multi day, singletrack, without carring gear?

[mntlion]

Looking for some summer ride ideas.

looking for a multi day, mostly singletrack (mnt bike, not bike touring/packing) where the gear is shuttled from point to point daily. Dont need it guided, and prefer to set up my own small group. Not fussed if its camping or hut based.

I have ridden the N Dakota MHD trial a few times using https://www.dakotacyclery.com/shuttles. Its great at 150 miles and just about all single track. Also a "fun" day ride on the 100 mile version

Thinking about https://aquariustrail.com/ as well. Some cool terrain to see, and they provide all the food etc.

Any other options that folks have read about or done?

[smmokan]

I have friends that did the Aquarius system last year and said it was super fun.

There's also the Kokopelli Trail from Fruita to Moab, although most isn't singletrack.
Colorado Trail point to point near Durango, supported by Hermosa Tours.

There's also a ton of options where you could stay in one location and do a big ride each day, either self-supported or supported by local shuttles/guides. But most of those are not P2P.

[mntlion]

Hermosa Tours looks like a good option for what we want....

[Falcon3]

North Umpqua is super fun. IMBA Epic (if that means anything to you), lots of camping around, guide company drives your rig from camp site to camp site so you have all your stuff.

[toast2266]

Go to Europe and ride from refuge to refuge? Food and bedding is provided, so you don't need to carry much with you.

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[evdog]

North Umpqua is super fun. IMBA Epic (if that means anything to you), lots of camping around, guide company drives your rig from camp site to camp site so you have all your stuff.

IMBA doesn't know what the word Epic means anymore : ) Unfortunately most of Umpqua isn't open right now due to fire damage and/or closures from a few different fires. I think Dread & Terror is about the only section you can ride, and it had a bunch of deadfall in 2022 when I rode it.


The main tour companies I know of (Hermosa, Cogwild, Western Spirit) each offer either custom private trips or self-guided tours where they will ferry camping gear and food/kitchen setup. And have a pretty good selection of destinations across the west. I'm sure there are tour companies in other locations as well if you ask around. Or better, pay a friend or group member's significant other to ferry gear for you, probably for a lot less $$$ and be able to make up your own route and itinerary. Hut to hut trips like Durango/Telluride to Moab are another option to consider but I think you need to carry a bit more gear for those, like sleeping bag and non-riding clothing.

Personally I don't think the self guided tours are a good value. Mainly because the daily mileage tends to be on the short side. I guess that appeals to a lot of riders but it would drive me nuts being on vacation and not getting the most of it by riding longer days. The way self guided tours are set up, you can't just get in the car and drive to a brewery or see any other sights after the ride. You're stuck the rest of the day at wherever their camp is, if there aren't other trails nearby to ride. And the routes tend to be designed around popular trails (looking at you Hermosa Creek Trail), not quality routes. Most of these are routes have simple logistics that you could easily self shuttle, especially when you are only riding for 4-5 hours/day. Just doesn't make sense to me to pay for this.

For me these sort of tours would only make sense in places where logistics are difficult enough to make self shuttling a PITA. Something like Colorado Trail from Lake City CO to Silverton and then to Durango. Lake City to Silverton is a heinous shuttle and that trail would be much easier unloaded than bikepacking, and shuttling between Silverton to Bolam, Kennebec and Durango are long-ass drives. But instead, Hermosa offers you the Colorado Trail from Salida to Lake City, which includes riding the only fun singletrack (Fooses) in the wrong direction, sucky Sargeants Mesa, and then the 70 mile dirt road detour around the La Garita Wilderness. I am seriously bummed for anyone who pays $600 to ride this section - it's the worst part of the whole CT.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I have some friends who did the Black Canyon Trail with Hermosa. It was about $400 per person for a 70 mile trip over 3 days. They loved it. I told them I would have shuttled them for $200 each. If you liked doing MDH 100 mile in a day, I'd guess you'll be happier setting up a custom trip than doing 20-25miles/day on any of the pre-planned routes.

