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
