Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
Forum rules
- This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
- Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
- Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
- Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
-
- Posts: 443
- Joined: 2/17/2014
- Trip Reports (0)
Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
Another recent thread about the various approaches to Chicago Basin got me wondering about doing the 9-ish mile approach from Purgatory TH to the Needleton stop on my mountain bike.
1. How bike-able is this trail? From the elevation profile, it looks like there are only a few steep sections (I don't mind walking my bike for short sections, as long as I can ride it most of the way). I'm an intermediate-level mountain biker; I pretty much stick to the solid blue trails. My pack would be reasonably light (around 25 lbs total) and I'm thinking of buying some bikepacking bags to distribute the weight better for trips like this.
2. Is it legal/allowed to bike this trail? It looks like it's outside of the Wilderness area, so does that mean I'm good to go?
Thanks in advance for any input! I realize I could just walk in and it would probably be almost as easy and fast, but lately I just love the idea of doing combo bike/backpacking trips like this (and for various reasons I have no interest in taking the train)
1. How bike-able is this trail? From the elevation profile, it looks like there are only a few steep sections (I don't mind walking my bike for short sections, as long as I can ride it most of the way). I'm an intermediate-level mountain biker; I pretty much stick to the solid blue trails. My pack would be reasonably light (around 25 lbs total) and I'm thinking of buying some bikepacking bags to distribute the weight better for trips like this.
2. Is it legal/allowed to bike this trail? It looks like it's outside of the Wilderness area, so does that mean I'm good to go?
Thanks in advance for any input! I realize I could just walk in and it would probably be almost as easy and fast, but lately I just love the idea of doing combo bike/backpacking trips like this (and for various reasons I have no interest in taking the train)
- justiner
- Posts: 4397
- Joined: 8/28/2010
- 14ers: 58 8
- 13ers: 138
- Trip Reports (40)
- Contact:
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
Yeah, you can ride it. I do remember quite a bit of hike a bike, but I was all sorts of tired. Big dropoff in some parts down to the creek, which can be fun. I stopped and locked up my bike a little before the Needleton stop - there's a really cool bridge you can stash it under. Alright camp spot right there, too.
https://justinsimoni.com/routes/14erbik ... asin_14ers
https://justinsimoni.com/routes/14erbik ... asin_14ers
- justiner
- Posts: 4397
- Joined: 8/28/2010
- 14ers: 58 8
- 13ers: 138
- Trip Reports (40)
- Contact:
-
- Posts: 443
- Joined: 2/17/2014
- Trip Reports (0)
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
Thanks justin! When you say "quite a bit of hike a bike", are we talking 15% of the trail or 50% of the trail? If I ride this trail, I will err on the conservative side (especially since I'm hauling a lot more weight than I'm used to while mountain biking), so will probably hike any sections that are particularly rocky or that have a steep drop-off on the side. I pulled up a few videos on youtube that showed this trail, and they definitely show some parts that are probably beyond what I would want to do on a bike (with the weight), but what I can't tell from those videos is if those are short sporadic sections or if they constitute a substantial percentage of the trail.justiner wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 10:06 pm Yeah, you can ride it. I do remember quite a bit of hike a bike, but I was all sorts of tired. Big dropoff in some parts down to the creek, which can be fun. I stopped and locked up my bike a little before the Needleton stop - there's a really cool bridge you can stash it under. Alright camp spot right there, too.
https://justinsimoni.com/routes/14erbik ... asin_14ers
Also---could you please post the link that shows the National Forest usage map? My quick google search came up dry for that, but it looks like a nice tool to be aware of!
- justiner
- Posts: 4397
- Joined: 8/28/2010
- 14ers: 58 8
- 13ers: 138
- Trip Reports (40)
- Contact:
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
It'll be dependent on the rider of course, but I remember HaB'ing a fair bit of it - and more so coming back. But I was covering mucho miles that day I started in - the same day I had done Redcloud/Sunshine and Handies, then road to Silverton via Cinnamon Pass, then rode from town to Purgatory.
Maybe a good comparison would be the type of riding you'd experience near Georgia Pass on the Colorado Trail - that rocky, subalpine type of singletrack. The ride up is a little more difficult, with a few more switchbacks that one would liked.
Maybe a good comparison would be the type of riding you'd experience near Georgia Pass on the Colorado Trail - that rocky, subalpine type of singletrack. The ride up is a little more difficult, with a few more switchbacks that one would liked.
