Trans-America Trail... Anyone?

Kelly

Kelly

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I have a couple questions.
Has anyone here done the TAT?
Is anyone here interested in doing it?
If you've done it, or been researching it, what can you tell us (i.e., Start point, endpoint, obstacles, time needed to complete, etc.)?
 
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The TAT was originally scouted for motorcycles, the guy who mapped the route is very specific that it is intended for bikes. I know that a couple of Land Rovers did part of the trail recently, but I don't know if they had to change the route to make it work. I started looking into it this year as a possible run, but I'd really only be interested in doing it from the Colorado Front Range to Oregon. The plains aren't terribly interesting to me and the Appalachians are just too damn far just for that section of the trail.
 
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It's on my list of to-do trails one day when traveling from NM to TN. We almost did the Shadow of the Rockies Trail (a route by the same guys) but after researching their layout we opted to build our own since they bypassed a lot of good mountain travel in northern New Mexico. We are working on the GPS data from our trip to share with you all soon. We're calling it "The Enchanted Rockies Trail". :sunglasses:
 
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Reconnoiter said:
I have a couple questions.
Has anyone here done the TAT?
Is anyone here interested in doing it?
If you've done it, or been researching it, what can you tell us (i.e., Start point, endpoint, obstacles, time needed to complete, etc.)?
Click to expand...

Me and a few friends of mine have started talking about doing this. But probably not for a couple of years. We are looking at probably around the summer of 2019. Planning on taking 2 months to do it. starting on the east coast and going to the west coast.
 
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From what I got off the website for TAT. None of the trail runs on private property. From that I have read that some people purchased bogus data from somewhere.
 
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twin magnolias said:
I found the article I was thinking of. According to these folks, when the trail was created the trail ran adjacent to a mine outside of Eureka, NV; however, the mine has since expanded it's property and the trail is no longer accessible through that section.

Here's the account specific to the mine, but the whole thread is worth the read. It's inspiring for sure.
Click to expand...

Didn't see that one. But I guess you would have to account for delays and changes in route of this nature in your time table.
 
Reconnoiter said:
I have a couple questions.
Has anyone here done the TAT?
Is anyone here interested in doing it?
If you've done it, or been researching it, what can you tell us (i.e., Start point, endpoint, obstacles, time needed to complete, etc.)?
Click to expand...

I want to do this route so badly. I have been talking to a few folks about setting it up, but it does seem like the lead time is a few months of planning.

I checked out the site briefly once before and from what I remember the trail was developed for bikes, but there had been some Jeeps that had done it as well with only a few tight spots to squeeze through.
 
I think the biggest obstacle for this would be getting time off of work. Especially for those of us (like myself) who would want to run the entire trail. For example, im in nevada. i would not only have to take the time to get to either the western or eastern end of the trail, but also once we finished, would have to get back home.

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part of TAT trail runs through the northern part OK . been up to check it out some of it is passable with a rig here but there are areas that are not , prolly Colorado would have more passable TAT trail going north to Oregon , but again i haven't explored much it down here . would be a fun trip to do on a dualsport bike for sure .
 
TreXTerra said:
The TAT was originally scouted for motorcycles, the guy who mapped the route is very specific that it is intended for bikes. I know that a couple of Land Rovers did part of the trail recently, but I don't know if they had to change the route to make it work. I started looking into it this year as a possible run, but I'd really only be interested in doing it from the Colorado Front Range to Oregon. The plains aren't terribly interesting to me and the Appalachians are just too damn far just for that section of the trail.
Click to expand...

I am one of participants in the group of Land Rover's that perhaps you speak of. We departed Florida October 1st of 2016 and headed out for the TAT and ended up in Cali doing the Rubicon Trail. That TAT was great although not very technical for a purpose built rig. Probably a lot more difficult on 2 wheels. I was gone a total of 33 days and drove almost 7,000 miles and I'd say around 18-20 days were spent on the TAT itself. I have all the maps for all the states it goes through and even purchased the Shadow of the Rockies Trail packet for future adventures.


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Lifestyle Overland said:
It's on my list of to-do trails one day when traveling from NM to TN. We almost did the Shadow of the Rockies Trail (a route by the same guys) but after researching their layout we opted to build our own since they bypassed a lot of good mountain travel in northern New Mexico. We are working on the GPS data from our trip to share with you all soon. We're calling it "The Enchanted Rockies Trail". :sunglasses:
Click to expand...
Lifestyle I'd like to see the data you gathered for the Enchanted Rockies Trail.
 
trailspinTV said:
We're looking to run it in May/June as well. 6 weeks total. Maybe we will cross paths or should cross them intentionally!
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I did it on a bike from Trinidad, Colorado to Port Orford 2 years ago. There are many alternate routes if you hit a section you are not comfortable with. We used a combination of Sam's route and GPS Kevin's route. Loaded both up on separate Garmins and did the route that worked best. Do not remember anything that would present an issue for moderately prepped 4wd. Lockers and lift are always a bonus.
Oregon sucked, logging trails everywhere, lost all the time, fire restrictions, rain, mud, but very beautiful. Overall one of the most difficult and rewarding things I have ever done.

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DuvalRover said:
I am one of participants in the group of Land Rover's that perhaps you speak of. We departed Florida October 1st of 2016 and headed out for the TAT and ended up in Cali doing the Rubicon Trail. That TAT was great although not very technical for a purpose built rig. Probably a lot more difficult on 2 wheels. I was gone a total of 33 days and drove almost 7,000 miles and I'd say around 18-20 days were spent on the TAT itself. I have all the maps for all the states it goes through and even purchased the Shadow of the Rockies Trail packet for future adventures.


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Click to expand...
I would be interested in finding out where you got your maps from. I want to do the trail from TN to out west when I return from Afghanistan next year.
 
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