2019 AZTR 300/750 Race Preparation and Planning Thread

[Brian McEntire]

Leaning towards riding the 4peaks option if this is the future route. I certainly prefer dirt over pavemen and have done the paved route a few years back.  Who else is going the 4peaks route this year? John, what’s the likelihood this is mandatory next year?

I’m leaning towards it. Honestly with snow detours likely in play, having that bit of extra adventure may be a great time. Also, it earns me some trail cred I could use.


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[krm]

OK - trying to figure this out... East Coast person here, we hang our food in the trees so that bears and critters don't eat our food at night.  I have just a tarp for a tent and trying to figure out what you do on the AZT in the desert where there are no trees to hang food?

[Adam Alphabet]

OK - trying to figure this out... East Coast person here, we hang our food in the trees so that bears and critters don't eat our food at night.  I have just a tarp for a tent and trying to figure out what you do on the AZT in the desert where there are no trees to hang food?

For the race I've just left my stuff in my bags on my bike and in my back pack. Not saying this is the best advice but it's what I've done without too much trouble.

[dlskayak]

I've never had an issue with food and critters while bike packing other than last year at Parker Lake.  A pesky raccoon wouldn't leave my bike alone and went to town on my sour patch kids in my feedbag.  There were  sour patch kids all over the place.  It was like he sucked on everyone of the candies and then spit them out. 

[evdog]

I've never heard much of people having issues with bears in AZ.  I usually leave my food in my backpack or seatbag, normally right next to where I sleep.  I'm a light sleeper so would usually wake up if a critter is trying to get into it.  The only time I've had a problem was when I left my cook pot on a picnic table with some oatmeal packets inside and something tried to drag it off in the middle of the night.  Heard the pot bouncing off the table.  By the I got up it was gone.  I eventually found it about 150 ft down the hill.  It was in its sack and the critter didn't have time to tear into it fortunately.

[The Plodder]

Hi all - Not form the US so  - Can I check if there are any restrictions on camping at the south start point of the 750 ?

[phatmike]

OK - trying to figure this out... East Coast person here, we hang our food in the trees so that bears and critters don't eat our food at night.  I have just a tarp for a tent and trying to figure out what you do on the AZT in the desert where there are no trees to hang food?

As others have stated, it's the little creatures that will get you here in AZ. Had a skunk come into my camp at the Molino Basin campground that wanted to get my leftover quesadilla out of my pack. After that, I got up and tossed the food and then hung my pack from a sign. There's usually something you can use to get your pack a few feet of the ground to help prevent that.

[schillingsworth]

We look to be closing in on the 10 day mark...stoked?? I know I am and I'm not even riding!!

This may be a long post, but there are items that need to be addressed. Please read.

Brian: The Canelo re-routes mentioned in the recent ATA newsletter have been added to the track on the latest revision. I had the gpx files in hand before the official dedication. 

Re: Camping at the start of the 750. It's dispersed camping down there. Some folks like to camp right at the border fence, but we tend to encourage those camping out to find a spot a little ways up the road, plenty of options. The Border Patrol will most certainly have eyes on you!! You'll probably see their trucks up on Montezuma Pass.

Four Peaks Option: Yes, there is a very good chance this will become the route going forward. I am looking for feedback from all the riders who take this option. Be honest. Let's face it the section it cuts out is by far, the easiest of the current 750 route. Some riders like the break. I get it. The FP option is tough, but also in line with the character of the rest of the route. I love the fact that it gets riders on more official AZT dirt, about 24 miles worth. Do your homework re: resupply on this section.

More Four Peaks stuff: Over this past weekend I was joined on Friday by Mike W. (300 rider this year) and we cleared about 5 miles of trail going south from Sunflower. We didn't quite reach the worst of it. So, there currently is about a one mile stretch of trail that is eerily similar to the vegetation grabbing portion of Oracle Ridge, but lacking the exposure!! The trail steward is planning a 3-day backpacking trip out there next week and I'm hoping he is able to get to it. If not, cover up & plow through as Mike W. & I did on a prior ride a couple weeks earlier. (We started trimming that section going northbound but ran out of time). Y'day, another Mike, Mike S., (300 finisher from 2017) joined me on a ride continuing north from Sunflower on the AZT - FR201 - Goldridge trail. We were able to trim the entire section. There's a small running creek about 5 miles north of Sunflower. Someone has been taking care of Goldridge trail, it wasn't nearly as overgrown as expected. There are currently 3 down trees. That's it. Any hardship encountered on this section will be due to rocks/climbing grades/and fall-line descents!! Enjoy!

