san juan huts/mtn biking

[malcolm]

http://sanjuanhuts.com/mountain-bike-adventures/

Anyone ever do this? If so could you provide some feedback.

[gdw]

I haven't done one but have equiped several groups who have and the feedback is really positive. The routes are scenic, easy to follow, and beginners can handle most of the singletrack. The huts are clean, comfortable, and well stocked. You should post the same question at bikepacking.net. While the hut trips aren't really bikepacking, several members have done them and there are probably a few threads with information which might be helpful.

[Flying Pigeon]

Yes.. I joined some friends in '06 for the Durango to Moab route.

We carried small packs with supplies just for that day on the trail. We lucked out to have all good weather and the riding was killer! My buddies knew some variations to the jeep road sections that brought us above and onto singletrack.

The huts are great - very comfy and well-stocked. You get used to mowing though cans of food but there was usually an ice chest that had some beer and milk & other goodies as well. There is only 1 store on the route we did.

As fantastic as our trip was, we read the journals every night in the huts and saw what kind of experiences some people had: getting lost and snowed on, sleeping out because they didn't make the hut, interpersonal/emotional breakdowns, etc etc. Just doing armchair map reading, a day of 30 miles seem trivial.. until something happens. I realized it is a big decision if you're going to bring bivouac supplies (I didn't).

The last day into Moab has 5 star singletrack descending out of the La Sals so keep that in mind if you need maximum encouragement.