Plan B:  Redington, Haul Road to Control Road, back UP to Oracle Ridge #1, then down.

Just to verify, the Haul Road is 4450, right? I was figuring that would be the best reroute, as painful as it might be. Adam and I were joking while watching the news that we would have to climb the control road just to take the ridge back down. Hopefully it doesn't come to that!

From the top of Redington, around the mountain, up the haul road and control road to the oracle ridge trailhead...that's about 60ish miles?

Molino fire Catalina highway closed. Man this year is the perfect storm of bad luck.

Nearly simultaneous! And yeah, this year is nuts.

Fire up on Molino now. Local Tucson news says Catalina Hwy currently closed from bottom to milepost 7. Will have to keep an eye out.

Wondering what the level of safety/hazard leaving a vehicle at picketpost parking lot vs. parking in superior?

I think it's fine leaving it at Picketpost, lots of people do it. Others might have better info, but I've never had a problem leaving my truck at the trailhead when I'm out that way. And who knows, Superior locals can be of the old mining-town-don't-tread-on-me sort, and you might not want to accidentally park it somewhere in town it's not wanted!

In other news, I really hope it cools off before April. It's hot down here right now (I say to all of you covered in feet of snow, I know I know). I did Sonoita to I-10 on Sunday and an out-and-back yesterday from Gabe Zimmerman to the road detour near Saguaro NP. Really beautiful, but HOT. Not jealous of that ITTer going off this weekend.

For those of you in snow right now, here is some trail stoke of sunnier days to come:

I know, marmots ARE scary...

Don't joke, Joey! I had one walk away with my jetboil once. He managed to get it halfway down a hole into his stupid little marmot den before getting it stuck in some roots. I could've gone DAYS without coffee and oatmeal. Still bite marks all over the lid and neoprene sleeve.

I'm not NOT gonna maybe do the CT(R) this year. I had an interview in DGO last week (I heard you were getting your wisdom teeth yanked!), and if the interview went as well as I think it might've, I'll be up there anyway (woo). As long as I can maintain some level of fitness after the AZTR, and if timing works out, I think I might go for it.

Hell Yeah!

It's all your fault, Adam.

Longtime bikepacker, first time racer. Getting the setup all dialed in now. UA has spring break next week, which means no teaching, which means I'll hopefully get a couple days on the trail. Score!

Probably going Sonoita to Oracle (with control road instead of THE RIDGE). Day rode Tiger Mine to Freeman a couple weeks ago and looped it out on dirt roads, and it's in great shape. Some new work has been done out in the middle that's pretty nice, a little before the big descent into Bloodsucker.

Looking forward to the big day, everyone! Happy planning!

also works great to powder up an inner tube should you need to put one in.

smart.

I wanted it to match my cup.

Yup. From earlier this year on an overnighter from Gardner Canyon to town on the AZT. Dejay had plenty of time to stop and take photos of me as I was trying to catch up to him. My last trip on the Ogre. And now I'm sad.

As far as CTR planning goes, my first major shakedown/training ride will be the Coconino Loop this weekend. Still trying to tweak the setup, but I'm almost 100% sure I'm staying singlespeed.

Also trying to get my body/bike first aid kit down a little. Does anybody bring baby powder? Or, like, baby wipes? I'll be living out of the bike from immediately after the ddc through the first week of august at least, and I think, like, funk?, is going to be more of a problem than it has been before.

Russian Circles is a definite yes. I really don't like to listen to heavy/fast stuff when I'm riding. Usually if I listen to metal it's doom/sludge/stoner stuff like Electric Wizard and Sleep. I find it's motivating without making me feel like I need to redline to match the tempo (but this is probably just because I'm slow). Although I do pull out the August Burns Red on occasion. Also sprinkle in some Rosetta.

And I have to say, with some embarrassment, that the Punk Goes Pop/90s/80s stuff is great for riding (if you were an angsty metalcore lover like I was in high school). I don't know what it is, but listening to Crown the Empire sing Maroon 5 really makes me happy when I'm suffering. And any time a band is screaming Taylor Swift at me on top of double bass pedals, I'm sold.

Sweet! Thanks Kurt. Thats good to hear. I just saw on the AES website that Aspen Asphyxiation was still a go, so I figure if they're riding that, then I should be good.

Hey everyone. I was planning on doing the Coconino Loop next weekend (starting 5/9), but am worried about trail conditions being too muddy/wet/snowy around Flag. Can any locals help me out? How does the AZT look around Flag right now? I know it's supposed to rain this week, too, so I might have to change up my plans.

Thanks for any info. And if trails are okay and anyone wants to join, you're more than welcome to. But I might just do something around Prescott if it's too wet.

Bedrock Sandals.

The best camp shoe option I've found. Light, sturdy, lifetime sole warranty, and better than flip flops for hiking around in if you do any exploring out of camp. There are plenty of diy options (and I've tried quite a few), but I pulled the trigger on an older model of these (earthquake 1.0's, on sale) and I'll never take anything else with me again. I don't always bring camp shoes, but when I do, I drink Dos Equis. I mean I use Bedrock Sandals. Made in the U.S.

http://bedrocksandals.com/

I used to have a Manta that would rub a spot on my lower back raw because of the way the pack would bulge out with a full bladder of water.  The pack would stick out far enough to touch the suspension netting in the perfect spot to rub a nice 2" spot on my lower spine.  Then, on a bikepacking trip, it'd never heal. 

That was the exact reason I sold my Manta. I assumed it was a posture thing, but it definitely rubbed the skin off of my back in the same spot every time I wore it.

Depends on how much you're going to carry in the pack itself. The Escapist carries relatively large loads easily, and stays comfortable. If you're not carrying as much on your back, I'd say go with a Manta or Talon. Whenever I have to carry a pack (which I try to avoid most of the time), I carry a Talon 22. It's light and comfortable, and it doesn't have as many unnecessary (to me) pockets as the Manta. So my super personal opinion would be Large load=Escapist and Small load = Manta (if you like a bunch of accessory pockets) or Talon (if you like only a couple pockets and plenty of room). The Manta comes with a hydration bladder, but the Talon has a place for one that you can buy separately.

Joey, yes! I'm not teaching this summer, so I'll be in Durango. Looking after Jay's house while he's in Greece in June. I'll be there for the ddc too.

Dude-- it's only 186 days away! Time to start training........

Haha. Truth!

!!!!! That's rad. Thanks for sharing. It's probably not healthy to be this excited so many months out.

Started from town, exploring some washes west of Tucson, ending up in Ironwood National Forest. Fat biking desert style.