Snow detours:
North Rim road is the available option. Through hikers have recently posted that the road should be fully plowed by tomorrow or Wednesday. A couple of riders were hassled by a Park Ranger last year for taking the closed road, not sure what their reasoning is, but we've heard reports this year of hikers being told to take the road (before it was plowed) instead of the trail. Go figure. Use you best judgement. Rejoin the AZT just beyond Jacob Lake on US89A or earlier if you'd like and conditions allow.

Flagstaff: Humphreys Peak snow detour will be in play this year. I was up at Snowbowl for a ski day on Saturday and tried hiking down to the AZT at Aspen Corner. I only made it about 0.1 mi before post-holing up to my knees!! There's still 2+ feet of snow in the area. This isn't even the high point of the route nor was it the north facing slope.

Flagstaff Logging detour:
After my ski day, I drove over to Buffalo Park and rode the logging detour I mapped out. It's good to go. It'll be faster than the AZT route through the same area and runs through some fun trails in the Fort Valley trail system next to Schultz Creek area.

GPX Track:
This pertains ONLY to the 750 & Four Peaks Option. I need to make a couple of small tweaks. There have been two small re-routes on the Four Peaks option beyond Sunflower. 750: I'll update the track to reflect the logging detour since that portion of AZT is closed. Snow detour gpx will be uploaded separately since these are not mandatory. If you like to stay true to the AZTR and don't mind some post-holing...

I'll make an announcement when the updated files are posted. It'll either be late tonight or tomorrow evening.

Here's another reminder to call in to MTBCast: 888-866-4491

I think that's it for now.

[Brian McEntire]

Just when you think you are about ready...

Ended up with some rear hub issues on a ride over the weekend that amounted to a small bit of panic as I realized I need parts quickly. First searches turned up out of stock. Then our 2 year old car (which I’m driving to Tucson) throws a check engine light and the transmission gets stuck in a gear. Ack! I’m supposed to leave this coming Saturday!!

A parts order for hub components on overnight shipping looks to solve the bike issues (hopefully) and the car is at the dealer. Fingers crossed. Lesson to learn is things will go wrong. I got this! I hope everyone’s prep is wrapping up well. Not long now!!


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[AZTtripper]

This year will be the 10th AZT750 perhaps 2020 would be a good year to chrissen a new course, 4 peaks mandatory, and call it the AZT800. The official hiking trail is 800.

Let the record for the 750 stand where ever it ends up after this years running.

It's supposed to be the longest single track race, it's not supposed to be easy. People can tour any route they choose.

[schillingsworth]

This year will be the 10th AZT750 perhaps 2020 would be a good year to chrissen a new course, 4 peaks mandatory, and call it the AZT800. The official hiking trail is 800.

Let the record for the 750 stand where ever it ends up after this years running.

It's supposed to be the longest single track race, it's not supposed to be easy. People can tour any route they choose.

ATTN: I had some time this afternoon at work, yeah Topofusion is installed there, anyway.... The GPX route files are updated and snow detour added. Current files are: AZT300 rev3, AZTR750 rev4, Four Peaks Option rev3 & 2019 Snow Detour.

Tim, I like all of this...a lot. That was one of my goals, get the AZTR750 to 800 miles & rename it. I'm guessing we'll get a little closer with all the planned re-routes from the ATA. 2020 could see a few big route changes.

[bmattingly]

John,

Good call on the AZT reroute around Aspen Corner and Snowbowl.  After work today I drove up there and was surprised how much snow and how deep.  I did not get very far from the road as well.

Hope all you riders have a most excellent adventure.

[jbonepacker]

John,

Sorry for the question but it's not clear.  Assuming AZT300 Ver 3 has NOT been updated, correct?  My records had ver 3 but double/triple checking!

Thanks for all the great work!


