into whitewater. I paddled a sea kayak on flat water to keep up my range of motion and maintain strength. I  worked hard to improve the strength of my under developed lower traps and muscles surrounding my shoulder blades. After 2 months off and easing back in to paddling hard whitewater I have been able to stay shoulder injury free and I've had a number of years of paddling hard whitewater.

It has now almost been 12 months till the surgery and I am comfortable paddling again, however the should remains weak and attempts to protect it have altered my paddling style. The sport therapist advertising me, pointed out that a significant contributor to the initial injury was the postural change of my scapulas (being pulled apart and forward) leading to a weakening of the superior serretus muscles and supporting scapula and deltoid muscles. I have invested considerable time into countering this process by a range of counter activities to strengthen the back muscles

Conclusion

It was interesting to read these responses and each person's analysis of what caused the injury as well as their recovery afterward. In the end, I hope that data from this survey will go towards good use in the paddling community, even if it doesn't end up summarized with a nice set of figures and graphs. Paddle type still remains a very personal choice, but the greater theme here is to protect your shoulders through proper technique and muscle conditioning so that kayaking can be a sustainable, lifelong sport.

Questions or Comments?

Did I miss something? Have a comment or something to add? Post below!

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

I first arrived in Southern Oregon as a raft guide back in the summer of 2016, and I kept hearing about this river called the Illinois. It seemed that everyone agreed that it was their favorite multi-day river trip in the area, but I was never in Oregon early enough to catch the spring flows. This year I had a chance to spend three days on the Illinois from Miami Bar to Oak Flat, and I now finally understand why this section of river is so special.

What Makes the Illinois Special?

To start with, it’s very possible that you’ll have this river to yourself if you start on a weekday. A long shuttle, relatively challenging rapids, and remoteness in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness really limit the number of boaters that come out the Illinois. It’s hard to find solitude on many of the classic multi-day rivers these days, so this is something to be savored. Secondly, the water quality on the Illinois is astounding. The Illinois is a Wild & Scenic River, and is designated as such with one of the remarkable values of the river being its water quality. The water is so clear that you’ll be mesmerized by multicolored rocks on the riverbed as you enter a rapid.

Finally, the river cuts through a beautiful section of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest to create rapids that keep you on your toes while providing plenty of fun moves. Rapids such as Green Wall and Submarine Hole are notorious enough that even locals who haven’t run the river are familiar with their names.

The Crew

After finishing up an early season trip on the Rogue a group of fellow Northwest Rafting Company guides (Emily Little & Kristen “Chuck” Bryson) and I set our sights on the Illinois. Emily and I kayaked it while Kristen took a 12-foot raft down. Flows were around 800-900 cfs for the trip. This level was on the low side of good, but plenty of fun was had launching off boofs and getting the raft down a few tight spots. Unfortunately I subluxed my shoulder early on in the run so I stuck to more conservative lines for the rest of the trip. I’ll be back in the future though to play around a bit more.

If you're a solid Class IV boater in Southwest Oregon during the spring I’d highly suggest checking this run out. It’s a classic for sure, and AW has all the info you need to throw a trip together.

The Images

Enjoy these photos from the run, and feel free to add your own experiences in the comments!

Questions or Comments?

Did I miss something? Have a comment or something to add? Post below!

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

Here is a collection of trip reports with photos on information on a variety of destinations. This list is a work in progress, so I'll add content as I visit more destinations. Trips are separated by activity type.

Whitewater Kayaking

The Cal Salmon River and South Fork of the Cal Salmon (June, 2017)
The Illinois River Multi-Day (May, 2018)

Dates: June 10-11, 2017
Rivers: Nordheimer and Butler Sections of the Cal Salmon (IV-V) & South Fork Cal Salmon (IV-V)
Level at Somes Bar: approx. 5 ft (3,250 cfs)

With a few days off of work in Southern Oregon in early June I began to look into boating options. I had heard great things about the Cal Salmon river, and with it only being 3 hours from the Grants Pass area it was the obvious choice. I headed down to the Nordheimer campground on a Friday night and hoped that I would run into some boaters there for the weekend.

The drive down from Happy Camp was beautiful as I followed the Klamath River, and then drove up the Cal Salmon from Somes Bar. It quickly became apparent that this river system is nestled inside a huge wilderness area, so be aware that you won’t have cell service and it’s best to top off on gas in either Happy Camp, Etna, Callahan, or Orleans. There is also gas, albeit expensive, in Cecilville which lies along the South Fork of the Cal Salmon. Access to the rivers in this area is awesome since almost all of it is roadside, but it is a pretty treacherous single lane road with steep drop-offs. Take it slow around the blind turns. It’s possible to view many of the rapids from the road, so you’ll quickly get a feel for the character of the river.

I showed up to the Nordheimer campground Friday night, and linked up with Jordan Sherman who was also there looking for a boating partner. We had the place to ourselves that night which was surprising since I figured more people would come to the river for a weekend at a prime level. It was cool and rainy Saturday morning when we put on, but the water was much warmer than I expected and clouds over the mountains provided a beautiful backdrop.

Now for the boating. We decided to do the Nordheimer (IV-V) and Butler (IV) sections and take out at Brannons Bar, which would make for around 10 miles of boating. Jordan had done a bit of scouting the day before, so we cruised through Bloomer Falls without a hitch and continued to read and run down much of the river. Neither Jordan or I had done this river before, but it was fairly obvious when more than a simple boat scout was needed. We also go out to scout Cascade, Last Change, and Freight Train since those rapids were a bit more involved.

Freight Train provided a big finale to the end of the Nordheimer section and we soon discovered the power of the hole at the bottom. Jordan and I decided punch through the right side of a flake feature in the middle, but he got spun out at the entrance to this move and found his way into this hole. After a solid bit of surfing it became apparent that there wasn’t an easy way out, and he pulled his skirt. Luckily there was a nice long recovery pool just below and we were ready to go just ten minutes later.

The section from Butler to Brannons Bar provided some fun, stress-free read and run boogie. We elected to run Gaping Maw without scouting, and while our lines were solid there was a large hole in the middle that could catch the unsuspecting paddler. This rapid has a large horizon line and is fairly continuous, so it’s not too hard to recognize for a scout. Overall we quickly discovered how classic and fun these runs are. After figuring out the lines on the first run we could have cruised through a second time easily. The water level was also great for a first time level as the river was well padded with lots of quality boofs, but nothing was too pushy. 

The next day we headed up towards Forks of the Salmon and followed the South Fork of the Cal Salmon to Matthews Creek Campground. Along the way we passed Otter Bar, the well known kayak school in the area. Matthews Creek is the takeout for the approximately 5 mile run on the South Fork that begins at a mining claim just upstream of mile marker 15. There is great info on this run and other Northern California runs in The New School Guide to Northern California Whitewater. 

The South Fork of the Cal Salmon (IV+ to V) is a quality section of whitewater with a creeky feel to it. There’s a nice warm up leading into the main action, and once again all major rapids were easily scouted from river level. There are a few mini gorges in this section, so be careful not to blow past upper eddies with good scouting access. We agreed that the level (about 5 feet at Somes Bar) was a good medium to medium-low level. Most rocks were covered well and the holes weren't stompy. Quality boofs abound! If you’re in the area for the Nordheimer run it’s definitely worth driving the half hour upstream to the South Fork to fit in another quality run in the area.

