This fall, I completed the highly un-coveted triple-crown of the Colorado trail. Upon completion of the mountain bike route, I have now skied, hiked, and biked the CT (a majority of the trail I have actually hiked twice where it follows the CDT)! While this achievement came more out of happenstance than predetermination, it has made for several incredible trips and inspired me to a lifetime of adventure. Living in Colorado, the access to the trail and the beauty that it boasts has kept it calling to me for the past couple years, and indeed, my time on trail has only strengthened my desire to return to it. I feel lucky to be able to spend the time on these adventures and look forward to many more to come!
See below: my trip report from my mountain bike trip finishing with a short thought on how the experience compared to skiing and hiking.
My close friend Matt happened to be coming to Denver for an appointment the day I was heading out to start mountain biking the CT, and graciously drove me to the trailhead on his way out. I had spent the two days prior in Denver prepping for the outing: sewing bags, packing food, and setting up my bike for bikepacking and I was excited to start my trip.
We got to the trailhead around seven, and after a few quick pictures, I started off to make it to my first campsite before dark. I rode only ten miles, and found a campsite next to a thru hiker on his first night of his trip as well. Set up and tear down at my first camp was slower than I was accustomed. When I’m backpacking, I know exactly how and where everything goes in my pack, but beyond a short trip in New Mexico I hadn’t done much bikepacking. Besides, the setup I was using was significantly different that what I had used on my one other trip, and I found it slow going to get in and out of camp the first few days.
My first full day on trail was one of the longest days I had ever done on a mountain bike at that point, and the scorching heat through the hot and dry terrain on the north end of the trail left me exhausted by the time I made camp at Goose Creek on the Lost Creek Wilderness detour (the bike route omits all the wilderness areas on trail, resulting in several “detours” to the hiking trail).
The next day, I woke up still fatigued from the heat exhaustion I had experienced the day prior, but invigorated by the racers that were riding past in the other direction. The Colorado Trail Race had started in Durango, and the fast racers were now getting close to finishing, many of them traveling the 527 miles in less than six days. I waved and cheered as they rode past me and I found solace and excitement in those brief interactions.
I was continually impressed by the quality of the mountain biking especially on my birthday when I descended the ten mile range, rode up and over Searle and Kokomo pass, and down to Leadville where Mark met me to have a little celebration dinner with Matt. Mark met up with me the next few days as the trail weaved across highways and trailheads in the Arkansas valley. I took an afternoon off when I got to Monarch pass because I was getting some painful tendonitis in my right knee. Some friends of mine in the area kindly let me stay at their house and when I started riding early the next morning, my knee was feeling much better.
As I continued on toward Durango, my knees continued to feel strong, and the last few days I woke up with more energy than I had felt early on.
The majority of the trail, I saw dry and relatively easy riding weather, but as I approached the end of my ride, I encountered a few alpine thunderstorms. Thankfully I was below tree line for the most impressive downpour, but I got to camp my last night on trail cold, wet, and covered in mud. Despite the sloppy trail, the rain made for a beautiful evening, and I enjoyed the views near Kennebec pass.
I was only about 20 miles from the terminus of the trail on my last day, and while the first few miles were cold and challenging for me, the whole of the day was almost all downhill and was fun riding. I lost my phone somewhere early in the day (I left my pocket unzipped), so when I arrived in Durango I borrowed a strangers phone to reach my friend Oona with whom I would be staying. She gave me directions to her place and the next day someone turned by phone in to the Durango visitor center and I was able to get it back. Mark drove down to Durango and he Oona and I spent the day in Durango together.
Mountain biking the trail was definitely the easiest of the three traverses, especially given how accessible it felt compared to skiing; eleven days to complete the trail felt like a breeze compared to the 27 we spent in spring snow with heavy packs last April. Regardless, I would ski, hike or bike the CT again any time, and indeed, I look forward to the opportunity to do so in the future. I am so thankful to spend my days out here and to all those people who make it possible!