2018 AZTR300/750 Planning Thread

[flyboy]

Hope the thongs are double pluggas to survive the canyon walk 😜

Ahh, you know of the mighty double plugger? Alas, I will be foregoing the comfort and style of the pluggas for the practicalities of some X-Alp conformality. 

As for the start list, wow, some big names in there! Litterally decades of bikepacking experience on the start line this year.

[aarond]

So, Arizona Snobowl picked up about a foot of snow this week, and if I read this chart correctly, there is currently about 13 or 14" of snow on the ground at the Bright Angel Ranger Station.  Just wondering what the plan will be if there is deep snow?  Pushing for 40+ miles through the snow doesn't sound that appealing, is it correct that other options are possibly pushing through the snow for 13 miles until reaching the park boundary, or possibly walking on the road for 13 miles while pushing the bike?  Hopefully the next couple of weeks will be warm and it won't be an issue, but just wondering what the plan will be in case...
https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/interactive/html/graph.html?station=NRMA3&w=600&h=400&o=a&uc=0&by=2018&bm=3&bd=14&bh=6&ey=2018&em=3&ed=20&eh=6&data=0&units=0&region=us

[aarond]

This is a trail report from a hiker who finished the trail a few days ago (before the recent 5" of snow):
Collin Hart: "Hey Aaron thank you! So I'll try to give you as much detail as I can from what we saw. From the North Rim trailhead about 5.5 miles north had about 12-18 inches or so pretty consistently. It was a bit deeper in some places but we still managed to hike that section. When we hit the crossing of Rt. 67 (Grand Canyon Highway) the snow got quite a bit deeper like 18-24 inches or so. So we made the decision to walk the road up to the park entrance and then get back on trail. After we walked the road we connected with the trail again to head up towards the North Rim Lookout Tower. At this point we were nearing 9000 feet elevation. We hiked about 1.3 miles in just over an hour. There was approximately 24 inches of snow consistently and some places closer to 36 inches I would say. We made the call to head back to the road because we just weren't able to get anywhere in that snow. So from there we walked Rt. 67 about 31 miles to Jacob Lake and then we walked 2.5 miles and recconected with the trail at the Highway 89A crossing. The road paralleled the trail for about 20 miles and the snow looked pretty deep for a while then started to look like there was less as we got closer to Jacob Lake. We didn't go back on the trail at all so I can't give specifics for snow depths in that whole 40 miles of trail. It's possible that the snow was managable for alot of that section but I can't say. What I do know is that when we got back on trail at highway 89 there was just patches of 2-4 inches of snow on the trail for about 10 miles then it disappeared completely. With snowshoes you may be able to hike the trail with the conditions we faced but it was really slow going without and we just didn't have the food or time to continue on the trail unfortunately. Hopefully this information is helpful. If you need me to explain anything or be more specific just let me know."

[ScottM]

Thanks for the beta, Aaron.  I was just about to check the latest since there have been several storm systems through AZ lately.

Options are not that great... I had not thought of walking the pavement.  Then once out of the park, the road is fair game.

It's a really tough call because we need to do our best to stay on the good side of the NPS, but at the same time they are being ridiculous.  Certainly there isn't enough snow that they would be plowing or anything, so the safety risk is nil.

It sure does sound like there is too much snow to make the trail a viable route, and temps have been average, not hot, for meltage.

[ScottM]

2018 GPX and cues are up!

Changes:

- New rerouted singletrack leaving Oracle State Park (small change)
- 750: Hewitt Station Rd detour on forest roads (as was in play in 2017, the closure is still in effect)
- 750: New dirt route continuing from Jacobs Crosscut on the Massacre Grounds trail, to Weavers Needle Vista.  (Thanks to John Schilling)  Less paved and narrow AZ 88.
- 750: Update to Highline trail (one reroute)

As I noted earlier, AZ 88 is under construction M-Thu during daylight hours.  One lane road and flaggers are likely during this time.  Traffic should be slow.

In this area there have also been confirmed cases of rabid foxes (two).  Riders need to be aware of this especially if camping.  The warning is for all of the western Superstision Mtns.  Apparently one repeatedly approached and was aggressive to a trail crew.  I spent the last 4-5 days in the area and saw nothing... but do be aware.

[hanyo66]

What handlebar mount are most people using for their Garmin eTrex? Not liking any that I've seen on Amazon or quick google search, figured I'd just go straight to the vets.

[krefs]

In this area there have also been confirmed cases of rabid foxes (two).  Riders need to be aware of this especially if camping.  The warning is for all of the western Superstision Mtns. 

More of 'em!? When riding Montana Mountain a year ago (just off the 750 route north of Picketpost), Kaitlyn Boyle got attacked by a rabid fox that came charging out of the bushes at her! She was off her bike to hike across a wash, and she put her bike between her and the fox. Twice the fox lunged and latched onto her front tire. She swung the front end of the bike with the fox clamped on all around and up and down into the ground until the fox finally ran off, yelping as it went. Fortunately, both Kaitlyn and her tire escaped unscathed (that was a dang good test of Terrene's "Tough" casings).

