The Route

When I entered that search, I was literally thinking in my mind of a trip somewhere REALLY cool, like Telluride or Moab, and a trip where the heavy lifting would be done by someone else. I like traveling by bike, but the idea of schlepping fully-loaded panniers is simply a drag.

The San Juan Hut System is actually two hut systems, one along the route from Telluride, Colorado to Moab, Utah, and the other (the newer of the two) serving Durango, Colorado to Moab. The Telluride route has been described in the popular press as "The Most Spectacular Ride in America," and from all the online journals and articles I've read (including major articles in National Geographic, the New York Times, Backpacker and (shudder) Men's Journal), the reputation is well deserved.

The trip spans 206 miles, starting in the mountain ski village of Telluride. It courses through the San Juan Mountains, across the 100-mile Uncompahgre Plateau, then the La Sal Range of Utah and ends near the Slickrock Trail mountain bike Mecca in Moab. Accommodations are provided in six eight-person huts stocked with food, beer (with limes!), sleeping bags and firewood. This combination means that one can travel light, making the 35 mile days with thousands of feet of elevation change reasonably accessible for a cyclist in decent condition.

But, the trip demands respect. It is a long distance, and you must be in good shape. The combination of elevation and constant sun presents a serious risk of dehydration - and you have to drink a lot of water. There is only one town en route (Gateway, Colorado), so you have to carry tools and bike parts and know how to use them. Altitudes range as high as 11,500 feet, and aclimitization is important. And there are snakes and scorpions and lightning and flash storms and snowfall in every month of the year.

Cool.