Looks like a great trip! 2000 feet more climbing than decending?! Hang onto that girl, she sounds like a keeper!

I read through your "couples set-up" on the Personal setups page & saw you took a Tarptent Contrail.  I've got a Contrail but had pretty much abandoned the idea of putting two people in it.  Is that what you did?  If so, how did that work out for you?  Also, how do you like that BA Clearview pad & what size do you have?

Scott

Hey All,
I'm new to this site but thought I'd post a trip report my GF & I did over the weekend. We loved the idea of hauling in some camping gear and setting up a "base camp" in the backcountry where we could access some trails to ride.

With the aspen at there peak color & the weather forcast looking decent, we decided to pull the trigger last Friday.  Our plan was to ride segment 3 of the CT in a few miles where we knew there would be a campsite. We rode in about four miles, starting at the Scraggy Creek trailhead with all our gear.  We didn't exactly do this as minimalists .  We both had a set of panniers and a day pack that we used to haul in a two man tent, sleeping bags, pads, water, wine, stove, etc. etc. We were pretty loaded down but thought the trail wouldn't be too tough & that there wasn't much vertical.  The ride was a little tougher than we expected but not too bad.

We rode in about four miles and found a great campsite.  Just enough off the trail and with nice size rocks to sit & cook on, a established fire ring & even firewood gathered courtesy of the last campers there. We dined on backpacker pizza & wine around the campfire & then hit the sack.

The next morning, we awoke to cloudy skies but a nice cool day for riding.  We started out heading west on the CT & then down the forest road & up & down a few trails in the Buffalo Creek Mountain Bike Area. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, the Buffalo Creek is an area with over 40 miles of trails specifically designed for mountain biking.  It's a pretty neat area with trails from easy to hard & the CT runs along the southern edge of it.  We saw lots of beautiful, golden aspen trees, prominant rock formations and even some deer crossing the trails ahead of us.  Below is where I'd insert some magnificent pictures if only I hadn't forgotten the camera!  Dooooh!

Late that afternoon, it looked like a storm was beginning to roll in so we raced back to camp amid some gusty winds & raindrops.  But, luckily, once we arrived back in camp, the weather began to clear.  We rested our tired bodies around the campfire while we ate dinner & finished off the wine, not to mention some spiced cider with rum & hot chocolate & peppermint schnaps. Did I mention this wasn't a minimalist trip?

The next morning it looked like the nasty weather was making a come back so we packed up & started on our way back to the car.  We made one detour down the Shinglemill trial then ended our adventure.  It turned out to be a great trip and a superb way to celebrate the coming of autumn.  I've enjoyed reading about other riders adventures here & look forward to hearing about others.  I'm already planning some for next season - probably with a lot less gear.  Not sure the GF is going to go for that, though.

Scott