This area is a gem that few people venture out to. We stopped at the Salmon River Saloon during our trip to figure out some directions, and it was a treat to hear the locals talk about their off-the-grid lifestyle and challenges of living in a community that is relatively isolated during the winter (these remote roads are plowed every day, but some bridges get destroyed). After two quality days of boating and camping it was time to head back north. I took Cecilville Road out to Callahan, and it snowed on me while driving over the pass! It made for beautiful views, but came as a surprise since it was early June. Despite the quality of the rivers, Jordan and I only saw one other group of boaters the last day. It’s definitely an area worth checking out for yourself.

Disclosure: Some of these links are affiliate links. That means if you click a link and end up making an order through any of these online retailers, this site receives a small commission. Thanks for your support - it wouldn't be possible without you!

Questions or Comments?

Did I miss something? Have a comment or something to add? Post below!

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

Having a pair of quality, well-fitting ski boots is critical to transferring leg and foot movements to the skis. Finding the right fitting boot is a long process though, and achieving that custom fit through repeated trips to a boot fitter can become time intensive and expensive. This winter I started to research and try on a variety of ski boots, but no brand fit perfectly out of the box. The fit was often good in a few areas then uncomfortable either in the toe box or around the ankle. Through my research I came across Salomon’s Custom Shell technology which intrigued me since it gave one the ability to not only thermoform the liner but also the plastic shell of the boot. Salomon boot fitters have a special oven for this, but after reading about the technology and process from Salomon's Technical Manual it seemed feasible to replicate the process at home. This would allow me to buy ski boots at a discount online and custom fit them at home.

Find this article useful? Consider supporting the site by shopping for ski boots using an affiliate link to REI or Backcountry.com! Thanks for the support.

Long story short, when I first put on a pair of Salomon X Max 120 ski boots my feet fell asleep in about 30 minutes. After heating them up and molding them once at home I had a fit that was tight in the right places and a boot that I could wear all day without issues. I was sold. In this post I’ll go into a little detail of how the Salomon Custom Shell works as well as instructions to heat your own Salomon Custom Shell boots up at home using a conventional oven to customize the fit.

This tutorial and the discussion of Custom Shell 360 Technology are based on my experience with the Salomon X Max 120. This technology should be present in MAX and PRO series boots from Salomon (ex. X Max, X Pro, QST PRO, etc). Check the boot’s specifications from Salomon to see if the shell has Custom Shell 360 technology. Shop Salomon boots at Backcountry.com.

Basics of Salomon Custom Shell 360 Technology

If you look at the Salomon X Max boot above, you’ll see a clear dividing line between the green lower plastic and white upper. That’s a visual illustration of Salomon’s Twinframe technology - essentially they use a very stiff plastic for the green boot lowers to enhance performance and responsiveness while a softer, thermoformable plastic is used for the white uppers to facilitate their Custom Shell 360 fit. Many boot can be heated and deformed, but the plastic typically shrinks back to its original shape without noticeable expansion. Salomon uses Kaprolene which is a plastic pliable enough to deform from your foot’s natural pressure at high temperature but can still retain this shape when cooled. Salomon states that Kaprolene retracts two times less when cooled compared to normal plastic used in other ski boots, so after deformation Kaprolene will shrink a maximum of 25%.

Kaprolene injection in the 3rd Generation Custom Shell Boots (2012 on) allows for customization in the forefoot zone, ankle, and heel. As an example, the X Max has a last of 98 mm; however, the last can be expanded to 104 mm by heating the Kaprolene shell and expanding it with the foot’s pressure. That’s a 6 mm increase in width which greatly expands the versatility of these boots to easily fit many foot types. 

It’s important to note that heating the shell and molding it to your foot will only cause the shell to expand, so this process takes a tight boot and gives a little extra space in the right areas. Don’t use this process to make the shell tighter as that’s not possible, unless you paired it with a vacuum fit machine. People have reported using the Fischer Vacuum Fit machine with Salomon boots, but that would require a trip to a Fischer Vacuum Fit boot shop, and due to the proprietary nature of Fischer’s technology it would be a long shot to have a shop allow that. Since the shell only expands I’d recommend skiing in your new pair of Salomon boots for 10+ days to allow the liner to pack down a bit, and if the shell still needs modification then do the custom fitting. If you mold the shell right off the bat then the boot will become a little looser than you may want as the boot liner packs down.

Enough of all those details! Let’s get down to business with how to properly heat up your Salomon boots at home and mold them to your feet.

Molding Salomon Custom Shell Boots at Home
Time Required: Around 30-40 minutes
Equipment Needed: Oven, tub of cold water, ice if available, gloves

Note: For the purposes of this article I did the pictures with only one boot. This process should be done with both boots heated and put on at the same time. Additionally, I take no responsibility for any damage done to your boots. The instructions are meant to be clear and safe, but please be careful with the process.

Preparation: 10 minutes
Step 1
Pre-heat your oven to 200° Fahrenheit. If you oven has a convection setting, use that to create a more even temperature gradient. 

Step 2
Remove the boot liners from the shells. Put those aside as you’ll add them back to the boot after heating. Also remove the base plate at the bottom of the boot (see below). Edit: apparently Salomon advises to keep the base plate in the boot during the molding process for all models aside from the MTN line. Also, make sure you’re wearing your standard ski socks since you’ll step into the boot later.

Step 3
Using the boot shell as a guide fill a tub with cold water (and ice if possible) until the water level is just below the overlapping shell at the forefoot of the boot. This will be used to rapidly cool the boot after molding.

Heating: 10 Minutes
Step 4
Place the shells in the oven and start a timer for 10 minutes. The Kaprolene needs to be heated to approximately 176° Fahrenheit at its core, so make sure to leave the boots in for the full 10 minutes.

Step 5
At the end of the 10 minutes used gloved hands to remove the boots from the oven & turn oven off. Be careful around the metal buckles since those are hot. 

Step 6
Insert the base plates and liners back into both boots. Do this quickly but carefully.

Molding: 4 minutes
Step 7
Wearing your ski socks step into both boots and loosely tighten boots just to the first tooth of the buckle. Adjust the power strap so it provides support but isn't overly tight. Once boots are buckled, adopt a skiing stance that you might have for easy blue terrain. Maintain this stance for 4 minutes as the shell expands at the pressure points of your foot.

Note: Avoid walking around in the boots during this process. Maintain a static stance while the molding occurs.

Cooling: 10 Minutes
Step 8
After the molding is finished, step into the tub of cold water. Remain in your static stance for 10 minutes as the plastic cools and stiffens to retain its shape later. 

Bottom Line

Salomon’s Custom Shell 360 Technology allows you to easily fine tune the fit of a ski boot to your specific foot. The level of customization with these boots rivals that of basic boot fitting, and it’s possible to heat and mold the boots at home with just an oven in less than an hour. These instructions detail the process step by step.

Any questions or opinions? I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment below.

Find this article useful? Consider supporting the site by shopping for ski boots using an affiliate link to REI or Backcountry.com! Thanks for the support.

I finished bikepacking the Colorado Trail in the fall of 2016, and quickly became interested in the average trip length of other trail users. I originally intended to analyze bikepacker trip length, but I created an online survey and 91% of the responses came from thru-hikers (59 out of 65 responses). While the rest of this online series was written to be specific to bikepackers, this article will pertain to hikers. That being said, here are the other articles in the series if you’re interested in reading about my trip, learning about bikepacking logistics, or just viewing some pictures of the Colorado Trail!

