2014 CTR Discussion

[wbcmaelstrom]

I'm out this year.

On my long weekend going to Grand Junction/Fruita/Moab, I realized that I just haven't seen much of Colorado after moving here a year ago. I decided I'm going to spend two weeks just traveling all around Colorado riding, bike packing, backpacking, hiking, etc. with my dog and girlfriend. RMNP, Steamboat, Crested Butte, Aspen, etc. Haven't seen any of those. I'd hate to take up that little vacation time just seeing a little bit of CO alone. There's just so much to see in this state. Maybe in the future, a year or two I'll do CTR/ITT. But I give everyone best of luck and maybe I'll be on the starting line in the next couple years! There's just so much of this great state I want to see before I dedicate myself to CTR. Hard to put aside a personal goal of mine like CT, but I just want to see the state first. Plus, with spending three hours a day commuting between Denver and Greeley for a temporary gig at my company, I'm just not going to be in the shape I thought I would be in.

[wbcmaelstrom]

Anyone have a mileage breakdown of towns starting from Waterton?
~Bailey
~Breck
~Leadville
~BV
~Silverton

Noticed you're from Austin. Used to live in TX and rode much in Austin. CO miles don't really mean anything. Elevation profile is the big deal. But pick up the CO Trail guidebook and pocket book from the CO Trail site.

[Gimmearaise]

Love the info looking fwd to giving this route a shot as its in my new backyard. 

Anyone else having problems with Simons GPX links?

Excited your going to test out the route, you going with the group start?

[sherpaxc]

Noticed you're from Austin. Used to live in TX and rode much in Austin. CO miles don't really mean anything. Elevation profile is the big deal. But pick up the CO Trail guidebook and pocket book from the CO Trail site.

Thanks.  I have both already.  I've ridden the CT before, but I'm taking a slightly different approach this year and will have access to food drops. 

[Woodland]

I'd hate to take up that little vacation time just seeing a little bit of CO alone.

Isn't the CT the BEST parts of Colorado?

I think the best excuse I ever heard for not doing the CT came from Karl Meltzer (ultrarunner) whom I had the pleasure of running with for a while in the World Run down in Denver last month. When I asked him why he hasn't attempted the speed record on the CT, he replied: 'Because it's too short'. And he wasn't joking.

[Yogi the Barry]

FYI, the CTR is NOT going thru Bailey this year. It hasn't done so since 2012 and I doubt the course will revert back, although that decision is above my pay grade.
To revise your list of "towns"...
You can replace Bailey with the Stagestop, along the Tarryall detour, as long as they are open and the taps are flowing.
Copper mountain, or I70 during the night, is a great resupply point.
Mt. Princeton is also another virtual 'town'.
Campground, about a mile down US50 towards Salida, can also be considered a tiny 'town' during daylight hours.

To answer the mileage intervals part of your question, I suggest you load the GPX file into TopoFusion and run thru the course profile to get the mileage and elevation deltas between towns...

Anyone have a mileage breakdown of towns starting from Waterton?
~Bailey
~Breck
~Leadville
~BV
~Silverton

[sherpaxc]

What is the driest stretch and how much water would one probably want to carry between it?

[Woodland]

Sherpaxc - again, this info is clearly delineated in the data book which you say you already have. Plus you say you've already ridden the CT.

And how much water I need is not the same as how much you will need, and what time of year makes a difference, and how fast are you, and how much are you able to carry...

Isn't that half the fun anyway, not knowing exactly everything?

[sherpaxc]

Well good lord, isn't this the CTR Discussion thread?  You know, where people can discuss logistics?  Yes, I have the databook, have the mapbook, have the GPX File and have ridden it.  I was just trying to have some discussion.  This is a forum afterall. 

I'm not asking how much water I need.  I'm asking how much you carried.  I'm having flashbacks of ~6 or 7 years ago when people were holding their cards closely to their chests about gear and logistics.  That in my opinion is not the way to grow a sport.

YMMV

[Joliver]

Hi Sherpa,

Generally, I think the CT has plenty of water sources to go fairly light in that department.  Last year I got by with 2 bottles and a bladder that I had in my frame bag.  I didn't even really use the frame bag supply after the first day.  So, I don't think I would have had a problem with just 3 bottles (and only 2 full most of the time), but that doesn't leave a ton of margin for error.  Probably the location where having enough water is most important is in and around Tank 7, and I think that is a bigger concern when traveling from Denver to Durango as opposed to Durango to Denver...at least that is my recollection.  One other factor is the time of day or night that you end up traveling through some of the sections, as you just don't need nearly as much water at night as opposed to the middle of the day on Sargents. 

I hope this is helpful. 

Jerry

[joeydurango]

My personal experience, water-wise, after two CTRs is that Sargents is the most scarce area for water.  I rode Sargents last year in the middle of a very hot day, and I almost ran out of water.  But I was going super-light in the water dept., only using two bottles with an extra bladder for use if needed.  I don't drink that much.  But, I should have stocked up a little more crossing HWY 114; I didn't expect it to be 95* at 11k'.  Ended up filtering out of cow hoof prints in a trickle of water.  Yech.

[nepbug]

I agree about the tank 7 area being dry.  I didn't top up on the last crossing of Fooses Creek due to the fear of the extra weight for the final push, but I wish I had.  It was cool and evening/night time frame when I went through and I ran out of water an hour before I hit the next reliable source at tank 7.  I want to say I had 3 liters when I started climbing Fooses.

