It is shocking to me that my last big adventure was 3 years ago. I was deep in the Tahoe wilderness questioning why I brought my poor little pup on such an ambitious trip and desperate for a plan to bail her out. Luckily, all things considered, it all worked out and Addie is back to her happy little self and the failed trip has not dampened my love for adventure. In fact, after a relatively quiet few years, that itch for adventure has returned and the only cure is another grand trip! After floating around the possibilities, I boiled it down to three options – a Northern Tier bike tour, an international thru hike of the Tour du Mont Blanc, or keep it domestic with a Colorado Trail Thru hike. My love for the great West won, and soon I found myself knee deep in the logistics of planning a nearly 500 mile trek from Denver to Durango CO.
While I always knew the Colorado Trail existed, I never took much time to look into it. While setting out for the 2022 Four Passes Loop hike, I ran into 2 Colorado Trail (CT) thru hikers in Alma. I didn’t want to bother them too much, so I asked a few brief questions. Afterwards, I did a quick google investigation and right then and there I determined eventually I would attempt to conquer the trail. Maybe I didn’t forecast this would happen 2 years from then, but no time like the present!
What is the Colorado Trail?
The CT is a (for my personal thru hike) 491 mile thru hike starting in the outskirts of Denver and ending in the San Juan mountain town of Durango. Climbing over 90K’ vertical feet with much of that being over 10K’ of elevation, it is quite the endeavor for any level of backpacker. Born in 1974 and completed in 1987, the trail originally took hikers east of the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, but like all things, it evolved in 2012 to include an alternate route through the Collegiates, known today as the Collegiate West alternate. The trail wouldn’t be what is it today without the passion of the Colorado Trail Foundation and its devoted volunteers. A trail of this length obviously requires a lot of logisitics and planning to complete, but luckily there is no shortage of trail towns along the way who offer supplies and rest for a weary hiker!
Trip Planning
My biggest concern for taking on a trip of this magnitude initially was logistics. Luckily, I am no stranger to complicated logistics and thankfully for me, though the CT is over double the distance of the JMT, planning this hike is much less complicated.
For my trip planning, I utilized The Colorado Trail Guidebook that I purchased 3 years ago, the Colorado Trail Foundation website (truly, all the information one needs to plan a CT thru hike is in there), and various blogs/vlogs from those who have completed the trail. From that wealth of knowledge, I boiled down a rough plan for a 5 week journey. A trip this large it’s nearly impossible to plan day to day itinerary. While I was able to for the JMT (more out of logistical necessity), the stress of having a daily schedule to keep up with can be a distraction and has the potential to take away from the spontaneity the trail can bring. The major things I had to be aware of were resupply towns. Fortunately, the trail does have towns relatively close that are accessible by either a short hike off trail or easy to get hitch. With full services, I can shop in town and not have to worry about shipping a resupply box – that is, with the exception of one. And I’ll get into that shortly.
5 weeks alone on a trail can get pretty lonely, so I shot a message over to my favorite adventure buddy, Sheena, asking if she was interested in joining me. Never one to turn down an adventure (in her home state none the less!) Sheena obliged and I’m so grateful and excited I’ll have someone to bask in the beauty (and pain) with.
We’re back!
Originally I debated driving out to CO. Not wanting to risk delays or lost luggage because of recent nonsense with airlines and loving long drives, I was going to take a leisurely scenic drive out to one of the most scenic places in the country. But alas, plane tickets and a family trip the weekend before our start date nearly forced me into flying. I already shipped out my food and majority of gear out to Sheena in Leadville (shipping cost more than the plane ticket – d’oh!) and will just carryon the rest on the plane.
Trip Prep
500 miles is no joke! The longest I have completed is the JMT, and like I previously said, the CT is over double the mileage. Not wanting to haul Big Booty Judy over all the mountains Colorado has to offer, I decided that I needed some gear change. I have slowly replaced most of my old heavy gear with new ultralight gear that makes life a little easier. This old body no longer can handle a 45lb pack and anything I can do to hedge my bets at completing this trail I’ll do.