[smmokan]

Wait, you don’t like Hermosa Creek?

[XXX-er]

Go to Europe and ride from refuge to refuge? Food and bedding is provided, so you don't need to carry much with you.

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I did the camino in spain 3 wks/ 800kms in september cheap accommodations/ cheap food , it was like 25-30C keep in sept which is OK but keep in mind during the summer its 40C so you probably wana do this kind of thing end of september in spain or portugal,

I've ridden France in august and its ok for summer cuz its further north

[bennymac]

South Chilcotins (north of Whistler). You can pedal into the park or get flown in by float plane.

Can easily arrange to stay at various horse camps that can provide meals (cooked breakfast/packed lunch/cooked dinner/beers etc) and provide wall tents and beds to sleep in.

You can have camping gear moved around by horse packers to sites where there aren’t camps.

Tons and tons of trip reports and pinkbike videos/photo essays out there. Legit singletrack on horse trails - mix of adventurous riding and fun climbs and descents.

LeeLau has lots of trip reports posted with valuable beta. Can make up your own routes and trip lengths.

[joetron]

[emoji638]][emoji640][emoji639]][emoji637][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji640]][emoji638][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji637]]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]][emoji640]]Wait, you don’t like Hermosa Creek?

Can’t tell if serious.

@evdog I don’t think Hermosa Tours structures any multi-day tours around Hermosa Creek, wouldn’t make sense.

I did see Hermosa Tours crew camped up on the CT at the [emoji637]/[emoji638]way point btwn Molas and Durango this September, so I think they still offer some options up there. I’d just contact them and ask.

Heck, I might even shuttle some gear around the San Juans for a few days if the price is right. lol.



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[smmokan]

Not serious… it’s a shit trail these days, especially when it’s hot.

[joetron]

[emoji638]][emoji640][emoji639]][emoji637][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji640]][emoji639][emoji638][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640]]Not serious… it’s a shit trail these days, especially when it’s hot.

Ok, phew.


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[t.odd]

South Chilcotins (north of Whistler). You can pedal into the park or get flown in by float plane.

Can easily arrange to stay at various horse camps that can provide meals (cooked breakfast/packed lunch/cooked dinner/beers etc) and provide wall tents and beds to sleep in.

You can have camping gear moved around by horse packers to sites where there aren’t camps.

Tons and tons of trip reports and pinkbike videos/photo essays out there. Legit singletrack on horse trails - mix of adventurous riding and fun climbs and descents.

LeeLau has lots of trip reports posted with valuable beta. Can make up your own routes and trip lengths.

SCMP is my mtb spiritual homeland, so amazing.

https://www.tyaxadventures.com/ if you're interested in camp to camp supported or guided, or float plane drops

[XXX-er]

I know an ultra runner who did one of those with a group of ultras, the pilot said yeah my plane can't carry the group and gear, buddy said we are all skinny and will only have 3 lbs of gear

[evdog]

@evdog I don’t think Hermosa Tours structures any multi-day tours around Hermosa Creek, wouldn’t make sense.

I had been looking at their Telluride to Durango trip, which runs on Deep Creek, East Fork, CT, and then drops down to Hermosa. Looking again they have Molas to Durango that follows the CT all the way, as it should. Both over 4 days.

In their defense I guess if you're committing to a trip like these far in advance you don't want customers stuck pedaling long miles to a pre-determined campsite if the weather turns to shit. That's why I prefer bikepacking. I can pull over and camp whenever I want to whether that be due to tired legs or bad weather.

As for Hermosa I have never understood why it ever became popular, aside from the fact there is a commercial shuttle and they advertise for it. On my first trip to Durango of course I wanted to ride it. Set up a point to point with a friend, I think we went up Cascade Creek to CT, around that to Corral and then the plan was to ride out Hermosa to the campground where I was camped. When we got to the bottom of Corral my friend decided she'd rather just ride the road back to her car than ride Hermosa. After riding it myself, I couldn't blame her.