The kit foxes that come out at night are so much cuter than rabid gray foxes. Hopefully we all just see the cute ones :-)

[Adam Alphabet]

What handlebar mount are most people using for their Garmin eTrex? Not liking any that I've seen on Amazon or quick google search, figured I'd just go straight to the vets.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/11411

[rhino]

What handlebar mount are most people using for their Garmin eTrex? Not liking any that I've seen on Amazon or quick google search, figured I'd just go straight to the vets.

I use the standard etrex mount with zip ties on top of 90mm stem. I Velcro strap both left and right feed bag around my stem, then zip tie the garmin mount over the Velcro strap. I like the zip tie mount because if you crash the mount doesn’t break it just spins slightly. I carry extra zip ties for repair.

[ScottM]

More of 'em!? When riding Montana Mountain a year ago

Yikes Kurt.  I forgot about that story with Kaitlyn.  Back in 2006 Tim McCabe got harassed by a fox near Picketpost, where it bit his sleeping bag and held on for a similar ride that Kaitlyn's fox took.  I believe it stole one of his shoes, too.

Ez and I did find a dead fox in a wash, so maybe there's one less rabid fox.  I didn't realize that mammals can carry rabies without any signs (no aggression, foaming, etc), though it does make sense.

Hanyo -- the Garmin eTrex mount is known for ejecting its cargo at times, but it might be explained by the mount not being fully engaged.  They also fatigue after a year or two.  I've only ever had an older one throw a GPS on me.  After the second ejection, I replace.

[hanyo66]

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/11411

I use the standard etrex mount with zip ties on top of 90mm stem. I Velcro strap both left and right feed bag around my stem, then zip tie the garmin mount over the Velcro strap. I like the zip tie mount because if you crash the mount doesn’t break it just spins slightly. I carry extra zip ties for repair.

Hanyo -- the Garmin eTrex mount is known for ejecting its cargo at times, but it might be explained by the mount not being fully engaged.  They also fatigue after a year or two.  I've only ever had an older one throw a GPS on me.  After the second ejection, I replace.

Thank you everyone!

[rhino]

Also I tether everything down with lanyards and Niteize S-Biner® Dual Carabiner Plastic #2
GPS, bar light, helmet light.
http://www.niteize.com/product/S-Biner-Plastic.asp

[schillingsworth]

I like the twist mount of the Edge models, but Garmin doesn't offer a twist conversion for the eTrex. So, with the help of a co-worker we modified an eTrex mount and adapter for the Edge twist mount and came up with this:

[AZTtripper]

Yikes Kurt.  I forgot about that story with Kaitlyn.  Back in 2006 Tim McCabe got harassed by a fox near Picketpost, where it bit his sleeping bag and held on for a similar ride that Kaitlyn's fox took.  I believe it stole one of his shoes, too.

The fox in my encounter ended up acting playful, I lost one of my sandals and a fox brand ankle guard. I like to think he took the ankle guard home for artwork.

For those concerned about the Freeman cache being empty, a possible if highly unlikely water source.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4189/2883/320/P3230140.jpg

[tubeSSnapper]

Thanks Scott for the 10 k version, it loaded onto my GPS like butter.
I am entirely new to the route, is there any snow detour info for me to add to my cue sheets?
Besides the final push after the north rim, that is.

[Jeff Z]

Also I tether everything down with lanyards and Niteize S-Biner® Dual Carabiner Plastic #2
GPS, bar light, helmet light.
http://www.niteize.com/product/S-Biner-Plastic.asp

Seriously, secure your GPS with a lanyard. I've found my etrex dangling from my handlebars (thankfully) after going through heavy brush (like on Oracle Ridge). Would be VERY bad to lose that tool on the ride.

[ScottM]

Thanks Scott for the 10 k version, it loaded onto my GPS like butter.
I am entirely new to the route, is there any snow detour info for me to add to my cue sheets?
Besides the final push after the north rim, that is.

I just drove through Jacob Lake and there is indeed snow around even near town and by the AZT.  The trail does not seem viable.

The other questionable area would be Aspen Corner outside of Flag.  That snow detour may be in play as well, but please standby.

[hanyo66]

Extended forecast puts Jacob Lake around 60 degrees beginning of April(we know how quickly that can change). Not sure if anyone else will be in that area to check, but if not, I’ll update weather and snow status when we pass through on 4/6 providing I have cell service.

[Dinodinodino]

I just drove through Jacob Lake and there is indeed snow around even near town and by the AZT.  The trail does not seem viable.

This may be a silly idea and would go against the intent of "no bikes on the road", but what if we rode off the pavement in the ditch parallel to the road?  I'm not sure if that would appease those who enforce the rules or maybe make aggravate them for skirting the rules, but I thought I would throw it out there.  If it would get us on their bad side, it's probably not the best idea.

[bmattingly]

If I get a little free time before start date I will check out snow conditions at Aspen Corner and post.  Appears to be drying up nicely around Flagstaff. 

Great to see all the 750 riders.  Hope the temps are kind down in the desert.

Good luck to all.  Have fun out there!