Entire Colorado trail in 11 segments ?

Sounds like a great trip! I’ve ridden several sections of the CT, though mostly as day trips, and 11 days sounds feasible – though it won’t be easy! In 2010 I bikepacked this section which took a full day and was the toughest leg of our trip to Moab. We also passed a couple guys who were riding from Molas Pass down to Durango and they were planning on 4-5 days on the trail. As the crow flies that’s less than 40 miles to give you an idea of the distance we’re talking (no idea what the trail mileage is). But hey, at least you won’t have to carry all your gear!

Going from Denver to Breckenridge is pretty fast so you can make good time there. The Monarch Crest trail runs with the CT for about 10 miles or so but yeah, going down the Silver Creek and Rainbow Trails is worth the excursion.

Hopefully some of the locals can weigh in with more info – do you have room on your trip for one more? 😀

If you’ve got a good guidebook, then you must have noticed that lon stretches of legal bike trail are well above 8,000 feet. If that’s your upper limit, then you’re not going to get to ride much of the CT.

Now assuming I misunderstood your post and you actually intend to ride as much of the trail as you can, then 11 segments is quite doable if you shuttle from the nearest road access point around the wilderness areas. You’ll cut out over a hundred miles of trail, much of among the tougher trail the CT has to offer.

If you’re looking for must rides along the way, then theres a good one relatively early on. The CT passes through the Buffalo Creek trail area, which offers a fantastic variety of singletrack that is would be a shame to miss if you’re in the area. If you decide to spend the extra time here, there are a number of routes you could take depending on the time and distance you want to invest and whether you’re looking for fast and flowy, techy stuff, or just plain fun in cool and unique scenery.

Of course, the Monarch Crest is considered to be the best MTB ride anyhwere for good reason. But don’t let shuttling it fool you into thinking that shuttling it will make it like a day off or a recovery day–the ride still has plenty of climbing, much of it above 11,000 feet, and it will tax you under any circumstances.

If you’re planning on finishing up with three days in Moab, you may want to think about doing two in Moab and catching one in Fruita on the way back to Denver. It’d be right on your way, cut an hour and a half off your last drive, and give you some additional variety for what already sounds like a fantastic trip.

Beware, though–August can be deadly hot in both Moab and Fruita–you’ll want to ride early and be off the trail before high noon.

The Colorado Trail through the wilderness area is still singletrack, but of course off limits to bikes. The ‘legal’ detour is then fireroad. Shuttling around is a good idea.

For your undecided day in Moab you could do Bartlett Wash and Sovereign Singletrack, and maybe hit Pipe Dream when you get back into town or in the evening after the hottest sun has passed.

Oh, Now I get it!

If you’re up to 8,000 feet of climbing per day, then you should have no problems.

I’ve never actually met anybody who’s ridden Buffalo Creek who didn’t absolutely love it and want to go back. The last time I rode there, I met some riders (very strong riders) from Switzerland who were having a ball. I (and others, I’m sure) would be happy to share some "local knowledge" with you if you decide it may be worht your while.

As for Fruita, you’ve got three main riding areas: The Loma Exit (Kokopelli Loops), the Book Cliffs, and the Lunch Loops, all of which are unique unto themselves. Loma and Bookcliffs get the most traffic, but Lunch Loops is my favorite. Loma/Koko has three things going for it: 1. it’s the most accessble, being right off the interstate highway, 2. A great variety of riding, from fun, fast and flowy to highly technical, all packed into a fairly compact area, and 3. Great scenery above the Colorado River (although it won’t be anything new to you if you’ve just ridden Porcupine in Moab).

One other thing I forgot to mention: your drive from the end of the Colorado Trail to Moab will take you through Cortez, Colorado where you would do yourself a great disservice if you didn’t stop and ride the riotously fun Phil’s World!
http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails … world.html

Long post–get ready

Colorado Trail breakdown–segment by segment as the trail is broken down (into 28 segments) by the The Colorado Trail Foundation–hopefully your guidebook matches these segments-

Segment 1: Kassler to South Platte Canyon
A great intro to the trail. Starts with a six mile dirt road warmup on a very mellow grade. Then the singletrack and climbing begins. This is a good segment if available–It’s been closed for about a year while dredging operations take place in an adjacent reservoir. They were supposed to be done bu the end of the year, but are now far behind schedule and some speculate may keep the area closed beyond the time of your ride.

