I used the GPS track but didn't use the waypoints.  Following the trail is pretty easy most of the time, but in the tricky areas it helps to have a line to follow.  I also used the databook, which was pretty helpful just for cross-reference.  Pre-race I had traced out all detours on the databook maps to the greatest extent possible, as well as on a DeLorme Gazetteer.  I spent a couple months just studying the Gazetteer, trying to memorize the detours and the route in general.  Once back to Silverton I was in home territory, which helped... especially when a lost hiker near Bolam Pass tried to convince Shaggy and I that we were NOT on the Colorado Trail at all.  After we got him turned around (not without a few suspicious glances from Shaggy, I might add, who was relying on my navigation to Durango), he felt a little silly, since his two sons had been watching the whole exchange with interest.

Jordan, the number-one thing I like about bikepacking is the ability to be outside in the backcountry for days at a time (ala backpacking), but with the ability to see so much more of it - backcountry, that is.  I really enjoy the pace of travel by bicycle.  Driving is much too fast, walking is often too slow, but riding (road or MTB) is just about perfect.  When people ask me about bikepacking, this is generally the answer I'll give.  The specifics are great, too - gear, routes, etc. - but when it boils down to it, there is a reason we're all out there.  That's my version.

Whoops, guess I assumed that you were running Paragon dropouts or EBB.  Yep, no problem with track ends.

My favorite part about double single setups is that, if you're running Paragon or EBB systems, it's a 15-second gear change.  Release the QR, move the chain over, put the wheel back in, done.  Sweet!

Keep the difference in the number of teeth at 2 or 3, rather than 4 (i.e., 32/34 or 32/35, not 32/36).  When you run a four-tooth jump, there is a significant difference in chain tension between the two combos.  Even with the 36/21 set overly tight, the 32/25 will be looser than you'd like.

Same number of teeth per combo, yes, but the chain has to travel a slightly longer distance to get from a large ring to small cog than it does to get from a smaller ring to a larger cog.  Draw it out in diagram form and see what I mean - the increased angle from large ring to small cog as opposed to smaller ring/larger cog makes it so that the chain has to travel a very slightly longer distance.  Seems like it wouldn't matter but it truly does.  Two- or even three-tooth gaps are considerably better than four-tooth gaps in this regard.  Trust me, I've tried this.

Good luck!

Rims, tires, rotors - not places I'd look to save weight on the CTR.  As you already mentioned, riding a heavy bike is better than pushing a light one. 

You can drop a lot of weight with XC-weenie tires, but that's also the easiest way to introduce mechanicals to a bombproof setup.  I prefer my tires to be a little chunky, I rode WTB's Bronson up front and Wolverine in the rear on the CTR and enjoyed a flat-free, traction-surplus ride.  I did slice the rear sidewall almost all the way through on Day 2 and only noticed that the tube was about to start bulging out when I happened to sit down and eat a sandwich facing that exact spot on the tire.  Booted it and didn't worry about it thereafter.

Rims - if you're smooth, you can get away with pretty light rims, but loaded riding adds a bit of "inherent klutz", especially when tired.  Unless they're really flimsy, though, your weight savings in the rim realm will probably just come at a long-term durability cost.  Lightweight rims don't last a long time.

Rotors - I've ridden various brands of brakes with various brands of rotors, mix-n-match, over the years.  As long as the diameter is the same, it mostly doesn't matter.  Thickness variables between rotors don't matter given how much pad wear brakes can compensate for.  Some things you'll definitely find to not work - XTR centerlock rotors with Juicy brakes, for example, unless you cut the tabs off the inner pad.  And I pretty much hate the idea of Stan's aluminum rotors, or the superlight Scrub rotors, etc.  Not something you want to trust for hundreds of miles in the backcountry.

In general I found that weight didn't matter nearly as much as I thought it might out on the CTR.  My setup was reasonably light - although heavier than yours - and my 26-pound, 1x9 (32x11-34), steel hardtail 29er did just fine.  After riding for 18 hours you tend not to think in grams any longer.  I think the bike world in general worries too much about tiny weight differences that are really easily outweighed by a very little extra fitness.  It may matter more in a two-hour XC race situation, but in my experience with both XC and endurance racing the ultra-low-weight advantage loses ground to fitness and durability quite quickly once the mileage goes up.

