Carbondale to Denver via Crested Butte and CT

[Schwizzle]

Heading to Carbondale with the family in August and thinking of possibly riding back to Denver on the way home.

So far I have three possible route options and was hoping for some feedback;

Route #1

Ride south from Carbondale on HWY 133 to FS 314 and take that east through Marble and to Schofield Pass

Ride down Trail 401 and continue on into Crested Butte

South through town to FS 742 head east up to Taylor Park Reservoir and over Cottonwood Pass to Buena Vista
Pick up the CT in Buena Vista
Questions on this Route? Has  anyone ridden the west side of Schofield down to Crystal/Marble? I know it’s a heavily used 4x4 route and am wondering how ridable it is.

Route #2
Carbondale to Aspen
From Aspen take Pearl Pass into CB then continue on the same route as above to Buena Vista

Route #3
Carbondale to Aspen
From Aspen head up Castle Creek Road to connect up with FS 742d/761?? To Taylor Park Res.
Continue on to BV via same route as above
This looks like the most direct route to Buena Vista and the lowest mileage but I have no idea if this is a viable route. Anyone ridden on any of the roads north of Taylor Park Res heading towards Aspen?
Any feedback, ideas,or other routes are appreciated. I will definitely post my trip later in the summer once I complete it!

[DaNM]

From Carbondale head up to Reudi reservoir. From Reudi, Aspen is about 6 hours directly south via Lenado. Classic aspen single track staying westerly near town.`Lots of climbing this way, with some hike-a-bike. This puts a bit more time on the front end of your trip, might just be a good shuttle ride while the family sees the area.
 If you go Taylor pass it is all very rideable 4x4 road which can be tough. You will miss CB completely. Try to hit cottonwood pass on a weekday.
 

[Schwizzle]

Thanks for the info Dan, do you know the name of the trail connecting Reudi Res to Aspen?

[NT]

I've ridden over Schofield Pass to the 401- some loose and techy parts, but for the most part ridable. Start early to avoid jeep traffic. The first half of the these photos show it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ntsnow/sets/72157621394078436/. Once you get to 401, it's of course awesome. If you want more singletrack on your way to Marble, ride Tall Pines from Thompson Creek to Redstone. Even more would be to hit the Lorax trail, but you'd have to ask at an LBS for directions for that, as it's pretty cryptic.

If you want to go through Aspen, consider riding from Carbondale: Prince Creek -> Hay Park -> Snowmass -> Gov't Trail. I'd do Taylor Pass over Pearl (more singletrack). You could ride up Little Annie or Midnight Mine Rd and then ride all along Richmond Ridge behind Aspen Mtn instead of going up the pavement to Ashcroft and then up Express Cr.

This post by mikesee starts out with the connector from the Reudi to Aspen http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=410393. Page 3 shows Richmond Hill and Taylor.