• A Basic Guide to Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• Logistics and Planning Advice for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• Gear Recommendations and Packing List for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• 28 Beautiful Photographs of the Colorado Trail in Fall

Survey Demographic Information

Note: all numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number, except where a decimal has been used. Bored of lots of numbers? Scroll to the bottom for a summary of the survey results.

Before we dive into the survey results, here are some characteristics of the survey population. Females made up roughly 42% of the survey population with 25 females entering their hike data. The average age of the responding female was 36 years. On the flipside 58% of results were from males with 34 responding to the survey. The male population in the survey had an average age of 43 years.

Overall Trip Length

Now that survey population characteristics are out of the way, how long did these people take to hike the Colorado Trail? Overall the average trip length reported in the survey was 33 days. This number represents total reported trip length including both rest days and hiking days. The Colorado Trail Foundation states that the average thru hike typically takes 4-6 weeks so 33 days falls almost squarely in the middle of that range. The shortest hikes in the survey were in the mid 20 day range (see note below) while 52 days was the top end. Obviously hiking speed is a very personal thing, so that accounts for the wide range of trip lengths. Females tended to spend more time on the Colorado Trail, with an average trip length of 34.6 days while males averaged 32.4 days in trip length. Additionally, the female respondents reported wanting an average of 2.1 extra days on the trail while males reported an average of 1.8 days.

A note on fast hikes: one 54 year old hiker reported doing an 18 day thru-hike in the survey. This is theoretically possible so I didn’t remove that data point, but it does skew the average trip length slightly lower. Aside from that 18 day hike the next fastest three trips were 24 to 26 days long.

Frequency of Colorado Trail Thru Hiker Trip Length

Did They Want More Time?

Lots of factors play into trip length including work, money, weather, and other constraints. I finished mountain biking the Colorado Trail in early October and definitely pushed hard on some days to stay ahead of winter weather. In a perfect world I would have taken more time if weather wasn’t a concern. I posed this as a simple question on the survey: “Would you have wanted more days?” By no means does this mean the trip was a poor length, but in hindsight someone might have wanted an extra day to take pictures or have a rest day at a beautiful campsite.

For respondents that chose 10+ extra days I edited that to 10 days to make taking an average easier. As a whole the survey population reported wanting an average of 2 extra days on the trail. This would bring the total desired trip length to roughly 35 days.

When to Start?

Start dates vary yearly according to snowpack and seasonal temperatures. I added a question to the survey asking what their start date was, and received 37 responses. Out of the 2016 group of hikers the earliest start date was a June 20th hiker with a 36 day trip and the latest start was a hiker who started September 1st with a 35 day trip. Neither respondent mentioned anything about excessive snow in their comments. Of course conditions change each year, but a trip start date somewhere in that time range should be a fairly safe bet.

Advice from Previous Hikers

There were quite a few comments in the survey, and a few of them might prove useful to others planning a thru hike on the Colorado Trail:

In general I found it more helpful to plan the number of hiking hours per day based on elevation gain rather than a constant mileage per day. (Hiker with a 35 day trip).

Go CT!!!  Hike your own hike, not a race, take rest days.  Figure 10 miles a day in the beginning increasing to around 20 by the end. (Hiker with a 37 day trip)

I loved the trail. I put down 5 (extra) days just so I could have taken it a bit slower and been able to stay at some nice campsites that I hiked past. To be honest I would have been happy to just keep on hiking instead of finishing in Durango. My first thru hike but definitely not my last. (Hiker with a 36 day trip).

In a vacuum, meaning that pack weight, finances, and work and all those-type factors wouldn't be an issue, I would prefer to do about 10 miles a day (or even less).  Doing about 20, like I did, meant that time decided many things like wakeup time, campsite selection, how long I could linger in neat areas, and how nasty weather was dealt with - rather than personal preference. (Hiker with a 30 day trip).

I only took one zero day and two half days but overall happy with my pace and time out there. I did pick up the pace at the end so that I could get out of Waterton Canyon (I was a NOBO hiker) on a weekend (as it was closed during the week in September). (Hiker with a 27 day trip).

If I did it again I think I would actually take less time. When planning for this trip I didn't want to carry more than 5 days supply and I planned 15 miles per day. Once I got going I realized 20 miles per day was a better average for me. I also stopped in too many towns. I like the idea of hiking more, and camping less. (Hiker with a 29 day trip).

Summary

Number of thru hiker respondents: 59
Average age of female hiker: 36 years
Average female trip length: 34.6 days
Average age of male hiker: 43 years
Average male trip length: 32.4 days
Combined average trip length: 33.3 days
Average number of extra days wanted: 2
Overall average trip length (with extra days included): 35 days or 5 weeks
Range of start dates in survey: June 20th - September 1st

Raw Data

Want to have a look at the raw data from the survey? Download the Excel document below!

Disclosure: Some of the following links are affiliate links. That means if you click a link and end up purchasing an item through Amazon, this site receives a small commission. Thanks for your support - it wouldn't be possible without you!

Bottom Line

Obviously every hiker has varying motivations and a different pace of backcountry travel, which is illustrated in the hiker quotes from the survey. This data was collected out of curiosity to see how much variation there is in trip length, and is intended only as a rough starting point to go from as you start planning your own thru hike of the Colorado Trail (now get the Colorado Trail Guide and start planning)! You know yourself best, so if you enjoy a leisurely pace with lots of time to soak in the view then add days to the average trip length (35 days). I had a great time looking through all the responses from hikers, and I hope it’s helpful to you as well!

Any questions or opinions? I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment below.

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

Packing for an extended bikepacking trip isn’t drastically different from that of a hiking trip, but there are a few critical pieces of gear that can make a world of difference. I outline a comprehensive bikepacking trip gear list to start and then describe those special pieces of gear that you might consider bringing along. I completed the Colorado Trail this fall and wrote a little web series about my trip along with advice aimed to help other mountain bikers (and possibly even hikers) plan their own adventures on the trail. If you haven’t already I’d suggest reading some of the articles in the series:

• A Basic Guide to Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• Logistics and Planning Advice for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• 28 Beautiful Photographs of the Colorado Trail in Fall
• How Much Time Does it Take to Hike the Colorado Trail?

Disclosure: Some of these links are affiliate links. That means if you click a link and end up making an order through any of these online retailers, this site receives a small commission. Thanks for your support - it wouldn't be possible without you!

The Essentials

I’ll get into the specialized bikepacking gear in a second, but it’s worth discussing the basic gear that I brought. This gear list is akin to baselayer, and the specialized bikepacking gear is the fancy Gore-Tex jacket on top. You could simply load up a 60 L backpack with gear and take off on a bike, but it’ll be significantly less comfortable and efficient.

This is the same dependable gear setup that I bring on backpacking trips, and while it’s not necessarily the lightest, it’s reliable and robust. Before any trip I always double check my packing against the REI Backpacking Checklist - it’s a good way to make sure you don’t leave anything important behind!

