Bit of nerve damage in the palms, but nothing I'm overly concerned about - sometimes they go numb during a ride. All the other plumbing is tip/top, thank you very much. I'd wager doing these events is the secret to my longevity, energy levels, etc.

I currently have both a ECR and Ogre, and had a Cross Check.

If you're off-pavement most all the time, consider the ECR for touring, as it's one of the most stable rigs you can possibly imagine, and will roll over literally anything.

Think of it as an, "Long Haul Trucker of Bikepacking". You can really feel the long wheelbase while rocketing down steep curving roads. I've actually have made many PRs on my ECR with 29+/3" wheels @ 10psi going downhill on steep paved descents - it's just melts into the road. Nuts.

The Ogre is also a fine rig, and what I'll be riding on my next tour. It's more capable on singletrack and a bit more tech, where the ECR may just be a bit on the heavy side. If you could get the Ogre with 27.5" wheels and as wide as tires as you can, it would make a fine touring rig for sure. The wheel base will be shorter than the ECR I believe... although I wanna say both the newer ECR and Ogre are coming out with slacker head tubes.

No insider info on the Fargo, but it is a popular bike, so there's a chance it just sold out quick, and Salsa can just get a new order shipped out from Asia. Salsa seems to be investing heavily in its "Adventure by Bike" (tm) marketing. So funny to think I still have this internal image of, "Salsa Cycles" as the chili pepper riding a MTB. Oh, the 90's.

WEEEEE!

The views at the top aren't too bad, either. I could only imagine the relief of ticking off Tenmile on your way to the N. Terminus. The bumps up and down just get smaller and smaller!

It's def. a gamble with the 10 Mile fire as it's almost on the trail. It'll be the land manager's call on if to open the trail or not - they could close it for safety reasons. Entering that area is sort of weird - you go into that huge clear cut area from Beetle Kill, so it would be after that clear cut, and treeline that the fire could have reached.


Going up and over Tenmile is def. a highlight of the trail  though, and I'd hate anyone to miss it. it's the first long hike a bike you face, and the descent is brake-searingly awesome.  



If there's a reroute, it will be very, very easy to figure out the detour: going S -> N, the trail entering up 10 Mile will be pretty obviously closed. Just scoot down the highway, and find the bike path. Take the bikepath between Frisco and Mt. Royal, and all the way to where the CO Trail crosses Highway 9.


Thanks for picking up a COSAR card, schillingsworth! Our local heroes appreciate the nod of support!

Howdy-do!

Another thing to consider with your generous donation to the Colorado Trail Foundation is purchasing a COSAR card ($3). Funds for these purchases go towards the local volunteer search and rescue teams. It's not insurance, but if you're in a huge pickle, call for help! Local Colorado Search and Rescue DO NOT CHARGE FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE!

Here's more information:

http://www.coloradotrail.org/corsar.html

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dola/search-and-rescue-fund

If you own a SPOT, it may be wise to see it if you have their extraction services added on there - flight for life can be $$$ if it comes to that. If not, there are  additional travelers insurance you can get like https://www.roamright.com/ (purchased insurance through them, but no  direct affiliation), or even look into getting a membership to the AAC which comes with trailhead insurance (up to $5,000) (https://americanalpineclub.org/rescue/).

Public Service Announcement Over. Have fun on the trail!

Thanks everyone for your help! I took the plunge, and am getting a SON28 hub and the B&M Luxos U light. I am looking forward to generate tiny amounts of electricity to then use to charge some of my small batteries!

* I do like the upcoming Sinewave Beacon, but it won't work with my trip looming
* The Klite was just too expensive when compared to the B&M, but the B&M is HUGE! I'll be mounting it between my arrow-dynamik bars to keep it a bit protected. 

My wheel builder talked me out of the SP 8 hub, knowing how much I ride, and after seeing how many failed hubs he's seen after say 10k miles. The SON is more expensive, but seems to have a better rep. in that regard. 

Here's a little plug the wheel builder - he's a great guy: http://www.chrismurraywheelworks.com/ I believe Chris Plesko has got a dynamo wheel built by him(?)