Jeremy Hardwick

[schillingsworth]

John,

Sorry for the question but it's not clear.  Assuming AZT300 Ver 3 has NOT been updated, correct?  My records had ver 3 but double/triple checking!

Thanks for all the great work!


Jeremy Hardwick

AZT300 ver3 is the correct version.

[kblakeyshell]

I can weigh in a bit on the snow levels because I just finished the 750 route (sort of, lots of snow detours in the north).

The Kaibab Plateau still has a TON of snow (5' minimum in most places and many places over 10' deep). The NPS is plowing at a rate of about 1/2 mile/day right now. When we went through on April 5 they had gotten to about 3 miles of the park boundary. The guys (Donald and John) plowing gave us the line about "you know it is illegal to ride this road when it is closed" but we helped Don fix his plow as we were going past so they were really cool to us after that.

The DOT had plowed to about a mile north of the Country Store as of the 6th when we went through. They were not actively plowing at the time so I don't know how fast they are moving. Total we did about 12 miles of HAB over the unplowed section.

They are still getting snow on the plateau so the snow is still pretty soft. If you are lucky it may be rideable if there is a hard freeze overnight but we banked on that and woke up to 3" of fresh slushy snow and it would only have been rideable on a fat bike at very low pressures.

On other notes...

The section from a bit before Pine up to the Mogollon Rim was mostly dry and snow free but there were a ton of dried in elk and cow tracks that made what likely are nice riding sections really rough. 

North of the Mogollon Rim there was a fair amount of snow but it was very firm and rideable late into the day when we went through. That said, some of the creek basins in that section still had a ton of snow and there were some sketchy crossings (one of the thru hikers we talked to got so spooked by falling through the snow into a creek that she bailed on her hike).

We jumped on the road before Happy Jack because the trail was turning into a river so I can't comment too much on anything between there and Flag. After talking to some hikers about the section north of Flag we stuck to road north of Flag to the canyon. Word from the hikers is that things are surprisingly good up to the snowbowl and also good from a few miles after the snowbow. From there to the Grand Canyon is good.

Hope that helps others!

[evdog]

Great info, thanks!  Kaibab Plateau and Snowbowl are likely a lost cause for this year, but wondering what you thought about snow levels on section north of the Mogollon Rim, and from what you saw near Happy Jack.  Does it look like there is too much snow to melt out and/or dry in a couple weeks?  There is another week until the grand depart and an additional week before most riders start passing through.  What was firm on Mogollon Rim for you could be a slushy, muddy mess in a couple weeks if there is a lot of snow, or if just a little it could have melted and mostly dried up.  I realize it's hard to judge but did you get the impression the snow is going to stick around for a long time yet?

Snotel still shows 13 inches at Baker Butte near Pine, 21 inches at Happy Jack, 10 inches at Mormon Mtn.  Not sure how often these stations update.

[kblakeyshell]

For people leaving at the grand depart I would guess that you are on about the Kaibab Plateau and Snowbowl. There will likely be patches of snow in the creeks valleys just north of the Mogollon Rim but it will be largely rideable and the Happy Jack area should be OK too.

Best of luck to all!

[krefs]

Might anyone have space to give two amazing Scottish folks (and their bikes) a ride from Picketpost to Parker Canyon Lake on Wednesday the 17th? They're in need of some help with logistics, and it sounds like the Homegrown shuttle is all filled up.

Such a bummer that the Snowbowl detour is needed this year. That's such a fun and iconic section of trail.

[schillingsworth]

Here's a cool interactive snow depth map. It links to the Sierra Nevada range, but you can easily scroll over to AZ or anywhere else for that matter.

US Snow Depth Map

Kurt,
I hope they can secure a ride south. Maybe a post on the Facebook AZT Class of 2019 page?? Seems to be a lot of activity there with all the through hikers, etc.

[schillingsworth]

Might anyone have space to give two amazing Scottish folks (and their bikes) a ride from Picketpost to Parker Canyon Lake on Wednesday the 9th? They're in need of some help with logistics, and it sounds like the Homegrown shuttle is all filled up.

Kurt, is this for the 9th or the 17th?? Kaitlyn posted the 17th in the FB group.