I went through Sargents Mesa in the cool of morning and 3L got me through pretty good.

That said, I think the databook said something about a spring as you approached Marshall Pass.  I looked for it a little bit, but then pushed on.  Has anybody seen this spring?

[Joliver]

I agree about the tank 7 area being dry.  I didn't top up on the last crossing of Fooses Creek due to the fear of the extra weight for the final push, but I wish I had.  It was cool and evening/night time frame when I went through and I ran out of water an hour before I hit the next reliable source at tank 7.  I want to say I had 3 liters when I started climbing Fooses.

I went through Sargents Mesa in the cool of morning and 3L got me through pretty good.

That said, I think the databook said something about a spring as you approached Marshall Pass.  I looked for it a little bit, but then pushed on.  Has anybody seen this spring?

Yep, there is a spring on one of the sections of two-track in that area before Marshall Pass if you are heading from Durango to Denver, I believe.  I only noticed it last year b/c it is on your right (right next to the road - it might even have a pipe, but I can't recall) if you are climbing the route from Durango to Denver.  When heading the other direction, you are usually flying down that section of jeep road. 

[joeydurango]

There's an amazing spring on the singletrack of Monarch just before the doubletrack descent (Denver>DGO).  It's not really fast in either direction, just keep looking to the uphill side.  I don't ever filter there, just fill and go.  Delicious.

[nepbug]

Yep, there is a spring on one of the sections of two-track in that area before Marshall Pass if you are heading from Durango to Denver, I believe.  I only noticed it last year b/c it is on your right (right next to the road - it might even have a pipe, but I can't recall) if you are climbing the route from Durango to Denver.  When heading the other direction, you are usually flying down that section of jeep road.  

Yeah, I chocked it up to going too fast to actually find it.  That section, in the Denver to Durango direction, is a nice rare bit of smooth speed you get on the course.

But I though it was on the Fooses side of Marshall, it sounds like your describing it as being on the Sargents side.  Well, actually your second description of flying down sounds like the Fooses side of Marshall Pass Rd.

[nepbug]

Ok, after googling a bit more, it seems as these are the coordinates of the spring near Marshall Pass.  If this is correct, I wasn't looking for it nearly early enough in my descent.
38.437149, -106.255852

I'm going to try to keep an eye out for it this year, might run out of water again.  My plan will be bomb to the shelter, ease up until I find the water and bomb the rest of the way to Marshall. 

[Yogi the Barry]

Don't think those coordinates are correct, after looking in Google Earth. Your coordinates are above treeline, on a section of trail that's still climbing [southbound]. Although I've blasted past this spring almost a dozen times, while riding Monarch Crest, I've never attempted to find it, but I'm fairly certain it's in section of trail with trees and before [heading southbound] the whoop de doos...
Edit: I think it is the M13.1 waypoint on Toby's GPX file at:
 38°24'20.99"N
106°15'16.49"W
But I'm not sure. The lat-long coordinates you posted are what show up in a ride description for the Crest. I think they have the part about the spring being after (S) of the lean-to and before (N) of Marshall Pass, but I think the coordinates are wrong.

Ok, after googling a bit more, it seems as these are the coordinates of the spring near Marshall Pass.  If this is correct,...
38.437149, -106.255852
...snip...

[sherpaxc]

I made the mistake my very first attempt to skip getting water at the end of section one.  I had started one at 10 with 3.5 liters and had a good amount of water after one left in the bladder.  Problem was that it was around noon when I started two and HOT.  I ran out of water a solid 45 minutes or so before getting to the fire station.  Never made that mistake again (nor do I start my ride so late as to time the ride on Seg 2 at the hottest part of the day!).  

[Joliver]

Don't think those coordinates are correct, after looking in Google Earth. Your coordinates are above treeline, on a section of trail that's still climbing [southbound]. Although I've blasted past this spring almost a dozen times, while riding Monarch Crest, I've never attempted to find it, but I'm fairly certain it's in section of trail with trees and before [heading southbound] the whoop de doos...
Edit: I think it is the M13.1 waypoint on Toby's GPX file at:
 38°24'20.99"N
106°15'16.49"W
But I'm not sure. The lat-long coordinates you posted are what show up in a ride description for the Crest. I think they have the part about the spring being after (S) of the lean-to and before (N) of Marshall Pass, but I think the coordinates are wrong.

Yep, my recollection is that it is just after the parking lot and then the whoops as you head up the road when going northbound.  

[nepbug]

Don't think those coordinates are correct, after looking in Google Earth. Your coordinates are above treeline, on a section of trail that's still climbing [southbound]. Although I've blasted past this spring almost a dozen times, while riding Monarch Crest, I've never attempted to find it, but I'm fairly certain it's in section of trail with trees and before [heading southbound] the whoop de doos...
Edit: I think it is the M13.1 waypoint on Toby's GPX file at:
 38°24'20.99"N
106°15'16.49"W
But I'm not sure. The lat-long coordinates you posted are what show up in a ride description for the Crest. I think they have the part about the spring being after (S) of the lean-to and before (N) of Marshall Pass, but I think the coordinates are wrong.

I like your coordinates better with what I am recalling in my mind for the guide book's notes.

I guess come July I might have to ride the Monarch Crest trail to figure it out once and for all, twist my arm, what a horrible thing to do!