Trip Report: Bikepacking the Monumental Loop in Las Cruces, New Mexico

March 30, 2022 by John Nestler in Bikepacking, Camping, Photography, Trip Report

With a hut trip planned in Colorado for the holidays Amelia and I set about brainstorming another adventure to tack onto what seems to be our annual road trip out West. Last winter we did the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande, and would have loved to return, but there's only been a trickle of water coming down that section lately. Bikepacking came to the top of the list for warm(er) weather activities, and we kept hearing about the Monumental Loop in Las Cruces from two local riders who had completed it earlier in the year. It seemed like the perfect activity to welcome the winter solstice.

Gear Recommendations and Packing List for Bikepacking the Colorado Trail

November 17, 2016 by John Nestler in Camping, Gear Review, Bikepacking

Packing for an extended bikepacking trip isn’t drastically different from that of a hiking trip, but there are a few critical pieces of gear that can make a world of difference. I outline those pieces of gear here along with a comprehensive bikepacking trip gear list. This article came about after completing the Colorado Trail this fall, and is part of a little web series about my trip along with advice aimed to help other mountain bikers (and possibly even hikers) plan their own adventures on the trail.

Colorado Trail Hiker & Bikepacker Trip Length Survey

October 10, 2016 by John Nestler in Camping, Survey, Bikepacking

I’m interested in trying to figure out the average amount of time that users take on the trail, and the amount of time they wish they had since that can be used as a reference tool by people planning their own trips in the future. Of course this metric is going to include both the faster thru-hikers and those sauntering along, but my hope is there will be a happy medium in between. The CTF publishes some rough date ranges, but as gear changes and the trail becomes more popular it’s very possible to see some deviation. If nothing else, I think it will be interesting!