Originally Posted by
Coldhands
If you were heading out for a long-distance off-pavement tour in September, what sort of cold weather equipment would you take?
Add + October.
a. Awareness - You need to be aware of the weather at all times. Conditions can change rapidly from 25C to 0C within hours. Fall in the Rockies is delightful, but it can be dangerous because you have a week of glorious days - then get slammed. The GDMBR tends to alternate between extremely remote sections, then sections that are lower and less remote. Each time you head back up, make sure you know what may be coming - and plan for the worst, not the best possibility.
b. Willingness - You need to be willing to drop to lower elevations even if that means stopping or riding sections that are not "officially" GDMBR. The single most important factor in avoiding dangerous fall storms is elevation - what is a blizzard in the high country is likely to be rain in the valley.
c. Flexibility - You can have a far better and safer trip by being flexible. Fall storms tend to be fast moving and short-lived. Take a day or two off. The blue skies return like magic. Although with each storm, the temperatures move downwards - starting off even hot, then warm, then pleasant, then crisp. And by the way, by the time you are in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico those crisp, clear days will produce cold nights.
3 small, but important items
1. Ski liner gloves
2. Turtle fur earband
3. Wool socks
I also like those tubular pullovers that can be neck or head warmth.
40 to 50 days will mean 3 or 4 bad weather episodes.
Early Sept. snows are minor, but the first big snow can be in late Sept. or early Oct.
You won't get into a more southerly climate until Cuba, NM.
And it will be mid-October by then.
In southern BC you can ride you bike thru Akamina-Kishinena into Waterton NP and then to Glacier NP.
Before 9-11, you could cross the border on the North Fork dirt road - which was sweet.
In Montana, the east side is usually warmer and drier in the fall.
If you haven't been to Yellowstone, consider it - the GDMBR bypass is kinda meh.
If you are not fixated on a single line, there are way better routes than thru Frisco/Breck in Colorado.
Chaco Canyon in New Mexico is definitely worth a detour.
Safe riding! - - J