- justiner
- Posts: 4397
- Joined: 8/28/2010
- 14ers: 58 8
- 13ers: 138
- Trip Reports (40)
- Contact:
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
I cover how to verify trail access for MTB here:
https://justinsimoni.com/routes/14erbik ... ail_Access
https://justinsimoni.com/routes/14erbik ... ail_Access
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
If only it were that easy. My wife and I got to play this fun game, Trailquest, to ride ALL 750+ legal MTB miles around Gunnison and Crested Butte. It was amazing how often trails would be signed closed, but open on the app (which was vetted by the USFS and we were repeatedly assured to trust the app, not what was on the ground).justiner wrote: ↑Wed May 05, 2021 11:20 am I cover how to verify trail access for MTB here:
https://justinsimoni.com/routes/14erbik ... ail_Access
By the way, your link talks about the CO trail where it crosses 149 being closed to the East. It's open there for several miles on Snow Mesa, and can be combined with Miner's Creek which is a 5* ride in my mind
- mbourget
- Posts: 121
- Joined: 2/3/2008
- Trip Reports (0)
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
0 Stars, can not recommend. Folks should just ride Apex instead
Those scientists better check their hypotenuses.
- justiner
- Posts: 4397
- Joined: 8/28/2010
- 14ers: 58 8
- 13ers: 138
- Trip Reports (40)
- Contact:
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
That's good to know, as it's awfully close.
Looks like your trip is a good way to cut out some highway miles between Creek and Spring Creek Pass!
And I agree, verification of this info is tough - if the USFS can do a better job with the data they have, I would be nothing but delighted. If it's not altogether clear from my links and my sig, I'm trying to make a guidebook for people who are interested in such things. Getting a photo of the picket at the TH - and having it on file is a great way to answer these sorts of q's.
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
The TH pickets are often wrong, however. We rode a great # of trails clearly marked as closed which we were assured were open by USFS. Sounds like a fun guidebook!justiner wrote: ↑Wed May 05, 2021 6:53 pm
And I agree, verification of this info is tough - if the USFS can do a better job with the data they have, I would be nothing but delighted. If it's not altogether clear from my links and my sig, I'm trying to make a guidebook for people who are interested in such things. Getting a photo of the picket at the TH - and having it on file is a great way to answer these sorts of q's.
-
- Posts: 443
- Joined: 2/17/2014
- Trip Reports (0)
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
Thanks again Justin. For the parts that you had to HaB---were they typically because of rocky terrain or because of a steep drop-off on the side? I ask because I might attempt this even if there are potentially a number of sections where I have to stop and walk the bike through rocky terrain, but if there are numerous or extensive sections where walking the bike itself is tricky/dangerous (because of a steep drop-off on the side), then I'll pass. (I'm more willing to put up with annoying delays as long as they're not actually dangerous)justiner wrote: ↑Wed May 05, 2021 11:19 am It'll be dependent on the rider of course, but I remember HaB'ing a fair bit of it - and more so coming back. But I was covering mucho miles that day I started in - the same day I had done Redcloud/Sunshine and Handies, then road to Silverton via Cinnamon Pass, then rode from town to Purgatory.
- Eli Watson
- Posts: 218
- Joined: 5/29/2020
- 14ers: 58 17
- 13ers: 74
- Trip Reports (2)
Re: Purgatory/Animas on mountain bike?
The first few miles are chunky techy mostly downhill til you level off in some amazing flat meadows before dropping off again down some smooth but fast switchbacks to the River. Then you're alongside the River in annoying super chunky rolling tech and getting off to hike-a-bike at every uphill, then you finally get to some choice XC pedalling until the Wilderness boundary. You will hike-a-bike considerably more getting back to the car because not only is it uphill / you're tired / extra weight on your bike, but because it's too chunky. I can't remember a single section that had a noticeable drop off to the side that wouldn't compare to your average trail in Colorado for a rider of reasonable skill. I did the 42 mi from Purgatory and back in a day on my hardtail 29er, so that uphill on the way up from the River on the way back was brutal.rdp32 wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 4:23 pmThanks again Justin. For the parts that you had to HaB---were they typically because of rocky terrain or because of a steep drop-off on the side? I ask because I might attempt this even if there are potentially a number of sections where I have to stop and walk the bike through rocky terrain, but if there are numerous or extensive sections where walking the bike itself is tricky/dangerous (because of a steep drop-off on the side), then I'll pass. (I'm more willing to put up with annoying delays as long as they're not actually dangerous)justiner wrote: ↑Wed May 05, 2021 11:19 am It'll be dependent on the rider of course, but I remember HaB'ing a fair bit of it - and more so coming back. But I was covering mucho miles that day I started in - the same day I had done Redcloud/Sunshine and Handies, then road to Silverton via Cinnamon Pass, then rode from town to Purgatory.
People who are hardcore don't think they're hardcore. Marshall Ulrich, Fastest Known Podcast #85