Segment 2: South Platte Canyon to Colorado Trailhead FS-550
A nice but unspectacular part of the CT

Segment 3: Colroado trailhead FS-550 to FS-560 (Wellington Lake Road)
This is the segment that passes through the Buffalo Creek area. The CT here is excellent, very popular singletrack, but won’t show you all the area has to offer–if you have the time to detour onto Gashouse Gulch and a few other of the Buffalo Creek trails, it’s well worth it. Check out the new Blackjack Trail if you’re looking for something technical in the area.

Segment 4: Wellington Lake Road to Long Gulch
After only 2 miles, you hit wilderness and would have to double back–and that two miles is not very interesting. However, the other side of the wilderness area is excellent. You can have a nice out-and-back ride by starting at the far end of this segment and traveling east to the wilderness boundary.

Segment 5: Long Gulch to Kenosha Pass
This segment begins at a wilderness area boundary, so you’re out of luck there but, like segment 4, starting at the far end and traveling east to the wilderness boundary makes for an excellent ride, this time with spectacular scenery. However, since the next segment provides similar but even better scenery without any detours or out-and-back, you could skip this segment and not miss much.

Sebment 6: Kenosha Pass to Gold Hill Trailhead
An absolute Must do! This is what the CT is all about.

Segment 7: Goldhill Trailhead to Copper Mountain
A very impressive trail! Steep, rugged, unforgiving and more jaw-dropping scenery. Bring plenty of energy food and be prepared for a long day of adventure. Many guides recommend detouring this area on a bike, but it is doable. The detour requires no road as it follows a paved bike path, but that path, while pretty, runs between the east- and west-bound lanes of interstate 70. Why suck exhaust by an interstate highway when you han punish yourself with a real high alpine bike adventure?

Segment 8: Copper Mountain to Tennessee Pass
Similar to Segment 7, but not quite so demanding an adventure. The climb from Copper Mountain to Searle Pass seems longer and steeper than it is, but the scenery is drop-dead gorgeous. This is another Don’t miss.

Segment 9: Tennessee Pass to Hagerman Pass Road
It’s only about seven miles from Tennessee Pass to the Holy Cross Wilderness boundary. It’s still a nice out-and-back if you’ve got the time. In the middle of this segment, this trail emerges from the wilderness for a few miles. It’s worth hitting the trail here just long enough to access the climb up the old railroad grade to Hagerman Tunnel—this is an interesting piece of history and the geography is both unique and beautiful. The singletrack along the north side if Turquoise Lake is also very nice.
http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails … unnel.html

Segment 10: Hagerman Pass Road to Halfmoon Creek
Almost entirely within wilderness—you’ll bypass this segment completely

Segment 11: Halfmoon Creek to Clear Creek Road
This is a nice segment. After the initial climb, most of it goes pretty quick. It does become less interesting past Twin Lakes

Segment 12: Clear Creek Road to North Cottonwood Creek
Another wilderness detour—nothing to ride here.

Segment 13: North Cottonwood Creek to Chalk Creek Trailhead
Skip the first 6 miles because of the wilderness crossing. Pick up the trail at the avalanche trailhead west of Buena Vista for a nice ride to Mt Princeton Hot Springs. The last few miles are on a road and may be skipped.

Segment 14: Chalk Creek Trailhead to US-50
There’s some very nice riding along this segment. The elevation is relatively low throughout, so it can be hot in August.

Segment 15: US 50 to Marshall Pass
This is your day to do the Monarch Crest—that will far more than make up for what little bit of the CT you skip.

Segment 16: Marshall Pass to Sargents Mesa
There’s some more really nice singletrack here. The far end of this segment is only accessible by high clearance vehicles.

Segment 17: Sargents Mesa to Colorado Highway 114
The beginning of this segment is only accessible by high clearance vehicles. You may want to plan the trip so you do segments 16 and 17 on the same day—fortunately, these are two of the easier segments with a total distance of 36 miles and more downhill than up.

Segments 18-21: Colorado Highway 114 to Spring Creek Pass
May as well detour this whole bit due to the La Garita Wilderness. You can access both ends of segment 18, but it’s not that interesting as most of it is doubletrack and the scenery will be far short of what you’ve already seen up to this point.

