Have you been camping out at the trail head the last couple days? That's some dedication!

Funny!  I just checked the Spot there.  Next time I'm not going to arrive so early and shuttle etc. too much time waiting around and doubting gear, food etc.

I wish I could watch all the excitement but this year I will be busy pushing my bike up a hill in the race.  I hope my blue dot will create some interest.  I figure the leaders will finish before I get to BV.  I should be easy to spot near the back of the pack. Probably "CD" Let me make my pre excuses now.  Just remember I'm 53 years old, a rookie, and I have a "no training policy".  I'm not in great shape (I prefer the term "well rested") I'm not racing anybody.  It's about me and the adventure.  I think I'll get plenty of that.

Stefan,  I signed up and paid my private spot but it never asked for my ESN or shared page URL.  I sent an email to Scott which bumped me to Matthew Lee so I sent it to him too.  Can you help?

I'm still figuring things out myself so I may be interested.  I'm holding off while I try to decide if I should start with everybody else or start earlier and ITT it.

Ha! Bear Valley was my least favorite part.  Flat wash board road in a lodge pole forest with lots of traffic.  My favorites were Hailey to Cape Horn, Farm to Market Rd., Featherville to Ketchum.

I've thought about riding back on an easier route.

I'm still trying to figure out a shuttle. I thought I had it solved by a friend in Denver but he's not available. I could be there a few days early. I'd be up for sharing a ride back to Durango in a rental car either before or after the race. Before is probably better since I don't have a clue how fast I can get through this 

I'm thinking about doing this but looking for a ride back to Durango. Since I'm from AZ it is a much shorter drive for me to drive to Durango then figure out a ride back.  Anybody?

Thanks for the photo Frank.  We were so excited to see another rider when we met you out there.  I'm glad you made it home safely.

We finished our trip on July 3 back in Hailey after 12 days and 542 miles.  Our only deviation from the route was to avoid the heat S. of Idaho City we went over Rabbit Creek Summit then the Swanholm Rd. to stay shadier and higher.  It worked great.  We were able to ride in the mornings and evenings to avoid the worst of the heat but it was still 105 in Featherville when we got there.  We hung out at the Cyndie's Featherville Cafe (very biker friendly) most of the day eating and drinking then got in 20 miles toward Dollarhide before dark.  We wanted to get off the roads before the crowds of the 4th of July weekend got too bad and we made it just as things were getting busy. 

The trip was great and all bikes and bodies held up well.  We did more swimming in rivers than soaking in hot springs and we would have liked to sleep in and have more casual days but the heat forced us to ride early and late but I think we fared pretty well considering.  We met lots of nice folks along the way but only three riders.  LeeAnn and Ryan and Frank from Holland.  It was a great experience for all.

Yes LeeAnn I'd love a copy of the photo.  We just returned home yesterday and are still going through our own photos.

We are currently in Idaho City on day 9 of the main loop going CCW from Hailey. It has been a great trip with my family but we finally hit really hot weather today. It was 104F when we arrived today. It had been mostly too hot to soak in hot springs. We hit the private spring at Mtn Village Lodge in Stanley and Mile 16 on the South Fork of the Salmon. If anybody wants to ask any main loop questions hit me up after the 4th of July. We plan to finish on the 3rd before the crazies come out for the holiday weekend.

I'm out here right now with my family. Currently holed up in Idaho City hiding from the heat. We started in Hailey 9 days ago doing the main route CCW. Word is from local bike shops that many of the single track sections are still cluttered with lots of fallen trees but may be clean by the time you get there. One suggestion I've received from lots of locals is to go off route out of Idaho City up Rabbit Cr Rd (327) rather than dropping to even lower elevations on the main route. The Middle Fork of Boise is really exposed and hot. The 327 will take you back to the main route at the beginning of the Willow Cr singletrack. If you want any other current info we will be done in a few days and I'll be happy to help.

Looks like we should have started a week earlier. It is supposed to hit 109F in Idaho City next week.  We will have to get in the hot springs to cool off.

Does anybody know of a good place to leave our truck for two weeks in Ketchum?  We were planning to leave it at a friend's condo in Hailey but that might not work. We are about two hours away now so I imagine there won't be a lot of views of this but I thought I'd ask. Hopefully we will be heading toward Stanley tomorrow morning

I stopped for gas in Panguitch on my way to Idaho and spent an hour talking with Erin and Michael. Nice to meet you guys. Chris

We hope to leave AZ Saturday June 20 and start riding out of Hailey on Monday going CCW.  Anybody else going to be out there?

I've been experimenting with different diets during ultras recently. For the past two editions of the Arizona Trail 300, I carried all my food from the start, tried to reduce the number of calories I took in from sugary, high-glycemic foods, and I tried to increase the diversity of my diet.

What did this look like? I planned for 320 calories per hour, so for an anticipated 48-hour ride, I carried 15,600 calories. Roughly 3,400 calories came from nuts, 1,800 from meat products, 1,200 from coconut products, 600 from potato chips, 1,700 from fruit/nut bars, 3,300 from cookies/candy, 1,300 from CarboRocket recovery drink, and 1,600 from sucrose/dextrose-based drink powder.

My stomach felt great the entire time both years, my energy levels seemed more consistent, I had food that sounded good all the time, and the inside of my mouth didn't get nearly as sore as when I ate more candy bars and sugary, sticky snacks.

Kurt, What kind of nuts and coconut products?

Since the TDR, CTR etc. get new threads each year in Ultra Racing I thought maybe a 2015 thread for people planning to do the Idaho Hot Springs Route might be a good idea since, although not a race, it has become very popular.

I'm planning to head up from AZ with my family to do the main route starting from Hailey going clockwise.  We hope to start around June 20 or so.
 
Is there any current route conditions info out there? 

Who else is planning to do it this summer?

Looks like the snowpack and rivers are much lower than usual this year.

Sounds like we can head up soon.  I checked the river flows and they appear to be very low for this time of year.  Is that true?  I would assume the main route is all open already?

Rogue Panda Designs.  Local, fast turn around, good prices for custom work and Nick is really easy to work with.

A little off topic here but... I just did my first trip on my Karate Monkey with Jones H-loop bars and I'm not totally sold on the bars.  Did you change your stem length for them?  I can't seem to get comfortable.  It seems like I'm putting too much weight on my hands compared to the almost flat bars I was running before. They are ok for climbing but flat and downhill I feel like I'm really leaning on them.