Backyard Bikepacking

Colorado trail race fever. Peter and I headed out on a backyard bikepacking mission this past weekend. We were both fully loaded for self support. 2 days 1 night, but cheated by staying at the Guinn Mtn Hut near Rollins Pass. All said and done 105 miles annd 16000+ft of climbing. Yeah I know staying at the hut is not really bikepacking. That's the problem with doing this stuff in your backyard. You know all the stops to sleep, eat, and rest. Along the way we hit Sundance in Ned, and the Millsite in Ward. Damn that pizza was good. Went thru a ton of water, but the beauty of this route is there are plenty of water sources along the way. It was pump filter vs. steripen. The pump filter won overall but steripen tastes great. We used upper jenny creek and Four Mile Creek along Sourdough among others. Upper Jenny Creek right where the Guinn Mtn trail ends had the best water. We had a great time and what better way to sort out your gear for a big bike packing mission such as the Colorado trail one day.


Had my 40 F sleeping bag and a hennesy hammock strapped to my bars and duc. Another benefit of the duc 32 fork- additional surface area for strapping gear up front. Hammock fit nicely I thought. Approx. 4 lbs. of gear on front and 25 lbs. on my back. It takes some getting use to the additional momentum (energy) required to make it thru dab free up technical trail. I found my set-up enjoyable on the descents. Even with the carrying most of the weight on my back I experienced no back issues. However, my ass was sore at the end of day 2. Unsure if it was weight in pack compunded by tires that were inflated to 45 psi for all the climbing on day 1?

Here's Peter descending in Ned. These trails were open due to the Xterra triathlon being held at Eldora this weekend utilizing the Eldora XC ski trails. As you can see Peter had a similar strategy - some weight up front but most weight was carried on back. Peter even brought a pot in there which we used to cook some oatmeal day 2 morn.


My water purification treatment center. I found Peter's water filtration pump to be superior. Although the steripen scores points on size , weight, and quality taste. The time required to make up 2L was excessive. The time that Peter could make 2L of water I had only completed 0.5L with my steripen.

Near the top of Guinn Mtn.

Guinn mtn hut deck. The hut only requires a donation for usage either volunteer time or money. We left $5.

Kickin back after a long day in the saddle.

Woke up made a huge pot of oatmeal for breakfast. Started the long way back home down Guinn Mtn Trail. All the Tuesday night redstoners would have loved this trail albeit short.

Top of caribou 505. I was pleasantly surprised, the climb up 505 was not as bad as I remembered. Even with slightly fatigued legs my Turner 29er sultan powered thru the steep babyhead sections.

Day 1:Boulder>Flagstaff>Magnolia>Ned Trails>Guinn Mtn

Day 2: Guinn Mtn Trail>Jenny Creek>Caribou 505>Sourdough>Jamestown Massacre>Boulder

This was a fun loop and not the original route we set out to accomplish. Now knowing about the Guinn Mtn Hut we see additional possibilities for multi-day rides while carrying minimal gear.
We look forward to riding up to the hut again. Thank you hutmeister.