133 days. 5,000+ miles. More than 300,000 feet of climbing. And just 71 miles to go. Make that 69.4 miles; he’s literally rolling toward the finish as I draft this.
Kurt Refsnider is less than 70 miles from San Jose del Cabo in Baja, Mexico, the end of his journey to become the first to ride the entire Orogenesis route. On August 4, Refsnider set off from the US/Canada border near Oroville, Washington, and he’s been relentlessly chasing the finish ever since.
Hot temperatures and desert rains make for challenging conditions in Baja
Though Refsnider tells Singletracks over email that the weather hasn’t really affected his pace overall, the north-to-south route has him caught in a perpetual summer.
“Weather hasn’t really impacted progress aside from what feels like a lot of hot days being a little extra draining. It feels like it’s been a particularly hot few months,” he said.
Refsnider is joined by partner Claire for the 1,500-mile+ Baja peninsula, and they, along with friend Diego Marin, encountered sticky conditions there that nearly stopped them in their tracks
“The longest stretch of remote riding on the Baja Divide section of Orogenesis is south of Catavina — three days without resupply or water options,” he said. “A series of deluges over two days found us! Our progress slowed to a crawl on the first day of rain, and on the second, we simply gave up at 9am after covering just four miles in three hours. Fortunately, the sun came out the following day and started to dry things out so that we didn’t have to stretch our rations for more than one extra unplanned day.”
Is the Orogenesis the next Great Divide route?
It’s hard not to try to compare the Orogenesis trail with the more established and better known Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which stretches 2,700 miles from Banff, Canada, to the US/Mexico border across the Rocky Mountains. Aside from the fact that the Orogenesis route is nearly twice as long, they are very different routes.
“The singletrack-heavy U.S. section of Orogenesis is more akin to Arizona Trail and Colorado Trail style riding, albeit a little more raw given all the miles on lesser-traveled trails and with much more climbing mile-for-mile,” Refsnider says. However, he notes the Orogensis isn’t nearly as difficult as the Continental Divide Trail, which Refsnider completed in 2023.
Will the Orogenesis Trail ever attract a field of bikepacking racers like the Great Divide route does each year? Perhaps, though Refsnider says he won’t be lining up at the start.
“But I’d love to see how fast others could go on the route (Miron Golfman, I’m looking at you!),” he said.
For riders who aren’t up for riding the whole route, but who want to experience parts of the Orogenesis, Refsnider notes there are a dozen or more two- to three-day segments that are worthwhile, particularly in Washington and in the area around Truckee, California. His Instagram feed is a good place to start for ride inspiration.
The finish line
As Refsnider rounds the eastern edge of Baja this week, he’s got a slight tailwind, which promises a quick finish to a long ride. And then what?
“I’m really looking forward to some lazy mornings on the porch drinking coffee and relishing being stationary,” he said. Unfortunately, that will have to wait as there are logistics to unwind following nearly five months on the trail, from retrieving his van and driving it home to Arizona to reconnecting with family for the holidays.
“Closing out long journeys like this always brings a wave of emotions, figuring out what it means takes time, and I always feel compelled to figure out ways to give back after what feel like rather selfish solo pursuits.”
Update: According to TrackLeaders, Refsnider completed the Orogenesis route on Wednesday, December 17. As the first to ride the full route, this establishes the fastest known time at 135 days, 0 hours, and 38 minutes. We’ll add additional details once we are able to confirm.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated that Refsnider was the first to complete the Continental Divide Trail by bike. In fact Scott Morris and Eszter Horanyi were the first to do so.
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Dec 17, 2025