Cross country for Americas 250

A large caravan will mark America’s 250 this summer in an epic marathon across the United States, traversing more than 6,800 miles on the American Discovery Trail.
Participants can join the event on daily stages as it makes its way across the nation, with opportunities to walk, run, ride horses, or travel on bicycle.
The event starts on July 1 on the Pacific Coast at Point Reyes, CA, north of San Francisco. The final leg will be completed 150 days later on Thanksgiving Day on the Atlantic Shore in Cape Henlopen, DE.
While the caravan will cover thousands of miles of the 150 days, several legs of the event will make their way through the rugged back country of San Juan County. In total, approximately 250 miles of the trail will be in San Juan County.
Areas that will be traversed include portions of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Bears Ears National Monument, and Canyonlands National Park.
According to organizers, many sections of the trail can have hikers, runners, bicyclers, and others. Thus, a 70-mile “bike” day will certainly include bicyclists who go the full distance, but there also can be people who meet up at the starting point in the morning and walk for a mile or more, or there may be walkers who gather at sites where the bikers stop for lunch or at the end of the day. Also some days listed as “hike” can include families or others who wish to ride their bikes.
The San Juan County legs include 50.6 miles on Saturday, August 8 for bike, run or horse. It starts in Garfield County and traverses the Colorado River bridge at Hite before traveling along Woodenshoe Road. (Participants can bike, run or horse.)
The leg on Sunday, August 9 starts on Woodenshoe Road and will finish 25.5 miles later at the Kigalia Guard Station. (Hike, run, or horse.)
Starting at Kigalia Guard Station on Monday, August 10, the next leg covers 28.9 miles up Elk Ridge and into Beef Basin to House Park. (Hike, run, or horse.)
There will be no leg of the event on Tuesday, August 11.
The next active leg of the event is on Wednesday, August 12 with hikers and runners traveling 29.1 miles from Beef Basin and through the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, traversing Elephant Hill, and stopping at the Needles Resort.
The group will then travel 19.6 miles into Lockhart Basin on Thursday, August 13. (Hike, run, horse.)
A 26.2-mile course on Friday, August 14 will take the group through Lockhart Basin and to the Basecamp Adventure Lodge at the base of Hurrah Pass. (Hike, run, horse).
The group will hike 17.8 miles from the Basecamp Adventure Lodge to Moab on Saturday, August 15 before taking a one-day break.
The final leg in San Juan County will be a 67-mile bike trip into the La Sal Mountains and finishing at Dewey Bridge.
The American Discovery Trail began to come together in the 1970s. It is the only non-motorized coast to coast trail.
For more information, check out the event website at discoverytrail.org.