Gnarly Routes Montrose Tour
Gnarly Routes: Montrose Tour
Location: Montrose, CO
Date: September 17-21
Guides: Russell Bobbitt and Cole Kirkpatrick with special guest pro, Evan Smith
Group: Sold out with five riders
Bikes: KTM 500 EXC-F, KTM 300 XC-W TPI, KTM 350 XCF-W, KTM 250 XC-W TPI
The best trips are the ones with a full group and we were so pumped to have 5 guests plus the added bonus of pro rider, Evan Smith, for our Montrose Tour!
One of our riders marked his 4th ride with us on this trip!! I guess that means we are doing something right! The others hailed from different regions of the country including Alabama, Texas, and Colorado. A super fun group that kept us all laughing the entire time and good riders to boot!
Chuck has logged four trips now with Gnarly Routes
The 3 days we had lined up for the guys were full on! No shortage or singletrack or mind blowing vistas. On day one we went to the mouth dropping adobes inside the Peach Valley. This is such unique terrain and gives you almost a sense of vertigo if it's your first time riding these hills! The routes we have through these hills are unbelievable and are full of skinny ridges and twisty ravines that go on for what seem like eternity! 65 miles on Day 1 was enough for everyone and we followed it up by going to the local watering hole, Horsefly Brewing, where we had some “Weird Al Yankovic” kinda music and some cold ales.
For our second day we added an entire new loop to that included a different area, called Dry Creek. The BLM has done extensive work on these trails and it shows with some cedars cut back and freshly smoothed double track in areas. The guys were loving the early flow trails. As the day went on the challenges crept up a bit with more rock and a few techy hill climbs. We packed lunches out on the trail and earned our cookies by the half-way point! One of the favorite trails of the day was called Ewok. It was decided when we finished to hot tub, watch the MX Outdoors, and order pizza for the night!
Our final day was set to be the most scenic. The route starts off through a crazy cool trail called Birth Canal with tight rocky walls and some stair step rock features. We then worked our way up a ridge trail called Red Rocks/ Nighthorse which has some really technical spots, but the group had leveled up by this point and were all moving well. As the trail reached its furthest spot from the truck we saw vistas that looked into the Gunnison Gorge and it was really something to see! A quick break by the river to splash some water on our faces and it was straight into the final section of trail back to the truck. Crown jewel of Montrose could be considered the Sidewinder Trail. A 21 mile advanced singletrack trail that meanders side hill and crosses countless features. The guys were feeling it at this point and we took ample breaks on the way back. The group would be dodging rocks in their sleep after this ride!
Everyone had a blast and are talking about where to go next. These experiences keep getting better and we felt super fortunate to be able to put together yet another successful riding adventure!
Ride. Live. Explore.