The Kokopelli Trail is a 142 mile multi-use trail that connects Loma, Colorado to Moab, Utah. The trail is best known in the mountain-bike community, but more runners have discovered it in recent years.
In 2019 Kevin Hadfield set a new self-supported FKT in 1d 9h 21m 23s. According to the FKT website, no one has so far set an unsupported FKT. There could be good reasons for that.
Nonetheless, on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 28, 2019 @ 4am — weather permitting — I am planning to start in Loma, CO, for an unsupported FKT attempt. Unsupported means that I will have no external support of any kind and will carry all my gear and food (except water) from the beginning to the end. Perhaps the biggest challenge for such attempt on this route is the lack of water. I like to think that I have a plan, but I could be very wrong. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Unfortunately the weather forecast looks quite terrible, with some massive winter storm moving through exactly in my window. Tuesday: “Lasal Mountain reports 25″ of new snowfall today, raising snowpack levels to 29 inches.” This could be a total disaster or even a non-starter. I should probably pack a sled.
“When in doubt, default to gratitude.” — Seth Godin, If every day were Thanksgiving.
A lot of my calories and water planning relied on the experience gained on the two 75mi unsupported Joshua Tree double traverses (where there is no water at all) and on the 750mi self-supported Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) FKT. In addition, the unsupported 165mi Ozark and 135mi Fremont FKTs are Kokopelli-comparable in length, and thus provided additional planning insights.
The planning for this Kokopelli endeavor started almost a year ago and the detailed logistics (did I mention spreadsheets?) have kept me busy for weeks. I guess that’s not really news.
The 142mi Kokopelli trail, connecting Loma, CO, to Moab, UT.
As of Nov 24, the weather forecast is looking terrible. Special Weather Statement: “Generally 5 to 10 inches of snow is expected for the northern and central mountains with locally higher amounts possible.”
Thanksgiving food preparation. The turkey will be in the form of turkey meat sticks.
“Acceptance is a choice in the service of our happiness and the ability to try again tomorrow.” — Seth Godin, The uncomfortable combination of effort and acceptance.
Tracking
You can track me in the embedded map below or go here. The track shows a 3mi out-and-back to the Westwater Ranger Station to access water at mile 41. This is not part of the official route and I do not plan to grab water there. Well, unless I’m already in trouble by then.