BCT Questions
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What day are you starting?
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Likely Wednesday morning. I can try for Tuesday, but that looks like the worst of it. I would like to start no later than Thursday, heard there's quite a bit of "target practice" on the weekends.
My whole trip revolves around getting half my calories from pie and burritos in Rock Springs.
My whole trip revolves around getting half my calories from pie and burritos in Rock Springs.
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Don't worry about Target shooting. Yeah it happens, but is really just noise and that is mostly confined to the area off Table Mesa road.Likely Wednesday morning. I can try for Tuesday, but that looks like the worst of it. I would like to start no later than Thursday, heard there's quite a bit of "target practice" on the weekends.
My whole trip revolves around getting half my calories from pie and burritos in Rock Springs.
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You'll know in the first few miles out of the Mayer TH whether death mud will be an issue, just after you cross Antelope Creek Rd if I recall correctly. Big Bug and Drinking Snake have some lengthy sections with clay, volcanic soil. Mud and baby heads mixed together. Potentially nasty stuff.The crossings are much harder to predict. My sense is you'll probably be okay, but I would hate to steer you wrong. Like Joe said, most target shooting crowd use the Table Mesa Road area. A couple of miles beyond that you won't hear them anymore. Good luck. If you go, let us know how it went.Likely Wednesday morning. I can try for Tuesday, but that looks like the worst of it. I would like to start no later than Thursday, heard there's quite a bit of "target practice" on the weekends.
My whole trip revolves around getting half my calories from pie and burritos in Rock Springs.
I don't think a half inch will be an issue. It seems more like sustained rain (days prior) or heavy snow melt when I have had issues with the crossings.
The first part of the Mayer TH heading south is usually fine. There is a section where you cross a dirt road and head up to a gate and that section is usually where it goes to hell for murda mud.
The first part of the Mayer TH heading south is usually fine. There is a section where you cross a dirt road and head up to a gate and that section is usually where it goes to hell for murda mud.
It's not the forecast of 1/2" along the BCT that matters. It's how much falls in the upstream basin of the Agua Fria. That basin extends all the way north of Prescott and Chino Valley. Rainfall forecasts for that area are for 1-2 inches.
The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center is expecting flows in Agua Fria near Rock Springs to rise to 9 feet on 03/12/20.
https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/river/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?AFRA3
Be safe!
-db-
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Good resource, db. I didn't know there was a flow forecast feature on the noaa site. 9 feet on the Rock Springs gauge is not the same as 9 feet deep at the crossing, but that's still too high to cross safely.
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FYI: There's also a nasty section of death mud heading south between the last jeep road crossing and the top of the Little Pan Loop. Both the trail and jeep road is absolutely horrible when wet. All that stuff up by SR69 to Antelope Creek will be a sticky mess if wet.
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Agree with Joe one hundred percent. Be more concerned with driving on I-17 than this!
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Heading to Sedona for a friend's B-day around the 23rd.
So planning on riding the IMBA Epic on the 22nd:
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7000113/black-canyon-trail-bct-imba-epic
Planning on just cranking this out in one day as the SWMBO can drop me off at the start and has an aunt in Phoenix that she can see and we can grab dinner with afterwards.
Seems like Agua Fria crossings should be fine?
Light from 7:00-5:30ish so 10 hrs seems like plenty of time.
Temps seem fantastic for the ride. Fingers crossed bout weather.
Anything I should know or tips to make the ride better?
Really excited for this one.
Thanks
So planning on riding the IMBA Epic on the 22nd:
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/7000113/black-canyon-trail-bct-imba-epic
Planning on just cranking this out in one day as the SWMBO can drop me off at the start and has an aunt in Phoenix that she can see and we can grab dinner with afterwards.
Seems like Agua Fria crossings should be fine?
Light from 7:00-5:30ish so 10 hrs seems like plenty of time.
Temps seem fantastic for the ride. Fingers crossed bout weather.
Anything I should know or tips to make the ride better?
Really excited for this one.
Thanks
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Bring lights good for a few hours just in case. I'd also study some maps and give copies to your ride so you each know where the possible bail outs are. Again, just in case. BCT isn't a technical trail but it seemed to get rougher/harder further south, just when you'll be getting tired. Whether you can pull it off before dark is up to you. My riding averages around 5mph so we finished around 10pm. Rode it in spring and we had to deal with more and higher water crossings than normal, but pace was steady all day otherwise.
You can filter water from the river in a few spots which might allow you to carry less. There's no food resupply unless you drop down to Black Canyon City.
Have fun, it's a really cool ride
You can filter water from the river in a few spots which might allow you to carry less. There's no food resupply unless you drop down to Black Canyon City.
Have fun, it's a really cool ride
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That's 80 miles! Don't underestimate the BCT but then again there are those who can.
Personally I'd skip on the last bit and finish on Table Mesa. And maybe just start at Mayer which would be ~50 miles but defer to those who can actually do it all in a day and that aint me.
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Should be good I would imagine. I would bring lights - BCT miles aren't always the fastest. Have fun
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I would also add... I would personally end the ride at Emery Henderson because the rest kinda sucks, but that's because I've ridden that section a few times. If you want to say you did the whole thing, I guess you gotta do it. Just be prepared for a very "non-BCT" experience riding the rest of the way to carefree highway.
