Check out our hut trip!

We just completed the Durango-to-Moab Hut Trip. 240-miles in 7 days.  It's supposed to be 215-miles but we made up a few of our own 'alternate' routes :) Had a blast! Perfect weather, not a rain drop and hardly a cloud in the sky. No mechanicals, no injuries, no dehydration, no muddy trails, no wildlife encounters unless you count marching ants and the occasional Hut Mouse. Visit Day One - Seven in our blog archives.

Kristin

Emma

Suzanne

Durango-to-Moab Mountain Bike Adventure - DAY ONE 8-6-11

Day One. We are so excited! A true alpine start at 8:15AM (ha ha) anticipating perfect weather. That's exactly what we got. Not a cloud in the sky and warm enough for t-shirts. Took the more challenging alternate route on the Colorado Trail in search of single-track. It was lovely! 20 miles, mostly uphill, over the pass at 12K feet, down and back up again. A near-miss mechanical when Suzanne's derailleur was acting up, but Emma saved the day. Kristin, in charge of first aid, administered advil to a very grateful cyclist. The hills and altitude were challenging, especially getting used to carrying the extra weight.

Little Molas Lake Trailhead.  Start of Adventure at the Colorado Trail/San Juans.

Wildflowers were unbelievable!

Emma riding in alpine.  Goal is to crest over 12K feet.

Close to the other side of the pass.  Emma and Suzanne stop for photo.

Kristin on the downhill. 

We're here!  Emma at first hut.

Durango-to-Moab Mountain Bike Adventure - DAY TWO 8-7-11

Day two can be described as roads, roads, roads. We didn't take the alternate route - big mistake, as it skirted the wilderness area and looked gorgeous. However, we had a nice visit at a private town and lovely creek swim.

Solio solar charger critical for charging Kristin's GPS watch.

And we're off!  Suzanne riding the road.  Did we mention there are a lot of these?

Emma taking a break after a big climb.

Private town -for paying guest only.  However, we received excellent service from Beau Jo, the mountain bike guide.

Day two Hut arrrival.  Emma and Suzanne.

Durango-to-Moab Mountain Bike Adventure - DAY THREE 8-8-11

Day three started with breakfast sans eggs, bacon or chocolate. That's OK. We had a screamin' downhill ahead of us and a swim in Miremonte Reservoir in our future. With the disappointment of Day Two's 'road-ride', we decided to make up our own 'alternate ride' for the day. Suzanne and Kristin mapped out a single-track alternative using the topo. It was a risk that didn't pan out (see 'closed trail' photo) but was a fun, 6-mile detour and a highlight of the day.

Kristin, Suzanne and Emma.  Miramonte Reservoir in the background.

 Gorgeous scenery.

Kristin standing next to the 'closed' trail sign.  No single-track today.

Emma heading for a swim.

The water was cool and refreshing.

Kristin liked to show off her sandles to Emma who was traveling light and only brought her Sidi's.

Suzanne takes the lead into the headwind.  The refreshment of the swim was short-lived but rewarded with a fast downhill.

Durango-to-Moab Mountain Bike Adventure - DAY FOUR 8-8-11

Day Four. We were definitely taking all three alternate routes today! Saw our first (and last) cow elk when leaving the hut. The first 9 miles were "easy-peesy" downhill all the way to the Basin Store where we indulged in coconut-cream pie (Suzanne), vanilla ice-cream (Emma) and a cinnamon roll (Kristin) at 10AM. They were "expecting us" and complimented us on keeping our gear to a minimum (22-26 lbs each, Emma with the lightest gear) Air conditioning was bliss! Had cell reception too. Back on the paved road to the 'gas road' alternate. Funky little single-track marked with cairns led us to the gas roads. OK, so we got a little lost on the gas roads. What the heck is a "large, green 6" pipe protection" anyway? Oh, it was that thing that Emma was sitting on while Suzanne and Kristin were so-called navigating. Kristin eventually found a nub of surveyors' tape trapped in a shrub and off we went. We had a water party at the Mexico Mine, thank you San Juan Huts for the water stash. We needed it. By the end of the day, Kristin had gone through over 200 ounces of fluids and Suzanne accidentally poured Cytomax on her head to cool down. As usual, Emma was plenty of water to spare.

Sand flats.

Emma checks out old car on side of trail.

Suzanne poses by a cairn.  Faint bike tracks in the sand, cairns and nubs of  old surveyor's tape were navigational tool.  Thank goodness for the Garmin.

Cool alternate route.  

Beautiful, stark terrian.

Emma wastes water while Suzanne reads the route.

Rocky point.

Sunset at Wedding Bell Hut.  Day Four destination.

Durango-to-Moab Mountain Bike Adventure - DAY FIVE 8-9-11

On Day Five we reluctantly left the outstanding views from the Wedding Bell hut. Suzanne's attempt to catch the lone Hut Mouse failed in the night. Sleep was minimal for all, but that's OK. We were fired up and ready to go. The ride through Davis Mesa was awesome! At the end, we took a 45-minute nap at Bedrock on the porch of the country store. It was so quiet and pleasant. Sad about the lack of a cold beverage but Kristin managed to score a couple drinks from passersby. Our hut was 1/10th mile past the local Bed and Breakfast, so what-the-heck, we stopped in to see if we could purchase an icy drink. Relaxed on the irrigated green grass, 100 degrees in the shade. Alas, no one home. Rode onto the hut - more fantastic views. Doused marching ants with rubbing alcohol before they consumed all the open food. Great game of Phase 10 - it became a nightly ritual.

View from the Wedding Bell Hut early on Day Five.  Looks out over the Delores River.

Bye bye Wedding Bell Hut.  Onto Paradox Hut.

Reluctant to leave Wedding Bell Hut - Kristin, Emma, Suzanne

Plenty of old uranium mines along the route.  Emma shoots photos and Suzanne checks our route.

Top of big climb looking out over Davis Mesa. Kristin stops to shoot photos of the Emma and Suzanne riding uphill.

Emma cresting the hill. Cheered on by employees from the Dept of Energy working on a uranium mining EIS.

Kristin relaxes and enjoys the views of Davis Mesa and Paradox Valley beyond.

Super fun downhill two-track on Davis Mesa to a single-track leading to the down climb.  And I mean DOWN.

After an arduous hike-a-bike downhill, we stopped for a cold beverage at this store.  Unfortunately, the store was for sale.  We scored a diet coke and cold bottled water from tourists.

Looking out over Paradox Valley.  Absolutely spectacular!

90+ degrees in the shade down here.  What do you expect for August?

Riding into Paradox Valley.

Durango-to-Moab Mountain Bike Adventure - DAY SIX 8-10-11

Day Six started with an accidental cumin-n-sugar toast breakfast (it looked like cinnamon...).  Peanut butter toast for Emma and Suzanne opted for canned beef stew to propel her up the 24-mile climb up into the La Sals.   We were psyched to get back to cooler temps and looking forward to the climb. IPods were a must as we climbed up, up, up. Happy to see pine forests and Buckeye Reservoir. Took a cool, mountain creek swim as we entered Redd Ranch.  Climbed up, up further into Redd Ranch, watched for cairns and then finally...our Geyser Pass Hut. Guess what? Our hut had eggs, bacon, cheese and butter! And the best views yet! You know those gigantic tractor tires with spring-fed water? Perfect swimming pools! After our swim, we crashed out on blankets surrounded by mountain peaks.  Six days of perfect weather.

Durango-to-Moab Mountain Bike Adventure - DAY SEVEN 8-11-11

Day Seven.  Breakfast was amazing!!  French toast, a pound of bacon, eggs, and beans on toast.  We actually got up early so we could ride down to Moab and have a celebratory lunch in town before meeting our shuttle ride back to Durango at 3:30PM.  Directions said to "go back out to where you came from the day before" and even described the 3.8 miles we had traveled...  OK, so we got lost again.  For a couple hours.  The topo maps showed us the way but we had tunnel-vision and insisted on following the bazaar directions (lots of errors in mileage for day 7 on San Juan Hut's behalf, by the way.)  After 10 miles of route-searching, Suzanne offered $20 to a ranch hand to drive us back to the Geyser Hut.  Kristin refused the ride, claiming that she was a "purist" and took off pedaling.  Emma, who had been dreaming of a flat-bed pickup, hopped right in.  3.8 steep miles later, the Thin Mints met up again and finally headed in the right direction over Geyser Pass.  Time was ticking but we were opting for the single-track alternate route (of course!)  The alternate was nice but time was ticking FAST.  Porcupine Rim alternate was out of the question now.  Would we even make the shuttle? What we thought was a 24-mile day actually turned out to be a 45-mile ride for Suzanne and Emma and a 48.8-mile ride for Kristin.  We bombed downhill and sent Emma ahead, as the fastest downhiller, to meet our shuttle in Moab.  We were 10-minutes late and it was 105 degrees.  But we made it!
If we were to do it all over again?  I'd push for the 5-day option.  Kick in a couple 40+ miles days by combining a few huts and push the limits.  Of course, less-than-perfect weather could be less-than-appealing.  What's next???

Alternate single track at top of Geyser Pass

Suzanne seriously upgraded our accommodations for the last night at Durango Mountain Resort.