Big Four
Arc’teryx Axios 35 Backpack
Black Diamond Mega Light Tent
Marmot Lithium 0 Degree Sleeping Bag
Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest Sleeping Pad

Navigation
Colorado Trail Databook
Suunto Compass
Guthooks Colorado Trail Hiker (iPhone application)
Suunto Core Watch (altimeter and barometer)

Sun Protection
Rocky Mountain Sunscreen SPF 50
Buff for neck protection
Smith Pivlock V2 Sunglasses

Clothing & Rain Protection
Patagonia R1 Fleece Jacket
Marmot Isotherm Puffy
Fleece Pants (two pairs)
Wool Socks (two pairs)
Icebreaker merino shirt
Generic Polypro shirt
Mountain Hardwear Hat
Outdoor Research Gripper Gloves
Marmot Speed Light Rain Jacket
Marmot Minimalist Rain Pants

Lighting
Black Diamond ReVolt Headlamp

First Aid
Minimalist First Aid Kit w/ basic drugs
WMA WFR Medical Handbook
Epi-Pen

Stove & Cooking
Optimus NovaPlus
750 mL Optimus Fuel Bottle
MSR 2 Liter Pot
Optimus Titanium Spork
3 Lighters
Kershaw Tanto Knife

Repair Kit
Stove repair kit
Duct Tape
Swiss Army Knife w/ relevant tools
Floss

Water Storage & Treatment
Nalgene 1L Water Bottle
MSR 4L Dromedary
Aqua Mira Treatment (see discussion here)

Toiletries
Toothbrush & Toothpaste
Floss
Vaseline (chafing & as lip balm)

Shoes
Giro Carbide Bike Shoe
Altra Lone Peak Trail Runner

I mentioned it in earlier articles, but my cycling trip started September 16th and ended October 5th. That’s pushing the envelope a bit with snow and cold weather, but it was doable. If you’re doing an earlier trip on the Colorado Trail it’s very likely that some of the clothing and insulation (i.e. the zero degree sleeping bag, extra fleece) may be overkill. I wore all the clothing at one point or another, so while those additions added weight and bulk it was well worth it. Adjust your pack list based on expected conditions, and cut as much bulk as possible!

Specialized Bikepacking Gear

Official Colorado Trail Guidebooks

The Colorado Trail Foundation publishes two great books that are invaluable for any trip on the Colorado Trail. The Colorado Trail Databook is designed to be a portable trail guide with the basics of the trail including navigation, campsites, water sources, elevation profiles, wilderness detours, and points of interest. I navigated the whole trail with only this guide, and it’s a staple for anyone wishing to hike or bike the Colorado Trail. In addition, the Colorado Trial Guide 9th Edition can be used as a more in-depth planning resource. The Colorado Trail Guide includes full maps, mile-by-mile route descriptions, points of interest, trail planning advice, and some history as it relates to the segments. I used the Colorado Trail Guide to assist in pre-trip planning, and then relied solely on the Databook while on the trail. These books provide information for both hikers and bikers and are absolutely essential for anyone planning to do the Colorado Trail.

Buy the Databook for $13 at Amazon.

Revelate Designs Ranger Frame Bag

Revelate Designs makes durable bike bags for cyclists, and on the Colorado Trail they’re essential for providing extra storage space and keeping weight off your back. The Ranger Frame Bag is designed to use the full triangle on your bike, and they make it in four sizes so you can get as close to a custom fit as possible. You see these bags used by bikepackers all the time, and there’s a reason for that - they’re bomber! Both the zippers and fabric are heavy-duty, and the design is well thought out - there’s even a hydration tube port in the design! 

I stored my heaviest items in here to keep the weight low and centered. I fit a 1 L Optimus Fuel Bottle, 3 L of water in an MSR Dromedary, 28 oz jar of peanut butter and 500 mL of olive oil in the main compartment. The side zip contained my bike repair kit. I’ll go into more detail with it later, but to illustrate storage, the side zip fit: a wrench, multi-tool, patch kit, pump, zip-ties, and spare brake pads. In short, it carried a ton of weight and handled the abuse of the Colorado Trail with flying colors. I’ll definitely keep this frame bag on my bike for recreational riding in the future.

Revelate Designs Viscacha Seat Bag

Like the Revelate Designs Ranger, the Viscacha seat bag is also built tough and an essential bag for the Colorado Trail. It secures to the seatpost via a thick band of velcro, and uses two clips to hang off the seat rail. It has a roll top closure, and can be used to store up to 14 L of gear. I used the Viscacha to store my all my food as well as my stove, and it fit 6 days of these supplies perfectly. Using the seat bag not only took weight off my back but also kept things clean and organized by separating food from my clothes and sleeping gear.

The Viscacha extends quite a ways past the back of the seat, but does a great job staying secure. It does take a little practice to pack the bag correctly since shifting contents could cause the bag to fold in the middle, resulting in tire rub. Unfortunately this happened to me once, resulting in some small holes in the bag. The lesson was learned though, and I didn’t have any issues for the rest of the trip. Additionally, it’s best to keep the heaviest items closest to the seat post to minimize the forces exerted on the bag while riding rough trail.

Buy the Viscacha for $130.00 at Tree Fort Bikes.

Cateye Enduro Bike Computer

While the Colorado Trail is well marked, knowing my exact mileages helped greatly in navigating and planning while on the trail. This was especially important on the wilderness detours where there aren’t any official Colorado Trail markers, so I relied on the mileage information from my bike computer and Colorado Trail Databook to figure out where to make turns. It’s also just interesting to know where you are throughout the day and what you might expect coming up based on mileage. The Cateye Enduro is one of the most economical, functional bike computers out there and performed well throughout the trail even in sub-freezing temperatures and mixed precipitation.

Buy the Cateye Enduro for $25 at Amazon.

Watershed Chattooga Drybag

The Watershed Chattooga rounded out my bag setup as a versatile handlebar bag. Revelate Designs also makes a specialized bikepacking handlebar bag, but I already had the Chattooga as a drybag for river trips and decided to test it out for mountain biking. It might not be a perfect fit for everyone, but it worked well and has a couple distinct advantages over non-drybag counterparts.

First and foremost, the Chattooga is fully waterproof and has tons of space. Its 30 L capacity swallowed up my 0 degree sleeping bag, Mega Light tent, and Thermarest NeoAir XLite sleeping pad (more on that later). I purged the air and shaped the contents to allow enough space between the bottom of the bag and tire for suspension travel. Since the Chattooga is watertight I never had to worry about my down sleeping bag getting wet in snow or rain, and the durable construction held up great while on the trail. I strapped the bag to the handlebars via two buckles on the bag and secured it with a 6’ cam strap looped around the handlebar stem.

The closure is also airtight so I stored food in the Chattooga at night to keep scents away from critters and bears. It’s certainly not marketed as a bear bag, but accomplishes the same purpose as bear-specific bags that are more expensive and not always airtight. I’ve used Watershed drybags for this purpose on rivers in the Northwest Territories and Alaska and never had issues with wildlife and food. Overall this setup stood up to the abuse well and kept gear bone dry in inclement weather.

Buy the Chattooga for $90 at Amazon or $108 at Backcountry.com.

Suunto Core Watch

I’ve used the Suunto Core on a number of expeditions, and it proved valuable on the Colorado Trail as well. Along with other features the Core functions as a barometer, altimeter, and compass. Being able to keep an eye on the weather via the barometer is crucial in Colorado, and I combined information from the altimeter and bike computer to really pinpoint my location on the trail. It’s really the ultimate adventure watch, and proves to be a powerful tool on extended trips like this.

