Extreme Nature Biking - Wrangell Mountains Traverse!

[jeremy11]

WOW!



Well Done.

How do you decide what is worth bringing the bike for and what isn't?

(Obviously, you have to decide without full knowledge, and once out there you have to deal with your decision.)

[sherpaxc]

Am I the only one that is trying to figure out the awesome pants Dylan is wearing?  They look like 80's BMX pants...

[Eric]

they are like spandex nordic ski racing tights with a few layers of thin & tattered smartwool tights under them.  Nothing says fast like white and purple..

[cartographer]

I was inspired here by the title of Galen Rowell's book "In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods" the title was a fitting description to this place. I was simply floored.

Spectacular!  What an experience to be there, after so rightfully earning the privilege.

we are nothing here...

I took exactly this picture on a solo hike in Kluane national park roughly 20 years ago.  It was a humbling and exhilarating moment to share the trail with such incredible creatures.  It certainly encourages safe cooking practices in camp, too

Thanks for sharing this epic adventure!

[bruce.b]

   Amazing! Wow! Stupendous!
   I want to be you guys when I grow up.

   bruce.b

[spruceboy]

It looks like this route is alive and well, judging from the tire tracks I saw while hiking it last week and the solo mountain cabin log book

[MikeC]

Uhm, pretty sure this means a full trip report is due, Jay!

[spruceboy]

Uhm, pretty sure this means a full trip report is due, Jay!

Just to be clear, I didn't bike the route, just hiked it, and was just chiming in to say folks are still doing it via bike.

My hats off to anyone who can pull this off with a bike - it looked like it would have been very hard.

[mtnbound]

Wow - very inspiring!  Beautiful landscapes but oh, so hard.  Hats/helmets off to both of you!  Certainly showing us all what is reachable - true adventure.

[HeathSandall]

Hi all,

I’m new to the forum but wanted to chime in on this thread.  I just hiked/packrafted this route with “spruceboy”, and it is a beautiful and incredible piece of country.  It’s big, it’s exposed in places, it’s challenging, and as a backpacking/packrafting route, it’s accessible given enough planning and an appropriately developed skillset (i.e. experience with Alaska weather, glacial rivers including dangerous crossings, a quite exposed scree slope traverse, glacial whitewater, and limited bail-out and rescue options, to name a few).  I used this report along with several others across the internets to help in planning, and it was great to have it available and I appreciate them taking the time to post it. 

However, I personally don’t think it would be a good bikepacking route.  Here’s why:

There are 4 sections where you’ll be able to ride continuously for a while.  One section is about 5 miles long and is mostly on a 4-wheeler trail.  One section is about 4 miles long and is in beautiful high mountain tundra.  One section is about 6 miles long and is on an amazing glacial river bar.  The last section is 9 miles long on a dirt road.  There are also quite a few more places where you’d be able to ride a little ways (a few meters to a couple hundred meters) at a time.

Other than that, you’ll be pushing, cajoling, throwing and carrying your bike.  It will also add an objective danger in a few places.  I personally like bikes to ride, not to lug along and make things frustrating and dangerous.  To me, there are only 10 “good” riding miles out of 150 and that’s no way enough to make it worthwhile.   But of course, you may be different.

There seem to be innumerable great bikepacking routes in AK and the rest of the world, but this isn't one of them in my opinion.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, and I’m sure the thread originator would also be willing to chat about it.   

heath

[Dylan]

Don't harsh my mellow!  If I wanted to ride continuously all the time I'd stay in town.

Pushing and throwing bikes through alders can be fun.  Sometimes you have to walk to get to the good stuff.  Or have a stupid low granny gear.

David and Ivan stayed at my house before and after their trip.  They came from Spain to Alaska solely to bike through the Wrangells!  They had a world class time and experienced the highs and lows of a long Alaska bike trip:  flipped boats, swimming in rivers, not enough food, big fires, game trail riding that maybe 10 people have ever biked on, huge mountains and didn't see anyone else for 10 days.  I'd rather be hypothermic and carrying my bike than warm and riding fast with lots of other people.

In 2003 I walked the route.  Even back then there were wild animals like everywhere.  The below was seen inside the Nabesna bunk house!

[HeathSandall]

Dylan,

I’m not trying to harsh your mellow, and I’m not attempting to take anything away from your trip, or the ’88 trip of Underwood, Tobin, Dial, or the other trips that have gone between.  Taking a bike across that route is quite an adventure and accomplishment and demands respect.  They are all benchmarks of traveling with a bike along.  And for you guys specifically, doing it in 5 days is quite impressive!  We took about 9.

In the nature of a discussion forum, my goal is really simple.  Before somebody makes huge efforts to go do this route with a bike, I would like to let them know that there are only about 10 “wilderness” miles of riding.  After reading Eric’s post during my own planning process, I was a little surprised at how little riding there was once I was out there.  I’m speaking as I would to a friend or acquaintance. I’m saying, “Beautiful and incredible route, do it if you can but leave the bike behind”.

The actual limited riding would indeed be pretty nice.  However, after reading your statement, “sometimes you have to walk to get to the good stuff”, it got me thinking…  There are two good, extended “wilderness” (I use this term with some reservations) sections of riding which I noted in my response above.   One of them is directly adjacent to a long-time established lodge and airstrip that sees almost daily air traffic throughout the summer and you could ride off the runway onto that good stuff.  The other section is a few miles from that lodge.  I think you guys missed it during your bushwhack, but there’s actually a 4-wheeler trail that gets you within a handful of miles of that other good stuff.   So again, I just personally don’t think this would be a great or even good wilderness bikepacking route. 

Thanks for the info about David and Ivan.  All we heard was secondhand info from McCarthy locals and FB, and it all sounded very bleak.   It’s a bummer they lost all that gear and stuff, but I’m glad they made it out in one piece! 

heath

[MikeC]

Dylan,

I’m not trying to harsh your mellow,

I think your warning is good, to a point.

I also think, and I say this respectfully, that those who think something cannot or should not be done should step aside and get out of the way of those doing it.

Cheers,

MC