Lets bury the planning thread negativity
Its time to race !!!!
I am in sierra vista its warm out
See u all at the border and on course possibly or at parker got to say hi to Scott and the better half.

Have a great race my friend!

BRIAN! Man that read made me kinda emotional in places.

And Ron, and Jakob, and all the other fine folks out there. What a great time.

Man I wish I was heading out this year again, but I'll have to settle for watching the dots. the trek to Pine is pretty rough, caught me by surprise for sure.

Highline.. phew, was some fun tech...  I was beat from the previous day though. And the climb out to the top of the rim lived up to it's hype. "They said it was supposed to be.."

This was the morning after we saw you:
https://youtu.be/xNkyrMeLFGc


GOOD RIDING TO ALL THOSE HEADING OUT THIS YEAR!

Marco!  Great to hear from you man!  Yeah, I sure wish I was headed out there too.  I may have to wedge in an ITT effort before it gets too bloody hot down south.  Maybe outfit my daughter's mtn bike a bit and do a two or three day-er anyway.

I have made a film about my experience: https://vimeo.com/217165619

Great!  Can't wait to give it a watch!

Landsharkbrian, great read by the way.  I was one of the guys near the gargantuan van haha.  I can assure you I wasn't passed out, more frozen solid.  That was a coooold night.

Yeah?  More proof that the valleys are colder than the hilltops.  Thanks!

Hey all, the new kid on the block back in 2017 FINALLY finished his trip report.  It's long as hell, has lots of pictures, and can be found here:

https://bdbsoutdooradventures.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/my-2017-arizona-trail-race/

Maybe it'll help get some of you lucky saps doing it in 2018, more stoked up.  Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket:  I held off finishing my trip report so it'd be ready just before this year's event.

I really hope is that Rhino's grandma doesn't read it, track me down, and throat punch me in disgust.

Sarah,

Nice book - I'm a slow reader but hammered through it on the flight from MI to NJ this morning. 

My favorite line, during your time on the Mogollon Rim: "On Powerline Trail I step forward, stop to weep, fall half a step backward and then repeat the entire process."

Have to admit, I'm starting to be interested in how many of us have enjoyed the hospitality of the Beeline B&B in Pine - starting to think quite of few of us have made that stop!

You kinda badass, Sarah!

"Brian" from Patagonia.

For anyone that really wants to get in and be tracked, it really shouldn't be a problem.  Based on last year's sign up and CTR this year, there will be plenty of room for anyone that's paying attention at all.

3 days out?  Yeah, it'll probably be full.  1-2 weeks after tracking signup is open?  Probably plenty of room.

ITTs are, as always, highly encouraged.

Gotta say, the 3 days out folks are probably the ones that are also asking about water 3 days out.  No bueno.

Scott - just to get it in the planning page, I believe you already indicated that those of us who ultimately do a SoBo run aren't going to be counted in the 75, is that correct?  Just the Grand Departs?

For what it's worth, we'll be going off the same time as the race next year from Stateline, but we can be excluded from the race. I don't want to suck up any entries or resources! If you need us to go off sooner/later than the race, just let me know and I can plan around it.

Speaking of which, when is the grand depart scheduled for in 2018?  I see the full moon is 31 March.  Did the Thursday start idea gain traction for next year?

If I do attempt again in 2018 I'm thinking I'll go N to S too, weather dependent of course. .  Could be quite a little party at state line.

Marco and Zach good on you guys!  Sure had a blast riding with you, hope to see you at the start line of some future event.

Looks like Ron is gonna finish tonight!  Whoop whoop!   

Brian D here, last or nearly last scratch from 750 outside Pine. And still without doubt the hardest event I've ever attempted. Still, 3 days post-ride I have no doubt the decision was the right one - I think I'd still be on the Geronimo trail trying for Washington Park, even now.

Riding with Ron, Marco, and Zack was absolutely the high point for me, and I wholeheartedly agree Ron is one of the toughest out there. I bonked on day one; he vomited. I got a hotel room in Tucson, Ron stayed up by the green gate so he could enjoy the miles to Hope Camp in the daylight. Without that hotel I'd have been a scratch hundreds of miles earlier, I have no doubt.

In the end, the fluid and calorie deficit caught up with me still. Eight miles of road back to Pine when I realized I couldn't go on, took a couple hours. I look forward to another attempt, eventually. Understanding just how soul crushing that run up from Rye to Pine is, can only help.

Love the community. Love the trail. 750 was just a bit more than I could handle this year.