Buy the Suunto Core for $239 at Backcountry.com

DeLorme inReach SE

Much of the Colorado Trail ventures out of cell service, and satellite devices have become so affordable and user-friendly that it’s foolish not to have one. I used a SPOT Gen3 for a number of years and then switched to a DeLorme inReach SE and haven’t looked back since. I did a cost analysis of the inReach vs. SPOT a little while ago and while the inReach is more expensive upfront, it proves to be more economical in the long term due to the high annual service plan of the SPOT. There are exceptions, but for the occasional adventurer this holds true.

The inReach also has two-way texting functionality which is crucial for communicating relevant information incase an accident did occur. This goes along with the standard preset messages and location info that is included in other satellite messengers. I was also able to use the inReach to show altitude information, GPS coordinates, and even location specific weather forecasts which is huge. While risk management is always crucial, carrying a device like the inReach is really the responsible thing to do as it could assist with the rescue of someone else and helps reassure loved ones at home that you’re still doing well out there.

Buy the DeLorme inReach for $224 at Amazon or $299 at Backcountry.com.

Brooks B17 Saddle

Brooks has been making leather saddles since 1866, and there’s a reason that they’re still in business today. They are by far some of the most classic, well-made saddles out there. I started using the Brooks B17 saddle on my road bike and quickly threw it onto my mountain bike once trail season began. I see Brooks saddles quite a bit on touring bikes, but suspect that many people feel that they aren’t durable enough for mountain biking. I’ll just say that it’s the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever used on my mountain bike and it has held up to the abuse incredibly well. Maintenance is easy too, just apply a bit of Proofride occasionally, and the leather does the rest of the work for you as it molds to your body shape. The 550 miles of the Colorado Trail can really exert some hurt on your body if you don’t have the right saddle, so make sure you absolutely love and can stand being on your saddle for 15+ days.

Buy the Brooks B17 Saddle for $145 at Backcountry.com.

Crankbrothers m19 Multi-Tool

I’ve had a variety of multi-tools in the past, but none I owned had a chainbreak. Being able to repair a broken chain is important to stay on pace since the Colorado Trail often brings you quite a ways from nearby towns. While I didn’t have any issues this time, I did meet another cyclist who bent his rear derailleur and needed to shorten his chain to make a jerry-rigged single single speed setup. The Crankbrothers m19 Multi-Tool comes equipped with a chain break as well as all the standard tools in a slim package, and worked well on the trail. There are lots of different options out there, but make sure to bring a quality multi-tool to be fully self sufficient on the trail.

Buy the m19 Multi-Tool for $27 at Amazon.

MSR Dromedary

In addition to a 1 L Nalgene I used a 4 L MSR Dromedary for most of my water storage needs. Dromedary bags are durable, packable water containers which allow you to adjust how much water you are carrying at any one time while maximizing space for other gear. I stored the Drom exclusively in my Revelate Designs Ranger frame pack, so for segments without much accessible water I would fill it up to 3 L and shift other items to make space. On segments with lots of water I would fill the Drom up less and utilize the extra space. Overall this water storage and treatment system was very flexible and allowed me to stay well hydrated on the trail. There are some ideas for the future that I’ll discuss further on in this post, but you really can’t go wrong with a Drom.

Buy the 4 Liter MSR DromLite for $30 at REI.

Bike Repair Kit

No, this isn’t a specialized piece of gear, but it can be difficult to pare down repair kits to just the essentials. My kit is pictured in the left half of the above picture. Here’s what I had on the trail:

• Pump
• Wrench (for my ENO Eccentric rear hub)
• Tire levers
• Patch kit
• Spare tube

• Quicklinks
• spare brake pad set
• zip-ties
• multi-tool
• Duct Tape

Gear I Wish I Had (Theoretically)

Platypus Platy Bottle

While I’ve used a few Platypus water bottles, I’ve never used any in the backcountry so I can’t comment on what durability might be like. I mentioned above that the MSR Dromedary worked well for water storage, but it could be nice to have two smaller and lighter Platy Bottles (2 L) to partition water into untreated and treated groups. That way I could treat 2 liters for use on the trail during the day and have an untreated reservoir of water for cooking needs. In the end it makes a minor difference, but it’s nice to cut down on the amount of water treatment chemicals that I consume on a trip. Platypus bottles also are quite a bit lighter and lower profile than the Dromedary bags, which have beefy caps.

Buy the Platy Bottle for $10 at Backcountry.com.

Pearl Izumi X-Alp Shoe

There are a few hybrid sneaker/cycling shoes out there, but the Pearl Izumi X-Alp comes to mind first. I see a shoe like this as advantageous on the Colorado Trail since there’s a significant amount of hike-a-bike time. If the elevation profile looked too steep on the Colorado Trail Databook I would stop and switch from mountain bike shoes to sneakers. This gave added traction and comfort, but adds up to quite a bit of time and effort. A shoe like the X-Alp might straddle the line between both worlds and be a versatile addition for the biking and hiking involved in the Colorado Trail.

Buy the X-Alp for $100 at REI.

What Didn’t Work

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir X-Lite

This trip was my first foray in the world of ultra-light, inflatable sleeping pads. I had high hopes for the NeoAir X-Lite since it was compact and light, but the durability just didn’t live up to expectations. I used the pad twice before the Colorado Trail in a tent with a bathtub floor, and it sprang a leak just after those two uses. I continued to use it on the trail for six days while re-inflating it every so often at night, then left the pad behind in Leadville and continued on with my bulky yet trusty Therm-a-rest Ridge Rest foam sleeping pad. It’s possible that I got a lemon, but the lack of durability alarmed me. The returns crew at Backcountry.com was very understanding and let me return it easily, so shout out to them. Leave a comment at the end of the post if you’ve had sour experiences with sleeping pads like this.

Bottom Line

You walk a fine line with gear on the Colorado Trail since you want to carry enough clothing and gear to stay warm and comfortable, but want to stay as light as possible. Certainly don’t get focused on having the fanciest gear out there either, use what you have and do a couple trail runs on local trails to see what gear combination works best for you. Overall your goals are to keep the overall weight as low as possible and keep the weight off your back by utilizing space on the frame. Have fun with it and leave a comment below with any suggestions from your personal experiences!

Any questions or opinions? I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment below.

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

• A Basic Guide to Bikepacking The Colorado Trail
• Logistics and Planning Advice for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• Gear Recommendations and Packing List for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• How Much Time Does it Take to Hike the Colorado Trail?

I hope you enjoy both the articles and the photos that follow. These photos follow a chronological progression of my bikepacking trip on the Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango starting on September 16th, 2016. Enjoy!

Any questions or opinions? I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment below.

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

This is the second article in a series about bikepacking the Colorado Trail, and it covers basic planning and logistical aspects of the trip. If you haven’t already you should read the introductory article which gives a brief overview of the trail as well as my experience bikepacking the trail in the fall of 2016. This guide is geared towards bikepackers, but much of the information could also be beneficial to backpackers. Below is a list of articles in the series. Enjoy!

• A Basic Guide to Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• 28 Beautiful Photographs of the Colorado Trail in Fall
• Gear Recommendations and Packing List for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• How Much Time Does it Take to Hike the Colorado Trail?

This is a long post, so grab something to drink and relax! I’ve also broken the post into topics using headings, so feel free to jump around to the topics that most interest you.

Disclosure: Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you make an order through this retailer, the site receives a small commission. Thank you for supporting the site!

