Last month, Swift Industries released its Campout Collection with limited edition bike bags, bandanas, T-shirts, mugs, and water bottles which feature beautiful artwork by Wyatt Hersey to commemorate Swift’s annual summer solstice campout (June 22 - 23, 2024). Lovingly hailed as the “dirtbag holiday of the year,” campers can organize their own Campout with friends or join one of the many established Navigator campouts around the world.
TPC is hosting a Swift Campout in Colorado that will take riders up Rollins Pass to spend the night at Yankee Doodle Lake. Here are the key details:
- The Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46577334
- Distance: 22 miles (each way)
- Difficulty Level: Moderate – For active individuals who are ready to ride for a full day. Expect variety in the route with a few serious climbs and descents.
- Destination/Campground: Yankee Doodle Lake — no restroom/running water
- Registration: We can accommodate up to 20 people. Interested? Email Seth@theproscloset.com
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The Navigator for TPC’s Swift Campout will be our Category Purchasing Manager, Seth Holmes. Seth is TPC’s most prodigious bikepacker. He grew up riding on the East Coast, exploring the Hudson Valley and Connecticut. Since moving to Colorado 7 years ago, he’s become obsessed with riding our state’s historic passes and trails and finding new places to explore.
Seth recently completed the 365-mile Grand Loop which connects the Kokopelli, Paradox and Tabeguache trails together into a single epic ride. He’s done the Colorado Trail Race multiple times and even completed it in 6 days. And he’s always leaving work early on Fridays to ride deep into the mountains and camp all weekend. When I have questions about bikepacking, I turn to Seth for answers.
In preparation for his Swift Campout, Seth has provided a few more key details about what to expect…
The Route
“The ride will start at Salto Coffee in Nederland. We'll ride to Tolland, and then onto Rollins Pass — an historic Native American hunting ground and trail, and an early railroad route over the Rocky Mountains. There will be snow on the route, which will mean hiking over snowbanks, as well as running water on the trail — be prepared to get your feet wet with snowmelt. This route is best ridden on a gravel bike with 45mm+ tires or a mountain bike. Rollins Pass is very bumpy and ledgy!”
The Camping
“We'll camp by Yankee Doodle Lake where folks can fish, and hopefully snag a rare tiger trout! We'll be camping at ~11,000' — it will be chilly at night, with lows in the 30s not out of the question. There is a chance that the lake will still be iced over at the end of June. If this is the case, we can camp a few miles down the road, which has a nice clearing and a stream. That decision will have to be made the week of.”
Bonus Miles
“I'll be riding from Boulder the morning of, so if anyone is interested in making this an epic day with 7k+ of climbing, let me know!"
What the Swift Campout means to Seth
“The Swift Campout is a great opportunity to get outside and experience wild Colorado with new people, and a great way to celebrate the solstice! For the last few years, I've been dipping my toes into ultra-endurance bikepacking races, which are a blast, but the most fun hands down is getting outside with friends new and old, and not racing the clock.
“Lastly, there's no wrong way to bikepack! Getting outside and trying or doing something new is what it's all about. I hope you'll join me on this adventure!”
[button]Shop the Swift Campout Collection[/button]