 MSRP: $179.00

Barely used - unfortunately, I don't have the original stuff sack, but will provide a stuff sack that you may use with it!

Medium size is 6 ft. 6 in. x 8 ft. 6 in. (2 x 2.6m), weighs only 270g and protects 2 sleepers from the rain when set up close to the ground as an A-Frame
Waterproof 15-denier silicone/polyurethane-coated Ultra-Sil® Nano fabric
8 Hypalon tie-out points each hold the tip of a trekking pole (sold separately) for a wide variety of setup options; cord adjusters and reflective guylines are preattached

The Sea to Summit Escapist Tarp Shelter attaches easily to the Escapist Inner Bug Tent (sold separately) for extra protection

Specs

Best Use Backpacking
Seasons 3-season
Sleeping Capacity 2-person
Weight

M 9.52 ounces

 Warm, Roomy, Bivy for your next outdoor super-adventure! Comes with original stuff sack!



Details

Breathable REI Elements® laminate adds waterproof, windproof qualities to the tough ripstop nylon shell; features a durable nylon taffeta floor and factory-sealed seams
6 zipper sliders let you configure mesh panel and arm openings a variety of ways
Differentiated zipper pulls (1 round and 1 flat) let you easily adjust hood and arm openings in the dark without confusion
Mesh bug panel extends from shoulders to top of head; can be rolled up and secured via toggle and loop when not in use
Internal sleeping bag attachment clips to the hang loop at the head of your sleeping bag to keep it from shifting around
Built-in rain-gutter flap below shoulders keeps dew and rain from rolling over mesh panel
Roomy configuration provides 64 in. girth at shoulders
Includes stuff sack

Imported.

Specs
Best Use Backpacking
Seasons 4-season
Sleeping Capacity 1-person
Weight 17 ounces
Packed Size 6 x 10 inches
Bivy Length 88 inches
Shoulder Width 32 inches
Ultralight Yes

So who's the race director for ATR? Reading the Facebooks, they told Indiana to go for Imogene. I don't get this

One of the big advantages of the etrex series, is that they just run on AA's, which you should be able to pick up anywhere. that and the runtime can be for a few normal days of riding.

I use the eTrex 35, but that touchscreen man, it can be a bit unresponsive at times. The eTrex 20 works pretty well too, and you may be able to find a deal on an older Oregon 600 series model that closely matches the features of the eTrex, but the screen is just a bit bigger.

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/handheld-gps/garmin-oregon-600t

All these models will allow you to load up a track, and then follow them.

I made this video to show the general workflow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-CYsvGvx7E

One alternative are some new models from Wahoo - I haven't used any personally, but it's worth to check out:

http://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-computers/gps-bike-computer-elemnt

They run on their own batteries, so they're not as interesting to me, personally.

Somewhat congruent to this topic, I've been mapping out alternatives to the official route. My last one was a pretty big alt, but I've made another that's far less committing, adds a bit of singletrack, and shows you another, I think prettier view of the South Park area:

http://longranger.justinsimoni.com/2017/06/21/making-the-great-divide-mountain-bike-route-even-greater-the-peaks-trail-in-summit-county-south-park-alt-out-of-hartsel/

Engineer Pass is closed! There's a reroute in effect.


Interestingly enough, Imogene is also currently listed as, "closed" on the USFS site. Engineer has rockfall, so I guess nothing wheeled is allowed through. I'm sure Imogene is closed because of snow.

I was def. wondering if these passes would be passable by the time people rolled through!

Yeah, you can try to judge a good water source from a bad, but the reality is this: it's a gamble. Things that could be upstream you may not consider: human waste from hikers (many of the most popular trails in CO feed off the CO Trail), mountain goats + bighorn sheep that can climb literally anywhere, Marmots + Pika that make their home on high tundra. 

With more and more people coming into the backcountry, the pressure for natural resources like water - or even a campsite, is going to be great. The CO Trail is an example of where there's a larger concentration of people utilizing these resources.