Official Print Resources

While this guide covers many aspects of the Colorado Trail it is by no means comprehensive. The Colorado Trail Foundation (CTF) has published some great resources on the trail and I’d highly recommend getting The Colorado Trail, 9th Edition. It’s a fully comprehensive guidebook by the CTF, and includes detailed descriptions, maps, and mile by mile directions for each segment on the Colorado Trail. There’s also a thorough description of services in nearby towns as well as elevation profiles for each section. The photographs are beautiful too, so it's a fun book to look through and reference while planning your trip. In addition to the official guidebook I’d also suggest picking up the Colorado Trail Databook. It contains just basic navigational information, and does a great job keeping you oriented and on the trail. It’s designed to be portable, and as the CTF says, it’s: “the only book you’ll need on the Colorado Trail.” I’d agree to that.

When to do the Colorado Trail

The season for the Colorado Trail is really dictated by snow. You don’t want to begin in the summer until the snow melts at higher elevations, and you should aim to wrap up in the early fall to stay ahead of incoming snowstorms. Obviously weather conditions change yearly, so if you’re planning an early summer trip you should keep an eye on snowpack conditions in late spring. I ran an informal survey assessing trip length and start times on the Colorado Trail, and the earliest start dates were in the last week of June. The majority of respondents in the survey were hikers, so just to be safe a start date in the first week of July should be a safe early bet for a bikepacker. On the other side of things, my thru-bike started September 16th and ended October 5th with two rest days built in. It was pretty chilly by the end, and the threat of significant snow was certainly looming. If you have extra time and flexibility with your trip you may be able to aim for a later end date, but just know that weather might hold you back some. You could also buy yourself some time by doing the trail from Durango to Denver since the threat of snowstorms is reduced in the lower elevations of the Front Range.

In summary, a slightly generous season for the trail would be early July to very early October.

Transportation Options and Parking in Durango

Having lived in Colorado for the past five years it was a little ironic that one of the bigger logistical challenges was figuring out transportation for the end of the trail. Yes, I just bicycled across the state - now I need a car to get back! Maybe one day if I have an entire summer free I could bike the trail from Denver to Durango then reverse directions back or even just ride back on paved roads to speed things up a bit. Anyway, transport is a huge factor in trip planning and I’ll go through a couple viable options:

Option 1. Here’s what I did. If you have a car and a nice friend in the Colorado area then you can both drive to Durango, drop your car there and drive back to your homebase. Have your friend drop you off at the Denver trailhead (Waterton or Indian Creek), and once you finish the trail your car will be waiting for you! As an added plus, you can drop off food at resupply points on the way down and know for sure that your food and gear is in the right place.

It’ll take some extra time and cost a few beers to set that up, but it’s pretty foolproof and easy. If you don’t know anyone in the Durango area throw a post up on Trail Forums or WhiteBlaze, and it’s likely someone might be willing to lend a parking space.    

Estimated cost: ~ $80 in gas, plus something nice for your friend.

Option 2. Greyhound does have a bus route from Durango to Denver. It looks like the route takes roughly 11 hours, and as perk the buses have free Wi-Fi on board! I have no experience taking mountain bikes on a Greyhound but presume it wouldn’t be a big deal. It would be best to call to confirm that they won’t have an issue with a dirt bike and gear. If that all checks out, then this is a very economical way to make it back to Denver.

Estimated cost: $60-$80

Option 3. You could also do a one-way rental car from Durango to Denver and cram your bike and gear in the back seat. Seems like a convenient option.

Estimated cost: ~ $100

Option 4. There are also quite a few private shuttle services that could work, but are likely pretty pricey. Here are some ideas, and there are likely cheaper options without nice websites. If you’re looking into cheaper options it might be worth posting online at Trail Forums or WhiteBlaze to see if others have suggestions from the past.

Estimated cost: Pricey

Finally, Denver has lots of good public transportation options from the airport and you can easily fill in urban gaps with Uber or Lyft.

Trip Length

Shortly after finishing the Colorado Trail I created a short survey to look at average trip lengths for bikepackers and hikers. I received about 70 responses which was awesome, however, all but five respondents were hikers! This is likely due to the fact that there are many more hikers on the Colorado Trail compared to bikepackers. Of the five responses, the average trip length was 15 days, which seems fairly standard. Three respondents said that in a perfect world they would take an extra two days on the trail if they did it again. I took 18 days on the trail (excluding two rest days), and finished it up comfortably on a singlespeed mountain bike. That being said, I gladly would have done a longer trip if I wasn’t trying to beat the snow in Durango. So maybe 17-18 days is optimal for someone looking to keep a consistent pace while also taking in the landscape. You know your style best, so use your judgement here. Here are some quotes by the bikepacker respondents:

For me, 2.5 weeks was perfect. I didn't have a deadline or schedule, so the trip unfolded very organically. - completed the CT in 18 days

If I were to "tour" the CT again on a mountain bike, I would slow down my pace in a few sections and make the total trip time about 12 days. Although, I could totally see myself saying that and just keep biking into the evening. One of my many habits: not wanting to set up camp just yet haha! - completed the CT in 10 days

Resupply Options

There’s a great, concise list of resupply options in the Colorado Trail Databook. The comprehensive Colorado Trail Guide has similar information for services, supplies, and accommodations, but this information is in each segment chapter so it’s hard to scan all the options at once. 

For my proposed trip of 20 days I created resupply packages containing food and fuel, and left them in Leadville, Salida, and Silverton. This enabled me to do the trail never carrying more than 6 days of food and supplies at any one time. Accessing Leadville and Silverton is easy on mountain bike since the Wilderness detours go directly through town, but Salida was 30 miles out of the way roundtrip. Even though 30 miles isn’t a huge detour on a bike, it’s hard to justify the elevation loss and subsequent climb just to get some extra food. If I did it again I’d consider a combination of the following places to resupply since the bikepacking route literally travels right through them:

• Frisco (just a few miles from the trail, and there’s a free bus to take!)
• Leadville
• Buena Vista
• Mt. Princeton Hot Springs
• Silverton

I pre-packed all my resupply boxes and didn’t have to rely on local grocery stores, but I would guess that all the towns listed with the exception of Mt. Princeton Hot Springs should have a fairly good selection of food. The Colorado Trail Databook is a good resource to quickly find the type of services present in towns along the way as well as hostels that will hold resupply packages.

Trail Navigation & Wilderness Detours

The Colorado Trail is incredibly well marked. You’ll soon become accustomed to frequently spotting confidence markers on trees, and intersections are well indicated. I brought the Colorado Trail Databook with me to keep track of mileage and points of interest, but could have stayed on the trail without it. 

That being said, the Databook is essential for the Wilderness detours. The Colorado Trail passes through six Wilderness areas where bikes aren’t permitted, thus resulting in five mountain bike detours around these segments. These detours add up to 195 miles of the total 540 miles that a thru-biker will cover. I came to see detours as a welcome respite from the trail since you can cover a lot of miles quickly on road, a stark contrast to the sometimes sluggish pace on the trail. There are also some very pretty areas you’ll go through for the detours, and the La Garita Wilderness detour along Cebolla Creek was one of my favorite sections.

Since the Wilderness detours follow public roads, there isn’t any Colorado Trail signage. Following the route is easy using road signs and the turn by turn directions in the Databook, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a simple bike computer to keep track of miles. I mention it in another article discussing gear for the Colorado Trail, but the CatEye Enduro was economical and worked flawlessly on the trail.