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Thanks for the feedback.
Yep, bringing some lights for sure.
For water I am thinking a Camelbak and 2 water bottles. Enough?
Great idea about maps and bail out spots. Seems like the trail crosses quite a few roads.
Since its the first time I kinda just want the do the whole thing, but I have heard that the beginning and end are kind of so-so.
I am basing my ability to do the whole thing in a day off of some 50-65 mile races that were about 5:00-6:30hrs. So I am thinking 8-9hrs.
Yep, bringing some lights for sure.
For water I am thinking a Camelbak and 2 water bottles. Enough?
Great idea about maps and bail out spots. Seems like the trail crosses quite a few roads.
Since its the first time I kinda just want the do the whole thing, but I have heard that the beginning and end are kind of so-so.
I am basing my ability to do the whole thing in a day off of some 50-65 mile races that were about 5:00-6:30hrs. So I am thinking 8-9hrs.
Re-emphasize the mud
I am jealous when I read about an upcoming adventure like this. I hope you have a great time but there is one hazard that can, depending upon how much and how long ago we have had rain, bring the whole thing to a very bad halt.
This is intended to be semi-humorous but understand I also laugh at America's Funniest Home Videos.
This is our mud, a seldom-encountered phenomenon where the nearly-perfect hard-packed surface absorbs enough moisture from recent rains to create MTB hell. Almost all of the desert that flanks SE of the Bradshaw Mountains exhibit the problem. Not everywhere, and that is how we get suckered into getting nice and remote before we find it blocking our passage.
It's not deep, well... sometimes, but it is stiiicky! It instantly clings to tires and soon after, every part of the bike that needs to move smoothly but now is packed-solid. You can't push the bike. You can barely carry it because it will seem to double it's weight - the mud not content to deposit only itself. It brings along rocks, sticks, and the occasional unfortunate small creature-shaped statue. Then there are your shoes (and ankles, and calves, and don't for the love of God fall down). They soon become elephant bootie knock-offs and unable to find purchase in what's underfoot, so you'll look like an inebriated first-time ice-skater.
When I ran into this stuff (the first time; I never learn), I mistakenly thought the correct reaction was to push-on and get clear of it. Wrong, Shimano-breath. This was between Table Mesa and Boy Scout in a lowland basin that developed untold acres of the stuff. So it was carry the bike and attached terrain back to firmer ground (why didn't I notice how deep my tracks were becoming?). Next, search everywhere for a stick without needles protruding from it (could I use my multitool, tire levers, fingernails?), and scrape-off between tires and frame enough so it would reluctantly roll. Another endearing characteristic of this stuff is that it seems like porridge as it goes on but like concrete coming off.
I aborted, pushed because the drive-train was sounding like a ball-mill, and got us back to the car. At home, the brushes and garden hose got everything off (except for the tan stains that remain to this day). Recalling all that, I can only shudder to think about someone finding a big mud patch further into the wild and more remote BCT stretches.
So check out the helpful posts here and see if you can determine the likelihood of rain in the days prior to the ride. Most of all, I wish you a most excellent adventure.
I am jealous when I read about an upcoming adventure like this. I hope you have a great time but there is one hazard that can, depending upon how much and how long ago we have had rain, bring the whole thing to a very bad halt.
This is intended to be semi-humorous but understand I also laugh at America's Funniest Home Videos.
This is our mud, a seldom-encountered phenomenon where the nearly-perfect hard-packed surface absorbs enough moisture from recent rains to create MTB hell. Almost all of the desert that flanks SE of the Bradshaw Mountains exhibit the problem. Not everywhere, and that is how we get suckered into getting nice and remote before we find it blocking our passage.
It's not deep, well... sometimes, but it is stiiicky! It instantly clings to tires and soon after, every part of the bike that needs to move smoothly but now is packed-solid. You can't push the bike. You can barely carry it because it will seem to double it's weight - the mud not content to deposit only itself. It brings along rocks, sticks, and the occasional unfortunate small creature-shaped statue. Then there are your shoes (and ankles, and calves, and don't for the love of God fall down). They soon become elephant bootie knock-offs and unable to find purchase in what's underfoot, so you'll look like an inebriated first-time ice-skater.
When I ran into this stuff (the first time; I never learn), I mistakenly thought the correct reaction was to push-on and get clear of it. Wrong, Shimano-breath. This was between Table Mesa and Boy Scout in a lowland basin that developed untold acres of the stuff. So it was carry the bike and attached terrain back to firmer ground (why didn't I notice how deep my tracks were becoming?). Next, search everywhere for a stick without needles protruding from it (could I use my multitool, tire levers, fingernails?), and scrape-off between tires and frame enough so it would reluctantly roll. Another endearing characteristic of this stuff is that it seems like porridge as it goes on but like concrete coming off.
I aborted, pushed because the drive-train was sounding like a ball-mill, and got us back to the car. At home, the brushes and garden hose got everything off (except for the tan stains that remain to this day). Recalling all that, I can only shudder to think about someone finding a big mud patch further into the wild and more remote BCT stretches.
So check out the helpful posts here and see if you can determine the likelihood of rain in the days prior to the ride. Most of all, I wish you a most excellent adventure.
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