ScottM, HJKnox, others: Southern AZT Looping Options?

[joeydurango]

Looking at maybe heading south sometime in November and touring some of the AZT 300 route with some friends.  Raced the 300 this year, and I think parking at Picketpost and riding south to Oracle would be a fun tour.  Question is, are there any other interesting ways to get back north to Picketpost without simply retracing our steps along the AZT?  A southern equivalent of the Black Canyon Trail, perhaps?

ScottM, hjknox, others of the desert variety - calling you out!

[AZTtripper]

Check out Scott's Gila River Ramble http://www.bikepacking.net/routes/gila-river-ramble/ you could tie that in with Chad's https://rockyroad5050.wordpress.com/apc/ that goes thru the 24 Hours of the Old Pueblo course. I think you would only have to ride the boulders out and back then two loops.

[joeydurango]

Aha.  I should have known: A) to include you in the shout-out, B) to check the Ramble.  I did not know about Chad's ride, though.  I've always wondered if there was any trail that tied into the 24HITOP course... a thought that's kept my mind busy in the wee hours of the morning while riding around that 24-hour hamster cage a few times in years past.

Thanks for the tips!  I will pursue those leads.

[AZTtripper]

Yeah I'll let it slide. Lots of options out there, the race has gone several different ways in the past. The Box, Martinez, are both very scenic jeep trails. I would look at an out and back from Picket Post to Telegraph, then a big loop including The Box, Area 52 and south to 24 hr land and a resupply in Oracle AZT back to the start. I would not want to do the Gila traverse more then once, I would only want to do the AZT north from Oracle, the gas line bypass looks way better that way, maybe ride the boulders twice. If you drove out to the water cache on Freeman, your not racing right, you could leave more then water in that big box. To get some more ideas look at some of the early race routes out that way.

[ScottM]

Hey Joey -- AZTtripper nailed it.  I'd stick with the northern 100 miles and stay low where it will be warmer.  Gila Ramble, Gila 100, APC, looping with OP/APC trails -- sounds like a killer tour to me.

Days are short in Nov, but especially in the first few weeks the weather is often primo.  It's one of my favorite times in AZ for sunrise->sunset rides because it often isn't cold enough to need jackets/warmers riding, and also not hot in the afternoon....