Segments 22-23: Spring Creek Pass to Rio Grande Reservoir Road
Do these together also—28 miles of great Colorado scenery

Segment 24: Rio Grande Reservoir to Molas Pass
Another full detour due to the Weminuche Wilderness

Segments 25 – 28: Molas Pass to Durango
What a way to finish! All four of these segments offer world-class riding. There’s scenery to die for, high adventure, high alpine singletrack, and a final descent that will leave you grinning for quite some time. At over 75 miles of challenging singletrack, it’s probably too much for one day, even if you’re very strong riders. The intermediate points are best accessed by high clearance vehicles, so you may have a logistical challenge here. There are outfitters in Durango that will provide logistical support for a price.

This may seem like too much info, but hopefully it can help you best plan how to use your limited time.

Okay, Caminoloco — here goes:

(bear in mind I haven’t personally ridden every section. I have hiked most of what I haven’t ridden, though some of it was a long time ago)

Day 1: If you’re fit, strong and ready to take on the altitude, you could open up with the first three segments starting on the edge of Denver and finishing on the far side of the Buffalo Creek area. This would be 38.3 miles with 5,580′ of climbing. A big day to be sure. A good alternative would be to ride segments 1 and 2 on the first day for 26.2 miles with 4,360 of climbing. Then, on the second day, ride segment 3 with a detour through the Buffalo Creek MTB area. If you do this, this map will be a big help: http://www.singletrackmapping.com/Site/ … rails.html

Day 2 or 3: You will have to bypass segments 4 and 5 due to wilderness. Segment 6 is a full day by itself at 32 miles with 4,250′ of climbing. This is one of the greatest rides anywhere, starting at the top of Kenosha Pass, spending a lot of time above treeline, and eventually dropping onto highway 9 just north of Breckenridge. You’ll definitely want to spend some time with your camera on this one.

Day 3 or 4. The next segment is short at 12.5 miles, but has 3,600 ft of climbing, so it’s a day unto itself. If you’re feeling really strong, it’s possible to combine segment 7 with segment 8 (24.4 miles, 4,020ft of climbing) for a total of 36.9 miles with 7,620′ of climbing. Ouch! All this is at high altitude as well, so beware. Spending afternoons above treeline can be dangerous as elecrical storms roll in most afternoons in the summer. The short segment 7 is impressive, but not unlike segments 6 and 8, so skipping this one is an option.

So, here’s what you’ve got,
1. Ride Segment 7 one day and 8 the next if you want to do it all without killing yourself
2. Ride Segment 7 and 8 together if you’re super strong and can get a real early start to minimize your chance of getting caught in a lightning storm. (I once got caught in a hailstorm that turned to snow –in August! – at the high point of section 😎
3. Skip section 7 and ride segment 8.
So, the combination of segments 7 and 8 may take one or two days, so you’ve now completed a total of 4, 5, or 6 days.

Day 5, 6, or 7: You’ll have to bypass segments 9 and 10 due to wilderness. Segment 11 is an easy 20 miles with only 1500’ of climbing and loots more descending. Then segment 12 and the first part of 13 are more wilderness detours. You can pick up segment 13 at the Avalanche trailhead off state highway 306 just west of Buena vista and ride it’s last 15.6 miles, again mostly easy mileage with more downhill than up.

Day 6, 7, or 8: Segment 14 is an even 20 miles with 3,320’ of climbing. After that, segment 15 starts the brutal climb up to the Monarch Crest. Recommend skipping this climb and saving yourself for the next day when you shuttle the Monarch Crest.

Day 7, 8, or 9: Monarch Crest. The classic route runs 38 miles with around 4K feet of climbing but 7K feet of descending. Definitely a must do. Get this map: http://www.peaksnewsnet.com/MountainBik … Crest.html
In addition to a good quality topo map, it has photographs of each trail intersection making it easier to stay on track—there’s a couple places here you don’t want to make a wrong turn as you will drop a few thousand feet of elevation before you realize you’re in the middle of nowhere and have to climb back out.

Day 8, 9, or 10:
Having skipped segment 15 in favor of the Monarch Crest, you’re now ready for segments 16 and 17 which add up to 34.8 miles with 5,520’ of climbing. This is much less interesting trail than what you’ve done so far and could easily be skipped without missing much. On the other hand, if you’re looking for solitude, you’ll find it here—you’re likely to not see another soul the entire day, even on a weekend.

You’ll want to skip segments 18-21 due to Wilderness

Day 8, 9, 10, or 11: You can combine segments 22 and 23 for a nice 28 miler with 4,720’ of climbing. There’s some wonderful, unique geography along this portion of the route. However, some of the access points require a 4X4 to reach them, so you’ll have to assess what you have for shuttle vehicles.

