Bikepacking in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains is pretty awesome.  Dan and I did a 45 mile loop this weekend that combines a lot of our favorite terrain in the area just north and NW of Seven Springs, on the Jemez Springs side of the mtns.  Here's a blogpost with the trip report and a CalTopo link which should allow you to get the GPS file.  This is a great backpacking loop, or a good foundation from which to add on more.

If you've got any cool Jemez loops or cool backpacking haunts, I'd love to hear about them. 

http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2017/10/return-to-jemez-fish-hatchery-to.html

Rich,
Lucky!  Hopefully this gets to you in time... have fun!

1) what percentage of informal campgrounds have a bear box.
5% at best
2) what percentage of informal campgrounds have a bear hang ready for use.
0%
3) what percentage of campings have a bear box.
Official campgrounds?  Didn't really frequent those- the ones we saw were in a semi-official camp near Togowtee Pass in WY; there was 1 in Teton National Park Campsite; in Provincial Parks in Kananaskas and Elk Lakes
4) what percentage of campings have a bear hang ready for use.
Didn't see any
5) Riding the entire route. Will it anywere be required to have a bear canister with me?
Nope

We had a super light bear hang we borrowed from a friend and it was typically easy to hang.  
Cowboys are great sources for recent bear activity.
Thy were fine with us bringing the Bear Spray over the border.  

Our friend put together a sweet route out at Mt. Taylor in NM.  The riding on the CDT and Gooseberry Trails is TOP NOTCH.  Super ridable and fun.  There is a lot of room for exploration.  There are two reliable water sources to plan around: the Ojo Piedra Spring in the San Mateo Canyon, and a spring only marked "Spring" on USGS but easy to find:  where Lobo Canyon meets FSR 193 about a mile N of the Gooseberry TH, the CDT intersects the road and will lead you to spring markers.  Both are marked on the attached map (if I can attach it).  Here is a trip report: http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2017/06/tsoodzi-loop-exploration-of-mt-taylor.html
Lemme know if you have any questions- it's a suer sweet area.   

Elkhorn Hot Springs, MT- amazing and fun cool old school lodge
Bannock State Park, MT- cool mining town
Fernie, BC if you go that way- esp good northbound cos it's the best food ever
Summer store in Canon Plaza, NM
a cool alt route in the Jemez, NM that allows you to camp near water and do some single track is a canyon called chihuahuenos 

Looks like they are SOLD

For sale:
Carbon Loop 710 Jones Bar bought exactly a year ago.  Includes Esi Grips ($25 value) and Esi Tape ($38 value) with a professional tape job- in very good shape.  Overall value is $378 plus the wrap labor (Bars retail for $315).  

Yours for a screaming deal of $275 shipped.      

Hi bikepacking community,
In the interest of happy butts, I've put together some heard-earned butt beta as we head into touring season:
http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2017/05/tails-from-saddle-saddling-up-with-your.html
My hope is to help folks cut down on all the long internet searching I did getting ready for the Divide last year, and cut down on the fear that your butt may come between you and your goals.  It's worth a shot  So, please pass onto folks you know who have saddle issues, or might... and if you have any tips or additions, please add them to the comments section at the end of the article.

Happy Touring!!
Sarah

Here's a trip report on the new Monumental Loop in Southern New Mexico:
http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-good-bad-and-ugly-crushing-and.html
Lemme know if you have any questions.  It's a great adventure, and maybe toward the tail end of it's season, unless you are a true desert rat.

The soft tail rig, ready for action this winter in Big Bend SP- similar setup used on Coconino.

The red pony, working the long haul this past summer.

I run a 28 in front and a 42 in back for smallest gearing on a 1 x 10- works great!

Thanks for the advice! 
This time around, it was a quick fix for a couple of days; didn't want to do anything more permanent.  I checked with a bunch of shops in town, and they said it would be fine as long as rubbing didn't permanently effect the post proper.  Seems like the shop knowledge has caught up too bikepacking since the last time I checked.  I did mount my Pika a little lower on the seatpost than normal so as not to negatively effect the hose coming out of the seat and pumped up the back shock quite a bit to prevent it from smacking the bag.  Worked great!  Sounds like there is a product coming out the help with the dropper post/ seatpost bag relationship. 

Wow, sounds like a cool kitchen setup and systems.  This summer on the Divide, I saw a variety of kitchen setups which was fun.  I've used an isobutane stove in the past but hate the bulk and weight and waste of the canisters.  My friends used one though and liked it fine.  Another fellow used a combo of wood burning and those tabs, which he could never find.  I guess it depends on when you are doing he CO trail-lots of snowmelt or thunderstorms could make firewood tricky and I don't know the fire restrictions.  I've never heard of fire restrictions using an alcohol stove and this is what my partner and I have used a lot.  Friends who are going solo tend to use the mug system like u mentioned and have a fine time.  I really really like the alcohol stove, and alcohol was really easy to find on the Divide, even in tiny towns.  As far as other luxury items, I love the "baby" nalgene for backpacking trips and when I'm not using it for hot drinks or to give me that extra warmth I sometimes need in my sleeping bag, I just work it into my water capacity. 
If I were you and doing the CO trail, I would go as UL as I could; maybe compromise by bringing the baby Nalgene as a luxury and go with an alcohol stove and a Snow Peak 700 ML mug (comes with lid)- you could even make a coozy for it to for some of your soaking projects!  They would have to be stationary, but nothing like a little overnight lentils or casserole for an early morning treat!   

