I spent the past 5 hours preparing the bike and finally it’s ready to go. I’m guessing that the final weight of the bike is something around 70 pounds. Although this will substantially decrease as I exhaust all the food and fuel I’ve been hoarding, the first 12 miles up to Hoosier Pass (which happen to be 2200 feet uphill) are going to totally suck. Fortunately the next 70 will just be ripping down mountains and steady coasting until I reach Buena Vista.
I am hoping to leave early tomorrow morning and reach Buena Vista by late afternoon. If I end up being too exhausted I plan on posting up somewhere around Fairplay. Once I’m in Buena Vista, I’ll spend at least two days off my bike hiking the fourteeners Princeton and Antero if my legs are up for it before continuing south past Salida to Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Once I’m in the dunes I plan to chill nice and easy and work up some sun tolerance for the desert. I’d like to spend at least one day in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range hiking Blanca Peak, which will mark my 10th ascent over 14,000 feet.
I will then head west to Durango where I will be taking my Wilderness First Responder rectification April 19th – 20th. Then I’ll be off to the desert and canyons of Utah.
Next time I post I’ll be on the road!
Here’s my packing list for those who are interested:
Gear
– Surly Long Haul
+ Shoes
+ Helmet
+ Spare parts + tubes
+ Tools + Patch kit
– Camelback Backpack (waterproofed)
– Iodine Tablets
– 30 Degree sleeping bag
– Big Agnes Sleeping Pad
– Waterproof Tarp
– MSR Pocket Rocket Stove + Fuel
– Cooking Pot + spork
– Fry/bake
– Outdoor Research Alpine Bivy
– Asolo Boots
– Drom
– Black Diamond Headlamp
– Biking Multitool + Leatherman
– First Aid Kit
– Hand sanitizer
– Camelback
– Flask
Clothing
– Under armor base layer
– Climbing pants
– Exercise shorts x3
– Padded Biking shorts
– Waterproof jacket
– Nano-puffy
– Synthetic Hat
– Buff
– Gloves
– Sunglasses
– Biking socks x3
– Wool socks x3
– Synthetic tank top
Misc
– Phone + charger
– Wallet
– Headphones
– Batteries for headlamp
– Trashbags for waterproofing
– Contacts + Solution
– Glasses
– Dr. Bronners
– Lighters
– Toothbrush + toothpaste
– Repair Tape
– Flint Stick
– Waterbottle x3
– Chafe powder
– Sunscreen
– Lip balm
– A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones
Food
– 5 Mountain House Dinners
– 2 Mountain House Breakfast
– 24 Almond Nature Valley Bars (160)
– 5 Protein NV Bars (190)
– 42 Peanut Butter NV Bars (90)
– 5 O+H NV Bars (90)
– 3 DCC NV Bars (140)
– 1 DCPB NV Bar (190)
– 7 Oatmeal Packets
– 12 day vitamin supplements
– Jolly Ranchers
– Peanuts
– Pistacheos
– Protein powder
Haulin' Hobo 