So I now have a 55L Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest pack, a Sea to Summit ultralight sleeping bag, finally gave in and got a Sawyer Squeeze filter, a lightweight food storage system, and decided to trade in my clunky hiking boots for trailrunners. Theoretically, when all is said and done, my gear should be weighing ~12lb not accounting for water or food. Not bad when compared to my previous set up!
Gear pic! Addie unfortunately not included.
All this new gear gave me a good excuse to get out and test it out! Thankfully, Addie is great at processing trauma and didn’t hesitate to join me on a shake out hike out in Loyalsock State Forest in PA. We did a 2 night 26(ish) mile hike through the beautiful landscape and really put the new equipment through the ringer. Outside of slow miles with a senior dog (really just my own excuse, I had a severely painful foot I hobbled through those miles with, thank God for trekking poles), some really loud owls, a loud thunderstorm, and caterpillars raining from the sky, it was a great trip to take with Addie before leaving her for so long.
Addie and me at World’s End State Park – the trail goes right through it!
The pack was amazing, carried everything perfectly and felt so light, even with 5# of dog food. The trailrunners were light and bouncy, even with what I can only imagine was a fractured foot (the pain was nearly unbearable!). And I kicked myself for not hopping on the Sawyer train earlier – what an incredible piece of equipment! It made me feel so secure and comfortable with the new replacements and ready to tackle on the mountains in CO.
Okay, so what exactly is my plan?
Heck if I know! Like I said earlier, a trip of this magnitude cannot be strictly planned out. All that is set in stone is our first day has to be longer than 7 miles due to camping restrictions, we are choosing the Collegiate West route (barring any unforeseen circumstances), and we have to get in our miles early because of afternoon storms. Having experienced monsoon season on the JMT and gone through some of the most terrifying storms above treeline in the Sierras, I would prefer to not repeat this again out in CO. From what I’ve read, everyday around 2pm you can (and should) expect a storm to roll through – so just like the JMT!
Initially I wanted to just bust out miles everyday to complete this trail quickly, as I worry about my mental ability to stick it out for 5 weeks. But that all changed when Sheena accepted my offer. Having a good friend come along and share this experience with will only add to the magic of the trail. 25 mile days only sound more appealing if doing them alone. So the plan now is to start out conservatively and start tacking on longer mileage days once our trail legs develop. All in all, I am expecting this to take 30-35 days in total, including zero days. There are also opportunities to bag some 14ers, as some of these peaks are right off the CT! While this goal is likely to change depending on how tired the trail makes me, I really want to try and climb at least Mt. Elbert, as it’s the peak that my carved wooden Welcome Bear Bert I got in Frisco is named after!
Those bittersweet zero days! I remember feeling so guilty taking them on the JMT and just itching to get back on the trail. I’m sure the same will be true for this. Right now, our resupply stops are looking like Jefferson, Breckenridge, Leadville, Twin Lakes, Salida, Lake City, and finally Silverton. We certainly don’t want to have long food carries, so any carry longer than 6 days is not ideal. Wanting to have lighter back, hot food, and potential for a rest day will certainly hasten our pace to get in the miles for a resupply or zero day!
Speaking of resupply, this is the trail food I’ll be chowing down on! Though with shopping in towns, this is bound to look different with each resupply stop.
And thus we have it. My flight is scheduled, everything is shipped out, the animals will be properly taken care of (new addition to the pirate crew, Missy the tripod cat!), and the start date is set. We will be starting the trail July 18, just one day after the 6 year anniversary of my start date for the JMT! Wish us luck and peace from the bears and thunderstorms!
Obligatory pet pic! Missy brooding in the background is the newest member of the Pirate Ship. Missing one leg, she is slowly but surely becoming a defining member of the pack.
Emilie Bikes and Hikes 