Sounds like you have some good leads.  I had a handlebar bag this summer that wasn't advertised as waterproof, but it pretty much fit the bill, and when I was really worried about it due to the weather, I backed it up with a ziplock.  I used a Jones bar and didn't have any Jones specific gear: a Revelate sweet roll with a basic handlebar bag over the sweet roll made by Broad fork bags that looks pretty much like the Revelate one you mentioned.  The BF bag never interfered with hand positions once I played with the clips, as there are a couple ways you can clip them on.  It's darn nice to carry things like phones in a gas tank- same deal, fairly waterproof, better with ziplock backup in real rain, and incredibly accessible.  One other thing I used cos it was a long trip and my Pika was small, was a dry bag secured atop the pika.  This worked great. I just found a pic with some of these systems (the camo bag is the "handlebar bag/ BF bag I mention above).  Good luck!   
I couldn't post pic- too big but there are a bunch on this blog post with the bags and you can click on them to see closer.  Not trying to self-promote!
http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-great-divide-northbound-la-manga.html

I bought my dropper post online, so don't really have a "dealer" connection for this question, and tried to call Rock Shock but that didn't work.  Any bike folks out there who know the industry standard about whether I can put my seatpost bag on a rock shock dropper post for bikepacking?  I wouldn't deploy it during the ride but curious if the weight of the bag would effect the dropper post negatively.  Thanks for any input or leads on where I can find this out.

 
Sarah

I was super psyched to move the water out of my backpack onto the frame, but like wearing it for the shade and coolness, and to keep lightweight stuff super handy.  I rode with a small Osprey hydration pack this summer on the Divide and it was light enough that I barely feel it. 

The Gila River Ramble is super fun- I think it took us 4 days just before New Years last year.   

Hayduke,
Thanks for the note!  Sounds like you are primed and ready for some bikepacking.  I'll bet there is great bikepacking in the White Mtns- we were pretty close to you when we did the Gila River Ramble last year- passed thru ShowLow.  I just say that cos that was a super cool route and would be a great shakedown for you.  With river and bikepacking, you just need to transfer those systems over to the bike- that was a lot like us when we started! but more pack rafting than canoeing.  Anyhow, there would be some ideas for u in the NM and AZ areas of our blog and there seem to be lots of cool bikepackers in AZ.  Lemme know if u and ur sweetie ever wanna team up for something- that'd be fun.

[NM]

hey hey hey,
Dan and I completed the Great Divide from ABQ to Canmore, Alberta, which is just 20 miles shy of Banff and came highly recommended by southbound Canadians we met on the trail. 
In the NM section,(http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-great-divide-northbound-albuquerque.html) we left from our house, road out to the Jemez, hooked up with the route, then decided to take the Chihuahuenos singletrack option (recommended- also gives to a great camp with water versus a dry camp on Polvdera Mesa) then hooked up with the route to Canada.  Let's see... we rode the route a mellow to moderate pace, with bikepacking setups and started with a friend and met up with friends for a CO section.  Riding with friends is of course awesome! but can be hard cos they are geared and supplied to be out a week and you are set up for the long haul with a heavier setup... but it was worth it.  We also saw guidebook author Michael McCoy in northern NM.  He was out checking out the route and getting northbound beta to eventually put out some northbound resources- great!
In CO, (http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-great-divide-northbound-la-manga.html) we started to see some racers, which was cool and exciting and also the beginning of seeing more folks in general.  The time while we were in NM we never saw another backpacker besides the McCoys... which was sweet but it was also nice to start seeing folks.  One gal who really stood out was a racer heading S on a tandem who was really encouraging and fun north of Steamboat.  Our friends from Lander rode with us from Del Norte to Breckenridge.  S CO was super cool, and having them along for that was super fun. 
WY (http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-great-divide-northbound-aspen-alley.html) was mostly mentally the Great Basin, but we were lucky to hit cool weather for the Basin and went the non race route.  It was kinda cool to be more solitary again and we loved camping on the A&M Reservoir.  A friendly cowboy hooked us up with cokes in the afternoon of day 2 and we found the cowboys in WY to be super friendly in general. 
Not much to say about ID.  We did the rail to trail, which because we had recent rains was firmer than it could have been if it were dry.  It was super pretty.
MT was great- (http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-great-divide-northbound-montana.html) super authentic; 1990s prices on hotels, ice cream and beer; beautiful mountains and lush nice valleys leading up the them.  Camping was good and people petered as we went north.  Cool single track here and there; great riding in the timberlands south of Ferndale and Swan Lake; great camping options in the national forest.
Last but not least: Canada.  (http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-great-divide-northbound-british.html) Canada rocks.  People are like they were in the US in the 90s- friendly and want to talk and see what you are up to.  Beautiful beautiful mtns!!  Great little towns (we went the valley option): Fernie especially.  Could have spent a week there.  The provincial parks are amazing, and worth spending some time enjoying.

So please check out the blog- there's lots of pics and a section for each state.  Let us know if you are headed out, saw us this summer, or have any comments or questions,
Sarah

http://southwestbackcountry.blogspot.com

sweet!!

BD,
Coyote tank is reliable. It is a cattle trough, so you may want to treat it. The DOT tap is in a small community of houses in a park, just take a right and go slightly beyond the main DOT facility.  Other issues I can't necessarily comment on accurately. You'll love the route.

Not sure what texaco you're referring to, but there's a store in Parks (where the route crosses I-40 to the north).  You can get water there. They are OPEN.  http://www.parksfeedandmercantile.com