A Walk from Crested Butte

[Drew Smith]

Companion forum thread to: A Walk from Crested Butte

Drew Smith writes about using public transit to make the travel to, from, and between trailheads more sustainable.

[Ryan Jordan]

This story, Drew, is special to me. Thanks for writing it. I’ve hiked much (but not all) of this route and echo the fact that it’s wilder, more remote, and a bit more hostile (weather wise) than most of the more popular hikes in Colorado. Some of my favorite miles here. A very well-done story. Thanks for sharing.

[John Brew]

The Bustang enabled an epic trip. You’ve got me motivated to see if I can put together a low carbon hike from my home in Western Washington into the Cascades. Thanks for writing up your hke.

[Chris K]

What an inspiring route! Thanks, Drew. Linking CB > Marble > Aspen would be nice in and of itself, but to press on all the way over to Frisco crosswise is really creative and awesome.

There is something futuristic about this style of trip. Not only by using public transit, but by ignoring the boundaries of developed and undeveloped, well-trodden and not trodden. It has the spirit of an invented FKT route but without the race mentality. It’s a great answer to those who say there aren’t any long distance backpacking routes in Colorado :)

[Philip Tschersich]

Villages and remote canneries throughout the state of Alaska receive “mail plane“ service. These are heavily subsidized float- or wheel-plane routes to deliver US mail and freight. You can get quite inexpensive seat fares for these flights, and that is the way I do a lot of my trips. A number of times I have flown to a remote corner of the Kodiak archipelago on the mail plane and then hiked/paddled home. Or I flew to a remote cannery and then hiked to a distant village, taking the mail plane to and from the starting and ending points. I doubt the concept is very eco-friendly, but these are regularly-scheduled flights and an empty seat seems like a waste, so I might as well be on the plane. It’s our bus in the sky.

[Greg F]

What a great article.  I would like to echo what you said about the bus service.  The last time I took public transit was on Kern Transit from Tehachapi CA out to the PCT crossing at Cameron Canyon Rd in 2021.  The bus was on time and the ride was uneventful (no drama).   Some trailheads in California are served well and I hope to see more bus service in the future.

[James Montavon]

Awesome story, Drew! I love finding a way to make transit work for at least one leg of my trip. My sister and I had a great time hiking from Breckenridge to Copper Mountain via the CT, thanks to the free and reliable bus system. I love being able to hike or ski while minimizing my contribution to congestion and pollution. Extra points next time if you can use a train!

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