Ride on guys!  Wish I could still be with you.

BD

Hey.  Anyone that has run water bottles on their fork legs on this route, was it a big problem in any spots?  I'm wondering if it would just be a huge pain on Oracle Ridge with all the bushwacking.

Thanks

I ran Salsa Anything racks on both fork legs last year with Kleen Kanteen growlers on each - clearly I was worried about water.  The fork failed massively down by KY Camp and I had it locked out for the duration, but I think that was poor maintenance on my part.  I'd say the only real thing to consider is to not get carried away with water volume - I did Oracle Ridge with both those growlers basically full and you can bet it was a bit of a pain!  Well, that and make sure they're tied down (like, actually DOWN), well.  Remember that this is an unsuspended location so you have to guard against those rascals launching.

Don't blame the Nanny. Get a backcountry permit per Grand Canyon website and there doesn't seem to be an issue for shoeshine, ski, hike, sled for access on the North Rim.

Rhino - no delays in getting that - they don't have to mail it or something equally silly?  Could be picked up online in Flagstaff, for instance, if Kaibab Plateau was still snowed under when each of us starts to get close?

Rhino, can you ask her to look into her crystal ball and tell us if the north rim will melt out?  I am a little concerned about the road being plowed / rideable by the time the fast folks get there.  We may need to enlist someone to scout it out, or I will do some phoning to Jacob Lake, etc, as the date get closer.  I know that they plow it well in advance of the park opening, which is May 15, but the race is early this year, and there is such a pile in the photo Freako posted above.

Scott, this website:
http://www.weatherstreet.com/city_snow_depth/86052-North-Rim-AZ-snow-depth.htm

2nd graphic, showed significant area of 30-50" snow at the north trailhead the day Freako posted that picture - and the valley to JL was still solidly covered.  The graphic looked as bad as the picture.  So it might be relatively accurate (I mean, who other than NOAA updates snow pack hourly?) It still shows a much more isolated pack of 20-30" just beyond the trailhead, and scatterings in the valley which would make me think the road may be clearing considerably.  Some snow is predicted this week up there, but if the site is in fact accurate, a call a week or so prior to the fast guys' arrival might be a bit more positive than it was seeming one short week ago.  I sure hope so anyway, for all of us!

Assuming I make it to the state line at the end of it all, what is the best way to get back to Tucson?
Or can someone point me in the direction of the thread from years past that may have info on this.
Thanks!

I heard Rhino's grandma runs a rickshaw service from the state line to Page.  If she's not there when you arrive, just wait around a couple hours...

I used the Salsa Anything racks on my Fox F29 fork last year for AZTR 300.  I put 2L water bottles in each and had them filled to the top way too often. Unfortunately my fork sort of crapped out early on and I had it locked out for the majority of the ride. The good news is, from an unsuspended mass standpoint, I had no issues, and by tying the bottles DOWN as well as securing the cylinders themselves (I had Kleen Kanteen growlers so could run a loop of webbing through the stopper hardware), had no issues with them wanting to launch in particularly rough sections either.

I'm all about not using a backpack so will run them again, hopefully this time with a functional suspension fork. And I'll just use 2L soda bottles this time around - much lighter, and disposable for the ditch hike portion.


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Good question.  2013 was the last year detours (other than the North Rim, which is always in play) were in effect.

Scott, should detours become necessary, are tracks generally posted in the same location as the main AZTR track, or are simple descriptions of the permitted detours posted somewhere?  With the recent warm weather, hopefully additional detours won't be needed, but if they are I'm just wondering how they get communicated.  Thanks in advance!

Jenny if that ride doesn't work out this Home Grown Mtn Bike (look through the 2016 posts if you can't easily find their website) is shuttling people from Tucson and from Phoenix.  and it's reasonably cheap - like $40 or something.

I'm staying Wed night down by the airport in Tucson then riding up to the meeting place for the shuttle Thursday afternoon - I think they depart 2 or 3pm-ish.  If you want to do the same we could connect Thursday morning to get you set up (the hotel is walking distance from bag pickup).

Brian

Anyone got opinions on running a 27.5"/3" tire on this track? My main fear is low pressure + sharp things everywhere would be a bad combo bring to the start line. Tire recommendations also welcome - survivability tantamount.

Maxxis Minion DHR and DHF EVO II's.  Mounted tubeless on good wheels.  I had a couple good sidewall scrubs with no issues, in fact no issues at all.  I'm smitten.