There’s also an awesome iPhone navigation application for the Colorado Trail by Guthooks Hikes called Colorado Trail Hiker. For $9.99 you can download the whole Colorado Trail map for hikers and mountain bikers, and this includes alternate routes like the Wilderness detours. It functions like a basic GPS where you can use your smartphone to pinpoint your location and get details like your nearest milepoint and elevation. It works even if you don’t have service and gives information on nearby campsites or water sources. In short, it’s a pretty awesome full-featured app and I highly recommend getting it and using it in conjunction with the Colorado Databook.

Water Purification and Food

I have a whole post devoted to food, so I won’t bombard you with the details here. Basically, bring things you like to eat that have a high caloric density. Food is highly personal, so bring what works for you. And if you don’t know what works for you, experiment beforehand!

Not everyone treats all their water, but I’m always cautious and treat any water that I’m drinking in the backcountry. Yes, it’s probably overkill seeing that contracting giardia from drinking water is rare, but I like to play it safe. I brought along Aqua Mira this time since I had a bottle set that I was looking to use up, and my GI system is still healthy a month out. I mention it in the gear article, but if I did the trail again I’d bring along a Steri-Pen and enjoy the alpine water without any added chemicals.

As a side note, I wasn’t aware of it previously, but have you ever noticed how Aqua Mira drops are advertised to just improve the taste and smell of water? Well, there’s actually a significant difference in the concentration of chlorine dioxide in the liquid and tablet forms of Aqua Mira. The tablets have a higher concentration of chlorine dioxide which is necessary to kill protozoa like giardia. You can do that with the liquid drops, but it takes a much higher dose and treatment time. Here’s some good reading on the topic:

• Backpacking Light: Aqua Mira Liquid Drops vs Aqua Mira Tablets
• WhiteBlaze: Does Aqua Mira do anything?
• WhiteBlaze: Aqua Mira liquid vs tablets vs Katadyn tablets

In summary, if you choose to go down the chemical purification route Aqua Mira or Katadyn tablets are a little more expensive, but seem to be a safer bet. Steri-Pens are awesome and I highly recommend them. I have limited experience with water filters, but know a lot of people that love them.

Further Reading

Alright, that’s all for now on the logistics and planning side of things. If you have questions or feel that there should be another topic in here, please leave a comment in the form below! There are a few more posts in the series covering things like gear, food, and beautiful pictures from the Colorado Trail. Also check out the introductory article if you want to read about my thoughts on the trail and what the singlespeed experience was like.

Thanks for reading!

Any questions or opinions? I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment below.

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

This is an introductory article, the first in a series about bikepacking the Colorado Trail. The series will cover topics ranging from logistics to food & trip length. Read this introductory article for a brief description of the trail as well as my experience, then continue on to the other posts. I’ll add links below as the articles come together. Enjoy!

• Logistics and Planning Advice for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• 28 Beautiful Photographs of the Colorado Trail in Fall
• Gear Recommendations and Packing List for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
• How Much Time Does it Take to Hike the Colorado Trail?

First off, let’s define bikepacking. It’s a growing niche within the mountain biker community these days, but not everyone is familiar with it. So here goes: hikers carry all their gear on their backs, and we call them backpackers. Similarly mountain bikers carry a majority of their gear on their bikes, thus the term bikepacker. Simple, that’s it. These articles are geared toward bikepackers, but much of the information will also pertain to backpackers.

 Now, one more disclaimer. This guide is by no means comprehensive, and many people have hiked or bikepacked the Colorado Trail multiple times, providing them with vast experience. I did the trail once, on a singlespeed, at the beginning of fall, which isn’t your typical trip. Regardless, when I started researching the Colorado Trail I had a lot of questions and I hope this guide can both help to point you in the right direction and get you stoked as you start planning.

This is the beginning of an adventure, enjoy!

Basics of the Colorado Trail

The Colorado Trail Foundation bills the Colorado Trail as “mile for mile, the most beautiful trail in America.” There’s truth to that, but it doesn’t come for free. As a mountain biker you’ll pedal and hike a minimum of 540 miles with roughly 82,000 feet of elevation gain to do the full trail. To put that in perspective, that's nearly the same elevation gain as climbing from sea level to the top of Mount Everest three times! That’s a challenge in itself, but the thin air at elevations ranging from 6,000 to 13,000 feet certainly doesn’t help. 

Below is a quick outline of the trail on Google Maps. The route varies for mountain bikers due to the detours around wilderness areas, but this gives you an idea of the trajectory of the trail.

The nature of the trail varies significantly between Denver and Durango. Starting at the base of the Front Range you’ll likely experience warm to hot weather as you move through the foothill and montane life zones early on. The trail continues to slowly gain elevation, and roughly 130 miles in you’ll catch a brief experience of being above treeline at Georgia Pass (11,874’). The trail stays consistently high while traversing the Continental Divide, and culminates with an extended section above treeline leading into Silverton. The Southwestern part of the state also tends to have more precipitation, so be prepared to deal with rain and even snow at the higher elevations. You’re covering a huge swath of the state, so always be ready for hot and dry or cold and wet. It’s generally agreed that Denver to Durango is the preferred direction to ride the trail since this allows one more time to acclimate to the altitude. 

That’s just a quick synopsis of the trail. More in depth details such as resupply points, suggested gear, and food will be covered in later posts.

My Experience on the Colorado Trail

I chose to do the Colorado Trail solo as I’m fairly introverted and enjoy doing adventures like this on my own time. The last time I did a significant solo trip was roughly 2 years prior with a 27 day kayak trip down the Grand Canyon. It was an amazing experience done at a relaxed pace so I could read and contemplate as much as I wanted. I prefer to take my time during wilderness trips so I can get in my head, take in the landscape around me, and not feel rushed. I chose to do a 20 day trip starting on September 16th, but would have gladly done a longer trip if the threat of snow in early October wasn’t a factor. So that’s my background - I’m a capable 23 year old, but like to go slow to take it all in (however, I also enjoy the occasional sufferfest!).

I rode a singlespeed since it’s the only mountain bike I have. Would I encourage it? No, but it’s certainly a viable option if you’re into that. My friend rode the trail the year before and reported that he had tons of free time and didn’t know what to do with himself. I went in with that expectation since doing roughly 27 miles per day seemed like a piece of cake. Well, I soon discovered that the trail would be more of a full-on physical effort than I imagined.

I originally budgeted 6 days to get to Leadville but neglected to factor in the first wilderness detour, where you bike over 70 miles to bypass just 25 miles of the Colorado Trail. The relaxed pace and 10 AM starts slowly began to fade as I worked to make up those miles and get to Leadville on time. It wasn’t anything crazy, but I consistently biked at a minimum from around 9 AM until just after 6 PM for the rest of the trail. The hour to mileage ratio might seem a little high to some of you, but remember I was on a singlespeed mountain bike. If the trail had even the slightest sustained incline I would hop off and start hiking the bike. That effectively turns half the trail into a hike-a-bike. The trail is an endurance challenge, and there’s no point in mashing on the pedals and going lactic if you can’t even walk up the trail after. And as a side note, to the people who do the trail in 4 or 5 days for the Colorado Trail Race - you’re not human.

