Upcoming Trips

I guess it’s time I finally bought one of these things:

I’ve rolled the dice and only lost once, and I feel damn lucky that my one major incident happened five minutes from my house.

But over Spring Break, I’m gonna get relatively “out there” by myself and do a couple of days on the Sheltowee Trace in Kentucky. Somewhere around here:

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7018055/sheltowee-trace-nrt-section-20

and here:

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7027881/sheltowee-trace-nrt-section-25

Hopefully, I don’t get rained on or chased by dogs again.

I ought to bikepack those sections. Afterall, I religiously read bikepacker.com every day at lunch, which makes me an official bikepacker. But so far, I’ve only done one real bikepacking trip:

A three-day excursion in northern Michigan. This was a campsite along the Big Manistee, complete with a bald eagle nest on the other side of the river, and a pair of beavers who woke me occasionally with their territorial tail slappings on the water.

This summer, it’s another trip to the San Juan mountains of southwest Colorado. Last time was Hermosa Creek and a failed bikepacking trip from Silverton to Durango on the Colorado Trail.

This time, my son Adam and I will be riding near Creede the first couple of days:

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/5862398/snow-mesa-to-miners-creek

and a modified version of sections 22 and 23 of the CT:

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7011129/ct-segment-22-spring-creek-pass-to-carson-saddle

https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7011130/ct-segment-23-carson-saddle-to-stony-pass

Then:

Something from sections 25-28, Molas Pass to Durango. All shuttles will be provided by my lovely wife, who will be attending a writer/riders conference with one of her favorite authors near the Great Sand Dunes National Park the following week.

I discovered this while searching for places to stay:

https://hinsdalehauteroute.com/yurt/yurt-detail/1

It should provide us with access to the CT and a glorious place to view the San Juans after a long day in the saddle. I think the inReach will come in handy if things get weird.

Hopefully, I’ll have one of these by then:

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/mountain-bikes/electric-mountain-bikes/fuel-exe/fuel-exe-9-7/p/36365/

An ebike will serve me well in retirement. So would one of these: https://stealthcraftboats.com/stealthcraft/ransom/

Only 42 work days left!!!!!!