My biggest regret from the whole year-long obsession with the CTR?  Spending so much time beforehand worrying about gear, weight, and stuff that seems silly in retrospect when, once out there, it just felt like a prolonged version of what I do all the time.  It was awesome.  Nothing I cared about beforehand mattered while out there.  Simply be prepared, be prepared simply, and you'll enjoy it!

No pictures, but my sleeping bag packs down to about the size of a loaf of bread.  More expensive bags can pack down to much smaller than that.  I was going for a nice middle ground between size/weight and cost... I ended up with a Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina 32.  Synthetic fill, supposedly 32* bag but according to Euro standards more like 40*, just under 2 lbs.  You can pick one up at your local outdoor store for around $200.  I've been quite happy with mine.

I've always been under the assumption that unless 75 or more people are doing the exact same thing, the FS - or any other entity involved - has no true authority.  Thus my implicit questioning of the idea that the CTR can be "shut down" at all, unless more than 75 people show up.  Effectively we're just 10, 20, 40, 68 people who happen to be riding the same direction along the CT all on the same day... just because we all agreed between ourselves that we're seeing who can make it to Durango first doesn't mean anything, as far as I'm concerned.  To me, that's the entire idea behind underground events in the first place.

This is certainly not to say that we shouldn't try to respect the FS or any other "authority", as it will obviously be easier on Stefan and other underground organizers that way.  Their work is already cut out for them without trying to dodge potential "shut-down" threats, even if those threats are in reality baseless.  But I highly doubt any of us that took the trail regardless of the FS sign intended any disrespect.  Speaking for myself and as someone who spent an entire childhood behind everything from two-man crosscut saws to chainsaws (Toby, you're not the only experienced guy on here), I knew the sign was effectively pointless at the time of day I came to it, and that my riding through was not life-threatening to myself or non-existent workers.  As far as the KTR goes - I know a whole bunch of people who simply started the ride when the BLM showed up.  No fines, no nothing, just a bunch of friends riding the KT.  That's underground racing.  If we were worried about ALL the regulations and legalities we'd pay entry fees in exchange for insurance, permits, etc.

As we've seen in this thread, there's a huge range of opinion on this topic, but I think we should all be able to see - extreme positionists included - that pre-CTR-specific signs the decision was in no way a no-brainer.  After Stefan posted CTR-specific signage the decision became very easy, but before that there simply was no absolutely "correct" decision.  Hence the widely varied opinions.  I personally don't see how morality or ethics even comes into the conversation at this point, given everything I've already said in this post and the one previously... ethically either decision could be justified and demonized, and aren't there many more important things in our world to worry about from an ethics standpoint?

Why don't we just let it lie as it is, because no amount of jabbering back and forth on here is going change what's happened.  If the FS wants to get pissed, we're not going to change that now.  Unforeseen circumstances cause unforeseen decisions, and that's part of unorganized events.  If we wanted everything to be cut and dried we'd all be racing the Breck Epic right now... that is, if we each had $1K+ to throw down.

Agreed with Aaron.  1. There was certainly no one felling any trees - no trail crews at all, for that matter - at the time that I went through on the CT, dusk/dark.  2. Really not sure whether the trail delay/closed signs constitute "law" in this case, anyhow.  3. As I told Stefan, I don't really care much about the number in front of my name on the results list, but those of us who did ride the trail know how many spots we'd have gained given the significant time advantage on the road detour.  4. Disqualify myself?  Don't be silly.  I didn't see another soul that wasn't riding a bike or hiking up there, and I wasn't about to take a chance of DQ'ing myself by not riding the trail just so that I could obey an obviously not-currently-meaningful trail sign.  In the worst hypothetical case, it certainly isn't as if I wouldn't have heard a chainsaw long before coming within range of treefall.

I think the decision to ride the trail, given the time of day and lack of any "official" direction, made perfectly reasonable sense.  I also think that those who took the detour after Stefan posted the CTR detour sign made perfectly reasonable decisions.  Ideally, to level the playing field, I think an average time difference should have been applied to all, one way or another.  But of course it is what it is.  No problem.  All I really wanted was to finish, and I did.  Good karma or something...

How long do you want to ride each day?  Durango has some amazing trails, including simple overnighter options, but if you're looking for epic-sized day rides every day without any repeated trails it may be a little difficult.

