I’ve had this little idea for some time now. I call it an idea, one of our local land managers calls it a “fantasy.” This “fantasy” involved developing a singletrack trail between the communities of Gunnison and Crested Butte. There just happens to be an alignment of uninterrupted public lands connecting the two and the existence of historic routes and favorable corridors make the possibilities enticing.
By foot or by mountain bike, I have surveyed most of the route. This past Monday, I spent hours walking the west side of Mount Whetstone, which is the location of the Carbon Trail. While you can still find signs of this trail in places, it fell out of favor somewhere along the way and the Forest Service decided to no longer maintain it. It was likely built in the 1930’s and if reestablished, it would provide an amazing section to this long trail experience for non-motorized users.
A nice section of trail high up on Mt. Whetstone. Carbon Peak in the background.
I walked from south to north between 10,400 and 10,600 feet of elevation, all the way to the saddle overlooking the valley of Crested Butte, north of the peak. Then, I went back to the south staying lower, between 10,100 and 10,400 ft. The trail comes and goes, but as you can see from the pictures, there is high-quality, usable trail in many places.
One of the biggest obstacles to this trail becoming a reality, at least for mountain bikers, is that the area is designated as Recommended Wilderness by the Forest Service. However, this did not preclude them from portraying the potential alignment on one of the alternatives in the Travel Planning process. The haven’t come back to the public with a decision yet, but one is expected anytime now between tomorrow and 2014.
If this wilderness area becomes a reality, it will be bordered on many sides by trophy homes and other private property. Much of the area, inaccessible to the public, will becoming the exclusive domain of these private property owners. I’ll keep you posted as decisions on this project become public.