Now comes the hard part. After skipping segment 25 due to Wilderness, segments 25 – 28 are all must rides—some of the best singletrack and scenery in the world here. But it’s 72.4 miles with 9,640’ of climbing on the way. I’m not sure how to break this up—probably segments 25-26 on one day and segments 27-28 on the next day. Again, the access points require a high-clearance vehicle and can be quite rough. There are also outfitters in Durango with 4X4s who will shuttle for a price.

So you’re up to anywhere from 10 – 13 days to cover all the legal trail along the way. You’ll have to figure out what, if anything to skip to meet your time budget.

I’m curious to know where you’re coming from. The reason I ask this is the altitude factor. Doing 5K feet of climbing when you’re starting at sea level, but it’s something else when you’re already starting at 10K feet. No matter how fit you are for home won’t prepare you for here if home doesn’t allow you to train for altitude.

Sounds like you’ve got the best possible plan for the CT, leaving out only the out-and-backs that dead end into Wilderness.

As for the altitude, you seem to have some background that helps you assess your capability. Do bear in mind, that much of the CT is far higher than your route in Canada. There’s a big difference between 6 – 8K feet and 10 – 12K feet. Y’all sound highly fit, so hopefully you’ll be ready. Even though I live at 6,300 feet and ride regularly at high altitude, I know you’d drop me pretty quick on those climbs. Even compared to other Americans, I’m "aerobically challenged!"

As for the Buffalo Creek area, the Gashouse Gulch loop makes a nice addition to your route. Depart the CT ont he Redskin Creek Trail. At the end of Redskin Creek, turn right (east) on Gashouse Gulch, then north on Baldy Trail until it hits the upper part of Gashouse Gulch and go left (south) back to Redskin and then back to the CT. This will add 7.7 miles with moderate climbing. If you’ve really got the legs and lungs left, instead of turning south at Gashouse Gulch, turn nort and take the trails up to Charlies Cutoff to either loop around on Homestead Trail and back down or east to the end of Sandy Wash trail where you can shuttle back to the CT or ride the dirt road (closed to automobiles) with lots of ups and downs along the way. This will all make sense to you if you get the map.

If you’re strong climbers, there won’t be a lot of pushing on segment 7. It’s an aerobic nightmare for me, so I push, but the technical requirements are within my capability–don’t worry, it’s not like your video (which looked like a seriously cool adventure), but it is pretty rocky. The downhill on the west side might slow you down a bit–that’s where I make up time.

If you have to drop one of the days of your Phil’s/Moab/Fruita swing, I’d recommend it be one of the 2 days budgeted for Moab. You could actually do two solid weeks in Moab and not hit everything worth riding, so the difference between one and two days doesn’t mean much as long as you pick the right ride—which most folks would say should be the Porcupine Rim. At that time of year, you could do “The Whole Enchilada” which strings together a group of trails (including the Porcupine Rim) for about 26 miles and 7,000 feet of descending from the high alpine to the desert floor. ! It’s the ultimate Moab experience.

For Phil’s, this map may be helpful: http://www.singletrackmapping.com/Site/ … rails.html
Phil’s is a group of stacked loops with many bail-out options, but you should have no trouble nailing the full 21 miles, especially as you’re down to 6,000 feet and the climbs are all pretty short. The reason I recommend Phil’s is I’ve never seen anybody come away from there without a huge smile on their face. Phil’s does get hot in the summer, so you may want to ride early in the day.

So—a day at Phil’s, then a day at the Whole Enchilada, and a day at Fruita. Fruita has three classic areas, each of which has its devotees. The two most popular are the Book Cliffs (18 Road) area and the Loma Exit (Kokopelli) area. I love both, but I think the scenery and variety at Koko is better. My personal favorite overall, though, is the Lunch Loops (Tabeguache) area by Grand Junction, about 8 miles from Fruita. Check out these links to get a feel for what you may want to do:

Reviews of 18 Road Trails
http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails … rails.html

Reviews of Kokopelli Trails
http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails … rails.html

Reviews of the Lunch Loops:
http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails … uache.html
http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/the-ribbon.html
http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails/holy-cross.html

Check out this site for some great Fruita videos you can download. This will give you a good feel for if you want to ride Fruita and, if so, which area to hit on your one day there.
http://www.petefagerlin.com/covid.htm

If you pull this off, we’ll be expecting a trip report, preferably with photos! 😎