Here is a brief overview of the trip from Vince with some photographs! For context it was the last scheduled trip of the Hut season and what followed was a surprisingly challenging few days of inclement weather and soggy trails. But, it was worth it!
The San Juan Hut route is a well crafted route linking the Colorado Trail Route (CTR), forest service roads, remote gravel roads and jeep trail, all interspersed with glorious bits of singletrack. The route connects a series of small warming huts where riders can stay the night, ready bikes for the next day, fill their bellies and take in a warm fire. The days that followed were filled with long climbs, scenic views and some high speed techy jeep road descents.
Vince was riding his Chumba Sendero Titanium, and Andrew was riding a Steel Sendero.
Day one we were met with snow that followed us up to the top of the Colorado Trail out of Molas Pass. Nearing the final climb out of Molas, turning pedals over slippery rocks and crunching a few inches of fresh snow under my tires, I remarked at one point (knowing well that we had a cozy cabin awaiting us) “Isn’t this amazing!” to which another rider side eyed me and said, “No, this is crazy!!”. Without the cabin ahead I likely would have not ridden in those conditions. This was for fun, ya know! It was a great chance to test gear and bikepacking strategies with a new home base waiting each day.
All of the cabins were fully stocked with tasty ingredients to make everything from fresh eggs and bacon for breakfast, locally grown fruit and veg, couple big blocks of cheese. Snacks galore. All the things! Scratch labs restocks for the next day, and if you paid for it… craft beers. Serious bikepack glamping no doubt! A spoiled bunch we were. Still temps and conditions were challenging, so while our gear was much lighter then normal, we carried a lot of cold weather gear. Snow on day one and the night of day 2. Rain through days 2 and 3. It kept us on our toes and it made the huts really worth it. Once out of the challenging conditions we enjoyed some nice food and the warmth of a wood fire stove filled with damp twigs. An hour later a nice roaring fire to dry out our damp socks. Some of our crew at times was so cold I spied one of them embracing the chimney to try and warm up.
Each morning Andrew warmed water on the stove for everyone, coffee first, then we defrosted all the frozen mud in everyone’s drivetrains while the crew made ready the cabin for the next tenants. Some fresh chain lube, some creative solutions for full suspension woes and we were back on the trail each day. The starts were cold and at the beginning of day 3, spirits were ranging from, “what the @#$! did I sign up for” to “I can’t wait for another cast iron peach cobbler tonight”, so I surprised the group during a photo with some stick on moustaches I had stashed for just this occasion. After that it was a race to see who could keep theirs on the longest through the ride!
Day four things warmed up, the rain layers and dishwasher gloves came off and we were back to riding so primo dirt and gravel!
The route was a blast. The crew was a motley one, made up of first time bikepackers, beginner to experienced mountain bikers, a seasoned ultraracer, and me following along with a camera and candy bars. A few riders turned back after day one, a few newer riders trudged on and gained a lot of experience. For some it was their longest days on the bike, pushing through their limits to create new ones. For all of us the trip was a great accomplishment. This late in the season I would not recommend bringing people for their first bikepacking trip. Earlier in the season, with better weather, the route would clearly be an awesome icebreaker into multi-day bikepacking for newer riders and a real vacation vibe for those more seasoned.
Thanks to Kevin for the invite and letting Andrew and I use those free extra spots, it was a real treat! Thanks to the San Juan Hut to Hut service for setting up a stellar route, leaving in the climbs and all the tasty treats! - Vince Colvin, Partner/Designer/Ops @ Chumba USA