The odd rock spire is indeed Lizard Head, 13,113' tall.  The massif off to the west of it is Mount Wilson and El Diente... as many times as I've seen the range I still think it's a strangely beautiful sight, good for double takes even now.

I carry my Moment, w/ the pole, in a bag I made under the bars.  The bag fits right up against the stem and head tube, under the brake hoses.  I measured mine out to 19" or 19.5", so nominally 20".  Works fine with my normal riser bars, but not sure about Woodchippers.  Remember the Moment has carbon stays in each end that prevent it from packing shorter than about 18" anyhow, even without the pole (not sure if the Contrail has something similar).

The 4" around packed measurement is simply what the drawstring bag measures to.  In the real world, you can smush it down pretty damn small if it's in a bag with compression straps.  I put the tent in its silnylon bag and put that bag in my homemade bar bag, which has compression straps.  I fit rain pants, rain gloves, and some small stretchy warm knit gloves in there as well, and the whole bar bag is about 4" across when packed to go.  The length is where you have to get creative... or at least it was for me.

No personal experience with the Contrail, but I really like my Moment.  Packs small and light, is quick to set up, and best of all, only uses two stakes to set up very solidly.  I swapped out the stock round peg stakes for a couple of MSR Groundhogs and the Moment is very stable even in wind.  It helps to orient one of the ends into the wind - as with all the TarpTents.  Lots of room inside, can sleep two in a pinch, has a small vestibule for gear.

Took a quick look at the Contrail on Henry's site and I'm not positive what the weight is with a pole (since you won't be using a trekking pole).  I bet that, pole included, the Contrail's weight would be awfully close to the Moment's.

First thing I did after arriving home from the CTR on Saturday night was tube down the river on Sunday.  You can rent tubes at Four Corners River Sports, or Durango Rafting Company.  My girlfriend and I took John Ross tubing and he appeared to enjoy it tremendously... almost as tremendously as our various meals at Homeslice, Carver's, and the Cosmopolitan!

Carver's has the best breakfast in town.  Homeslice has American-style pizza.  Fired Up has absolutely delicious Italian-style, wood-oven pizza.  The Cosmo is a little spendy but very, very good for dinner.

Yes, there's wonderful riding here, but if you feel anything like I do mentally you're not getting back on the bike any time soon.  The Steaming Bean is a great coffee shop, Maria's Bookstore is great for browsing or buying, and Durango Cyclery, San Juan Cycles, or (I humbly submit my own place of employment) Papa Wheelie's are great bike shops.

Enjoy our sweet mountain town!

I'm 6'2" and use a Henry Shires TarpTent Moment.  It is a little small for two people, but quite large for one.  My partner and I have both slept in it before - she's 5'9" and as long as you don't need a lot of personal space when you sleep it's just fine.  There is a vestibule.  I have plenty of extra room at both my head and foot ends - certainly more extra room than you have extra height over my own.

The Moment is quick to set up, tear down, and only weighs 29 oz.  I used it on the CTR this year and couldn't be more pleased.

Hope that helps!

I just want to throw this out there:

Thanks, Stefan and Scott, for all your hard work getting this "non-organized" event organized!  Looking forward to meeting you in person.

Figured there would be a large group this year, but wasn't sure we'd be THIS big.  Hopefully we don't have any shenanigans from the F.S. like at the KTR a few years ago (I wasn't there, but have heard all the stories).

Stefan/Scott, I just submitted the rental form.  In order to pay, however, it appears I'd have to have a PayPal account... being the intentional Luddite I am when it comes to financial accounts online, is it still okay if I pay you in cash on Monday morning?  Thanks!

No problem Scott!  Thanks for all your hard work.  I'll be registering for a rental unit for the CTR today.

Okay, I have no idea what's going on with this group.  They all had SPOT trackers, but from the very beginning only Brad's showed up on Trackleaders.  As of yesterday evening, Brad's is now back in Durango... not sure if the other three are with him or if they're still on the trail, but with malfunctioning/disabled SPOTs.  I'm confused.

Just saw Gabe, Brad, and Joe off this morning from Durango.  Met them at Durango Diner and rode the pavement up to the trailhead... they were, of course, in high spirits.  They're hoping to meet those of us beginning in Denver on Sunday night at the campground.  Let the games begin!