Monarch Crest Trail Pre-Ride

Good things come to those who wait, and I have been waiting a while to finally get out and nail one of the most talked about trails in Colorado, The Monarch Crest Trail. Our Facebook group is planning a group trip in a few weeks and I wanted to get out on it first so I would know what to expect and can provide advice on the route to those that are less experienced.

So here is a break down of the day.

Early 430AM wake up loaded the cooler of PBRs up and headed over to pick up a few buddies. One of the guys, Roger had never ridden the route and the other, Rex, I was meeting the first time. Now these guys are no slouches Roger is an Xterra racer that consistently has podium finishes. Rex is the mastermind behind MappedTrails.com which is a pretty sweet site where Rex has used his Garmin 60csx to map all of his recent rides then maps them on Google Earth and even provides free route downloads so you can put the routes on your GPS! Oh yeah and it is 100% FREE!!!

Alright so we got a bit of a slow go at the drive but after fueling up on raspberry turnovers and coffee we were itching to hit the trail. Rex drove separately so we would have a shuttle vehicle, which I would highly recommend but you can use one of the shuttle services for $15 a pop, yikes!! Rex left his truck at the Rainbow Trail TH off of 285 just south of Poncha Springs, CO and we all headed up toward Monarch Pass in my rig. The parking at Monarch Pass is great no fee no hassle and I think only a few vehicles aside from us. Below are the maps of the route from the GPS I had borrowed from another one of my riding buddies Mike.

The entire ride is on single track aside from a few very short sections of double track and as you can see from the elevation profile you get all of the climbing out of the way early in the ride.

After the initial climb you open up above tree line and ride down a well established track with 360 views all the while enjoying mildly technical climbs and rolling descents.

Once you have ridden the ridge for a bit you summit Marshall Pass on a dirt road.

Be sure to head UP HILL , the signage is weak here and after the climbing you might be inclined to head down hill to a bit of single track off in the distance, don't do it! Head up the road to where the single track picks up again and you will see a trail junction with I think four separate routes you want the 3rd from the left as you are facing the sign. This leads around and you climb back into the trees for a nice smooth climb. You are in the trees for a while and just as you think you are facing another arduous climb you bomb down and out into the open for a rip roaring descent over loose rocks and roots. If you are not balls to the wall confident in your or your bikes ability DO NOT get crazy, this descent is over 10 miles long and doesn't really seem to let up. If you do take your time, which I encourage, be sure and look at the wildflowers and the beautiful creek on your right side that feeds into a few nice lakes brimming with trout.

As this single track winds down there is a small creek crossing and a bit of a hike a bike to clear some of the dead fall trees that lie across the trail. Then you are dumped out onto a forest service road with the option to climb the Rainbow Trail for an addition 9 miles of fun. or do as we did and head down the road and back to the shuttle vehicle at the Rainbow Trail TH. As we rode the road out we passed a ton of free established camp sites that I think our group will utilize during future rides.

The one thing about this ride is that it has no shortage of views so take your time and enjoy. Remember that you are starting at over 11,400 feet and ending at 8,600 feet so be sure to have your brakes dialed!

Here is a bit of beta the GPS provided:

Length - 26.9 miles
Total Ascent - 1963
Max Elev. - 11989
Total Moving Time - 2 hrs 43 min
Total Time - 3 hrs 48 min
Max Speed - 26.4 mph
Avg Speed - 9.9 mph

I was riding a singlespeed geared 32x16 and had no problem on the climbs. Unfortunately riding a single speed hardtail had its drawbacks toward the end of the ride on the steep rocky descents. Other than that pack plenty of H2O, a spare tube and snacks. Oh yeah and dont forget the camera!!