It becomes apparent very quickly that the Colorado Trail is not a pure wilderness experience, and that’s okay. Having lived in the state for the past five years I got to see small communities, forest roads, lakes, and campsites that I never knew existed. I learned that crossing the Continental Divide isn’t just something you do once, rather it’s an undulating journey over multiple mountain ranges. And throughout all this I crossed under high voltage powerlines, rode on highways, and occasionally came near ATVs. This is the consequence of human development, and it’s both educational and humbling to see the effects of habitat fragmentation due to human development and roads. I didn’t come into the experience expecting a journey of pure isolation in pristine habitat, and I suggest you don’t either. I did enjoy having the trail to largely to myself (aside from the occasional day hiker), and would certainly consider that a perk of doing a thru-bike at the end of September.

Wildflowers and green meadows aren’t present during an early fall trip, but the aspens were at their prime for much of the trail. Areas around Kenosha Pass and Twin Lakes were ablaze with beautiful fall colors, and I felt privileged to follow that beauty along the trail. The price I paid for this beauty was some very cold weather near the end; as in cold enough to quickly freeze my tent while setting it up at night. The temperatures would have been perfectly comfortable with an extra layer and some thicker gloves, but I knowingly came in light to keep the weight down. If you decide to do a fall trip just be prepared for some uncomfortable morning starts where you might not feel your fingers or feet as you start riding.

Snow. Just a week before I got to Silverton there was a storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in the mountains, but luckily it melted before I arrived. I had one very cold, soggy afternoon/night involving a mix of rain and hail around the Spring Creek Pass area and a full day of snow past Molas Lake coming out of Silverton. Yes, it was chilly and slow going, but certainly doable with maybe 3” on the ground. It can snow even earlier in the year, so conditions in the fall are really a toss up. If you have the luxury it might be worth factoring an extra day or two into your trip to accommodate for weather like that.

I ended up taking two rest days in Leadville to relax while visiting my girlfriend. Prior to the trail I was at sea-level in Oregon and hadn’t touched a bike for four months. Needless to say, I was feeling a little spent. The rest time allowed me to recharge and build up my strength after those first six days on the trail. It’s an entirely personal decision, but taking a rest day may allow you to recover and operate at a higher capacity compared to continually pushing through everyday.

The experience was awesome. It wasn’t the relaxing bike tour that I imagined, but it’s always good to push yourself, get uncomfortable, and figure out what your limits are. While some of the uphills could seem like a slog, any memory of that was always wiped away as I took off on the descent, feeling euphoric. This trail is really spectacular, and it’s special to see the many different facets of Colorado. The landscapes varied from harsh alpine landscape to densely wooded forest to tumbling creeks. Even if roads or towns are nearby, there’s often a feeling of remoteness, and it’s good to keep this in mind from a safety standpoint too. Be conservative and don’t get hurt out there - it could turn into a big ordeal. In summary, be safe and have fun on the adventure!

Any questions or opinions? I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment below.

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

Note: I've finished going through data from this survey. Results can be found here: How Much Time Does it Take to Hike the Colorado Trail?

Having recently finished bikepacking the Colorado Trail I became interested in the amount of time that people take to finish the trail. Of course there are two different kinds of “times” - there’s the amount of time necessary to physically finish the trail, and then there’s the amount of time needed to get what you were seeking from the experience. 

I’m most interested in trying to figure out the average amount of time that users take on the trail since that can be used as a reference tool by people planning their own trips in the future. Of course this metric is going to include both the faster thru-hikers and those sauntering along, but my hope is there will be a happy medium in between. The CTF publishes some rough time ranges, but as gear changes and the trail becomes more popular it’s very possible to see some deviation. If nothing else, I think it will be interesting!

First off, a few ground rules:

• Please don’t post any speed racing times! Biking through in 4 days is entirely possible for a few superhumans, but certainly not the type of experience most people are seeking. 
   
• If you’ve done multiple trips on the CT, pick an average of those for this survey. 
   
• Let’s keep responses to people who have done the full trail in more or less one go. Section hikers may have a different view on time since the cumulative exhaustion factor isn’t the same.

Awesome, now there are a ton of different questions that I could ask, but I really want to keep this simple and focused. Below is a quick survey. Please note that there is no identifying information in this survey and individual responses will be kept confidential. I'll summarize the findings in graphical data once enough responses are collected!

Any questions or opinions? I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment below.

Looking for more to read? Here are some recent articles from the site:

Online: http://www.kavu.com

KAVU has been making awesome hats since their start in 1993, and the Chillba continues the trend as an iconic, functional hat. It’s large and certainly not discrete, but for serious sun protection while hiking or rafting, the Chillba is my go-to hat. I’ve had the pleasure of using this piece of gear for the past two years, and wanted to write up a couple thoughts on why it rocks, as well as mention some caveats to be aware of!

Note: Some links in this post are affiliate links. Basically, I get a small percent of the sale if something is bought through these links. This income helps pay for hosting, design, and content on the site. Please consider supporting this site and using these links if you decide to purchase a piece of gear. Additionally, I only write about gear that I use regularly & trust.

The Basics

The Chillba maintains its shape due to its polyester foam core covered with nylon. This construction makes the Chillba excel both as a sun hat as well as a rain hat, and it floats in water without becoming saturated. The hat has an adjustable forehead strap to anchor it to your head, while quick dry poly mesh attaches the brim to the forehead strap. This enables one to easily adjust and pivot the hat while having it on. The wide mesh also allows plenty of airflow over the head. The forehead strap is quickly adjustable via a locking buckle, so the hat can be worn tightly in windy conditions, or loosely for comfort. Finally, the Chillba is also anchored down via the adjustable chin-strap.

Why the Chillba Rocks

In its simplest form, the Chillba is a super durable, comfortable, wide-brimmed sun hat. It also has a unique design, reminiscent of traditional hats from southern Asia, and is a guaranteed conversation starter. That being said, some people may think it’s awesome while others might find it a little dorky. Looks aside, it is the functionality of the hat that has me sold on it. First off, the wide brim gives great sun protection while letting plenty of air circulate around the head. For those with longer hair the plush forehead band does a great job of keeping hair off the face and quickly absorbing sweat during hot days. During rainstorms the conical design acts like a small umbrella and keeps its shape to channel water off the sides. It’s also surprisingly packable - I’ve folded it in half many times and it always manages to spring back to its original shape. Put simply the Chillba is a durable hat that gets the job done well.

Things to Be Aware Of

The Chillba isn’t the perfect hat for all situations. The foam construction means it maintains its shape well which causes it to act like a small parachute during windy conditions. The Chillba excels in moderate wind since the brim doesn’t flap around like other sunhats, but gusty wind can make it a real chore to keep on. It also isn’t a low profile hat, so I wouldn’t recommended it for activities like running where more aerodynamic, lightweight gear is preferred. 

Bottom Line

The Chillba combines style and functionality to give great full-coverage sun and rain protection. It features simple fitting mechanisms that can be customized to all heads while giving great comfort and airflow. The design isn’t ideal for high winds, and this should be a consideration when thinking about possible uses. Overall the Chillba is an incredibly versatile outdoor hat worth having in your toolkit.

Pricing (as of August, 2016)

Amazon: $45.00
Backcountry.com: $33.71

Any questions or opinions? I'd love to hear from you, just leave a comment below.

Like this post? Sign up below for an email newsletter from the site. No spam, I promise!

Looking for more to read? Here are some recent articles from the site: