Great Western Loop

[JMeiser]

I'm surprised that this hasn't been vocalized yet... 

With the AZT, TU, GLR, CTR, Divide, and GET... along with 100's of miles of connections to be made, what would a Great Western Loop look like?  How many miles would it encompass?  How many days/months would it take to complete?  How would the logistics of making the passes work out?  So many questions and ideas to be considered and answered...

[Chad B]

With the AZT, TU, GLR, CTR, Divide, and GET...

What is the Divide?

[ScottM]

What is the Divide?

He must mean the CDT. 

I have daydreamed a bit about a Great Western Loop on bike.  It would be so far beyond anything that anyone has done...

I've got the SPOT tracker if you've got the cajones to attempt such a loop...

[DaveC]

Andy Skurka beat you to it, albiet on foot: http://www.andrewskurka.com/GWL/index.php

A bike version would almost have to be drastically different, as I believe the whole PCT is off limits.

[phil_rad]

That would be a serious bikepacking trip! Have to take six months of unpaid vaccation for that one.

[chrisx]

any one got a map of the great western trail?

[DaveH]

any one got a map of the great western trail?

http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/sawtooth/gwtmaps.htm

Just overview maps - but generally speaking the GWT is better termed a trail network rather than a single trail.  In UT some of the trails are non-motorized, some are multi-use.  There's a bit of GWT worked into Trans Utah.  

There are some .gpx files (or might be in the garmin .gdb format) in the forum on gwt.org.  There is a single gpx with many thousands of miles of ATV trail for Utah, most of them in the state.  That's a lot of data for a single file (about 10k tracks!) and it's a bear to work with but I do at times.

Edit - maps are here:  http://greatwesterntrail.org/maps/.  Looks like they use the .tpo format, it's been a couple of years since I grabbed that file...found an online utility to convert .tpo to .gpx.  Lemme know if you need the .gpx - it's big, about 80 MB.

[jeremy11]

I've thought about a loop including the whole CT, then Durango to Moab on that hut trail I've heard about then Moab to Junction on the Kokopelli Trail, or alternate stuff, then there must be good stuff from Junction to Denver to finish the loop.  More of a Mini Western Loop, but still big, probably around 1,000 miles, and more attainable time wise.  And (theoretically) I could go out my back door and ride the whole thing and end up back home!