I do have my own rules for filtering: if there's ANY road or human activity nearby with any sort of permanent structure: filter. If there's ANY sign of free range cattle: filter (or find a better place!)

I haven't looked at the CT databook in like a million years, but there could also be streams that are a no-no because of past mining - there was a huge problem near Silverton with the Gold King Mine an an accident that flushed a ton of heavy-metal laden water downstream. It may be prudent to check to make sure specific places aren't affected - like I wouldn't drink straight out of the Animas! Usually creeks like that you wanna stay away with have creekbeds of interesting colors: oranges and reds - or even blues. It looks obvious when there's a lot of minerals (and heavy metals) in the water. I also wouldn't drink right out of Twin Lakes, personally, and I'd def. filter water coming out of the creek besides the road to BV (or just wait til BV)

I'm not kidding about the CO Trail near BV -> Leadville being pretty much covered in horse shit I was completely surprised, myself.

Did Ben decide to soldier on, with the cracked frame?

So I decided to pick up a Sawyer Squeeze today. It is a bit larger than the mini. The package I got came with two of their bags, which is nice, but those bags do leak after a while.

It comes with two parts to turn it into an inline filter, which is also nice, and sucking on it with the included straw seemed to work well - I didn't feel like it was too hard to do. I'm sure as the filter gets used, it'll flow worse until backcleaned. Getting the straw off the sucker, that was a little difficult - be careful.

Lots of tiny little parts in the kit, though - they'll all get lost. I want to compare it to my mini, but hmm, it seems to be missing in action (speaking of losing things!) 

Ah! Nice. I thought you may have a map of secret springs!

I'm not doing the CTR this year, but I'm still hoping to do a few sections - maybe the N terminus to Frisco, or something like that. I AM going to be out in Colorado in a similar environment, and I did just put together a rundown of my sleep system (link) to give you some inspiration.

When I did the CTR, I used a water resistant bivy, a sleeping bag liner, and a thermarest blow up pad. I was going for survival, really! I had a bad CTR, with may mechanicals, but didn't feel a drop of rain.

I've used the Sawyer mini, but may move up to the Squeeze - maybe I'm just impatient, but it seems to take forever to filter. Hopefully, the Squeeze is faster.

I would suggest taking the time to just filter all the water you need, then get on with it, rather than have the problem of keeping track of which flasks have, "dirty" water, and which don't. Personally, I only rarely filter my water - don't use that as a suggestion - again, I'm just lazy. Any source of water can be contaminated by animals, both human, and otherwise, as well as bacteria/virii. I would take advantage of any potable water you find in town and stock up, if not just for the time savings while on trail - don't leave town without water!

I'm not sure that I would *start* filtering after Camp Hale - the trail from BV to Leadville is so heavily trafficked by man and horse, that every creek crossing will have horse shit either in it, or around it. People camp literally right on the trail, right next to water sources - no one seems to pay mind to LNT/trail ethics. Trail's getting nothing but more popular.

Lights; I had like, a 1200 lumen light, which I thought worked fine, and a headtorch. I wouldn't run it at 1200 lumen ever, except those spicy tech. downhills, where it was nice to see just where I was going. More light the better, fer sure. I would get up as early as you can to start your day, and feel out what the afternoon will bring in terms of massive thunderstorms. Don't be up high above treeline during one of those. Get down!

Well worth to go slightly off route and take a ride on the Cumbres and Toltec narrow gauge railroad!

http://cumbrestoltec.com/

Gondola rides in Breckenridge!

http://go2breckenridge.com/breckenridge-gondola/

Copper pit in Butte!

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/berkeley-pit

Hopefully Ben can limp into Salida (that downhill is going to be tough!) and he can swap out frames. Won't be the first time that's happened. Hopefully, that will work with his budget. A Recon fork is one thing, but replacing a frame may hurt a little more :/ Maybe he's considering options in Breck., but I don't know if the shops there are full-service, or more geared to rentals. The closest one on route would be the one right next to Breck. Brewery. Sending luck, Ben!

Damn, Ben! Way to be a total crusher! I wonder if the frame sustained damage from the fork incident? Such a strange place for a crack, eh?!