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+ 111

Monarch Crest -> Starvation Creek (Starvation Creek Trail)

Mountain Biking Trail

Hard
28.63 mi
1,564 ft
Beautiful old school singletrack through a deep valley.

Most riders pedaling the Monarch Crest skip over the Starvation Creek trail on their way to the Silver Creek trail. Their loss, your gain!

Well, if you plan to ride the Rainbow Trail all the way to the highway, dropping down Silver Creek and taking Rainbow Trail is undoubtedly the best route option—which is why that combination constitutes the classic Monarch Crest route. If, however, you get to Marshall Pass but don’t plan to ride down the Rainbow Trail due to time or physical constraints, the Starvation Creek trail is the best descent to take from that point.

This old school singletrack trail is a hidden gem. Beginning in a gorgeous alpine meadow, the singletrack drops into a deep, dark forest, descending rapidly through root webs and loamy singletrack.

Eventually the trail reaches the bottom of a deep valley. The grade mellows out as the singletrack swoops and flows along the stream.

A few sections of the lower section of the trail cross scree fields, with challenging up-and-overs creating difficult pedaling. The extremely technical portions are over quickly, the trail returning to swoop and flow.

Some of the sections of singletrack along the stream are very narrow and quite exposed, and a moment of inattention can lead to a long fall into the drink. But if you stay focused, this rarely-ridden trail will reward you with a feeling of extreme isolation. Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

5 mi
8,000 ft9,000 ft10,000 ft11,000 ft12,000 ft0.0 mi5.0 mi10.0 mi15.0 mi20.0 mi25.0 mi

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
Monarch Crest to Green's Creek intersection6.79 mi669 ft0.5%
Monarch Pass to Marshall Pass10.63 mi-1,142 ft-0.8%
Monarch to Fooses Saddle 4.66 mi659 ft2.6%
M&M10.44 mi-1,050 ft-0.8%
Monarch to Starvation12.36 mi-1,060 ft-0.3%
Monarch Crest - First climb4.99 mi640 ft2.1%
CDT - Monarch Pass to Agate Creek7.66 mi636 ft1.2%
Monarch Crest to S. Fooses4.83 mi617 ft2.3%
U.S. 50 Climb0.73 mi279 ft7.0%
The Warm Up0.47 mi233 ft9.4%
Continental Divide Trail Climb0.54 mi348 ft12.1%
Sweet Track!2.40 mi79 ft0.2%
Dirty Harry0.93 mi-381 ft-7.7%
Dirty Harry (with margins)0.87 mi-381 ft-8.1%
County Road 237 Climb1.14 mi299 ft4.9%
agate to road1.45 mi-472 ft-5.7%
Agate To Road Singletrack DH1.31 mi-463 ft-6.5%
Agate to Fire Road1.24 mi-423 ft-6.4%
Agate to Road (DH Only)1.22 mi-440 ft-6.8%
Calculating Infinity2.53 mi-896 ft-6.7%
Infinity minus point-two2.41 mi-906 ft-7.1%
Fire Road to Marshall Pass Road1.28 mi-499 ft-7.3%
Starving Marshall1.07 mi285 ft5.0%
Starvin' Marvin5.14 mi-2,067 ft-7.5%
Starvation Creek Tr DH (split 1)0.99 mi-627 ft-12.0%
Starvation Creek Tr DH4.57 mi-2,041 ft-8.4%
Starvation binge1.40 mi-925 ft-12.4%
Starvation Creek Tr DH (split 1, with margins)0.88 mi-554 ft-12.0%
Starvation Creek4.24 mi-1,765 ft-7.9%
Starvation DH (upper-ish portion)1.83 mi-814 ft-8.4%
Starvation Creek Tr DH (split 2)1.95 mi-912 ft-8.8%
S'more!0.80 mi-328 ft-7.7%
Double-Stuff0.78 mi-344 ft-8.4%
Starvation DH (lower-ish portion)1.75 mi-554 ft-5.9%
Starvation Creek Tr DH (split 3)1.63 mi-505 ft-5.9%
Happier Ending1.35 mi-433 ft-6.0%