Roel wanted to do the Kokopelli Trail with Rim Tours.  My deal was if I do that, you do the San Juan Hut to Hut tour.  The new southern route from Durango to Moab.  So we made the bargain.  Kokopelli was the first of May.  I thought the first of August after RAGBRAI would be the best for this one.  First, I at least, would be tough coming off RAGBRAI, and with the mountain travel I was concerned about cold temperatures that might be a problem during a fall ride.  Fall riding would be better for the heat to Moab.  As, it turned out, the mountain climate was the real factor.  I didn't really know about the August "monsoon season".  You could almost set your watch by the 2 PM buildup of clouds, then rain and hail in the mountains.  Lower elevation (around 5000 to 6500 ft) afternoon "plateau rains" are brutal, and the lightning is a REAL threat, not just something to say might happen.  You really need to get where you are going before this happens.  Unfortunately, we didn't.

The Hut to Hut provided a big bite to chew.  First, we didn't get keys to the huts.  I didn't remember them, and the San Juan people never mentioned them in the correspondence or during the check in phone call I made to them when we got to Durango.  Three days later, I could cell phone Susie.  Susie couldn't find them, or remember getting them, although the hut people said they sent them with the "Bible" in January.  So, if you go: Be sure you have the hut keys and all the maps.  We had a big surprise getting to the first hut and finding it locked.

We had to break in to the first 2 huts to use them.  (no permanent damage) Good thing, too, because we could have died of exposure.  It hailed and rained all afternoon and into the evening...the temp dropped to 40 degrees before dark.  We arrived about dark each day after the afternoon "monsoons" and thousands of feet of climb, wet, hungry and exhausted.  Pretty tough on flat landers.

Actually, it rained every day except the last descent into Moab, and then we were low enough in the afternoon to miss it.  It also rained at least 3 nights, all night; giving us a 3 hour window in the mid morning to noon for dry riding.  My riding shoes stayed pretty much soaked the entire trip.

The third day we got a key after many helpful phone ins from Jeep people along the trail, and a successful cell phone call Monday morning.  The hut to hut people do not monitor the phones or voice mail on weekends...you are on your own.  Still, the rain and elevation changes beat us up.  Finally, the mud got to us, too.  But we did make it to Moab the last day without rain, only over 100 degrees heat!

The day of climbing from the Paradox Valley hut to the Geyser Pass hut is kick @ss!  You gain about 5000 feet of climb, most of which I had to push my bike.  Hope it doesn't rain, as the gumbo roads will stop you.  We had to drag our bikes through the woods, unload and carry panniers and bikes through muddy places.  The wheels simply will pack with mud, and will not turn.

You top out at 10,600 or so on my altimeter at the Geyser Pass before the descent to Moab.  The descent is delicious.

The scenery is spectacular, but the route was all road.  You could drive it with most 4 wheel drives.  The first 2 days we were passed by about every conveyance except a semi and a Schwann's ice cream truck.  Certainly don't start out on the weekend!  After the first 3 days, the route became more remote, even with the road.

The Durango trip is billed as moderately tough.  For anyone over 50 or certainly over 60, like me; I would call the route arduous.  Not the technical aspect, but the physical challenge of being a mule and hauling all the "what ifs" weight up and down mountains.  If you went without panniers, and light, it would be a lot more enjoyable.  This easily could be a sagged or guided ride.  Riding unencumbered would certainly be the way to go...if you didn't just take a Jeep!

Follows is a virtual directory of the trip pictures, reduced to under 500K or less.  And also, the virtual directory to Roel's pictures of the trip.  I cut them down to 500K or less, too.   Move your cursor over the thumbnail pictures below for a caption.

A taste of the trip: