Slack packing CT Segment 7

[Coffee]

In terms of logistics, it would seem easier to stay overnight in Frisco if planning to slack pack Segment 7 from Gold Hill trailhead to Copper Mountain since the bus ride on each day would be shorter vs staying in Breckenridge and there would be no bus transfer involved. Is this enough of a consideration to choose Frisco rather than Breckenridge for lodging? I've read great things about the Fireside Inn in Breckenridge plus they hold mail drops but I'm not sure it is worth staying there if the slack packing logistics are more difficult. Is this an issue or are we just talking about a short amount of additional time?

I'm currently not planning a full zero in Breckenridge/Frisco but rather a short day prior to arriving in town and then the Segment 7 slack pack. I'm thinking that I would have plenty of time to do town errands between those two days and take advantage of the restaurant opportunities. The slack pack would seem to be kind of a break in itself and not a very long day at 12.8 miles.

Thanks.

[Mountain Mike]

Read Cookerhikers journal http://www.trailjournals.com/CookerhikerCT11 I believe he did a slack there.

[Coffee]

Thanks, here is the relevant entry: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=362830

[Coffee]

I probably should have researched this myself before posting here. I've now done so and wanted to close the loop on this in case it is useful for others. It appears that staying in Frisco would make it possible to get an earlier start both on the day of the slackpack from Gold Hill to Copper Mountain and again when resuming the backpacking trip at Copper Mountain. I got the following information from the Summit County website with schedules for 2013 and right now I'm assuming they will be the same in 2014. http://www.co.summit.co.us/index.aspx?NID=360

Option 1: Stay in Breckenridge

• Logistics for day of slack pack: Take earliest bus toward Frisco on the Breckenridge-Frisco line at 7:45 am. It appears that this should get to the Gold Hill trailhead in about 15 minutes or around 8:00 am. So the earliest time to start the Segment 7 slackpack is around 8am which is probably OK given that the segment is just 12.8 miles and most of it should be done by early afternoon when thunderstorms may start. Return bus would be on the Copper Mountain line connecting to the Frisco-Breckenridge line but not really so concerned with how long it will take.
• Logistics for day resuming backpack at Copper Mountain: Take earliest bus toward Frisco on the Breckenridge-Frisco line at 7:45 arriving in Frisco at 8:15am. Transfer to Copper Mountain line leaving Frisco at 8:15 am and arriving at Copper Mountain around 8:30am. Therefore the earliest time to resume the backpacking trip at Copper Mountain would be 8:30 am - POSSIBLY problematic given the need to get over Searle and Kokomo Passes before any possible storms arrive in the afternoon.

Option 2: Stay in Frisco

• Logistics for day of slack pack: Take earliest bus toward Breckenridge on the Breckenridge-Frisco line at 6:30am arriving at the Gold Hill trailhead around 6:45am. On the trail more than an hour prior to Option 1 and will probably finish the entire segment before 2pm. Return bus would be on the Copper Mountain line to Frisco without any transfers.
• Logistics for day resuming backpack at Copper Mountain: Take earliest bus toward Copper Mountain from Frisco leaving at 6:30 am arriving Copper Mountain around 6:45am - this is 1 hour and 45 minutes earlier than Option 1 and possibly very important if afternoon storms are a threat.

So at this point, I'm leaning toward staying in Frisco even though I would miss out on the Fireside Inn and end up paying more in Frisco for lodging.

Or I could give up my idea of a slackpack, stay at Fireside Inn overnight and resume the backpacking trip at the Gold Hill trailhead the next day. I would still only be able to start Segment 7 around 8am but that's probably OK. The real issue is my fear of not being able to start Segment 8 until 8:30am the following day. If I backpack Segment 7 I would also hike a ways into Segment 8 and probably camp just short of where the trail goes above treeline - ready to start the next day early and get over the passes.

Yes, if it appears that I'm paranoid about lightning that's accurate!

[bearcreek]

Or I could give up my idea of a slackpack, stay at Fireside Inn overnight and resume the backpacking trip at the Gold Hill trailhead the next day. I would still only be able to start Segment 7 around 8am but that's probably OK. The real issue is my fear of not being able to start Segment 8 until 8:30am the following day. If I backpack Segment 7 I would also hike a ways into Segment 8 and probably camp just short of where the trail goes above treeline - ready to start the next day early and get over the passes.

I have never really understood why hikers go through all the gymnastics required to do this short slackpack, which turns a six hour hike into a multi-day project. My suggestion is to hike to Gold Hill, go to either Breckenridge or Frisco for the night, then return to hike over the Tenmile range to Copper Mountain and beyond the next day. There are some good campsites along Guller Creek above Copper which would situate you to hit Searle / Kokymo first thing in the morning. You do not need to carry much in the way of supplies out of Gold Hill if you are planning on going into Leadville. Depending on your speed, Guller to Tennessee Pass can be done in one hard or two easy days.

I have encountered some sketchy weather on the Searle to Kokymo part and strongly recommend that you hit it early in the day.

[Dogwood]

Some want to slack pack that section to save wt, avoid a long hiking day in inclement weather, etc doing it as a day hike or perhaps having a shorter easier day sandwiched in between longer perhaps more strenuous hiking days. If you're in beat the clock hiking mode stay in Frisco; saves a little time; maybe 2-3 hrs RT total time compared to staying in Breck. I've slacked that section twice(CT/CDT) but I tend to stop in Breck dilly dallying around. I like the surrounding areas/towns(health food market, gear outlets, coffee shops, library, etc) as well -Silverthorne, Dillon, etc. Of that 13 or so miles between the Gold Hill TH and Copper Mt VERY LITTLE of it is on the open exposed TenMile Range ridge so it's my guesstimate the lightning factor isn't all that great. Section 7 is almost entirely up up up and down down down.

Section 7 as well as section 8-9 between Leadville(Tennessee Pass or Turquoise lake) and Copper Mt I've slack packed too choosing to save wt by doing another short resupply in Leadville. But that's what I do in this area and the way I sometimes hike - 25 mile day, "zero" day(sometimes two "zeros", 13 mile day, followed by a 35 mile day. As you might guess that 9-5(8-6) lifestyle for 20 yrs straight is not me.

[Coffee]

The slack pack is starting to look like more trouble than it is worth. The idea was to have a relatively easy day and to benefit from being in town for two nights rather than one. I could always just take a full zero day to simplify things, or possibly arrange to arrive in town very early in the day to take care of town errands, resupply, etc before resuming with a full pack the following morning. I like bearcreek's idea of doing Section 7 and then camping along Guller Creek hitting the passes early the next morning.

I'm not planning to stop in Leadville but my calculated pack weight to get from Breck to Twin Lakes isn't bad at all. Around 27 pounds total including food/water heading out of Breckenridge.

At the moment I've sketched out a 29 day hike doing the Collegiate West route with about 30 miles added to the official CT length including Mt. Massive, Elbert, and possibly a couple of other 14ers.

[Dogwood]

Your call. I think you're overanalyzing it a bit though. I know those who tend to over analyze. I see one in the mirror when I shave. Just keep it open as an option.

Ley's CDT maps had some decent informative notes about this CT area's options(it's the CDT too) and I think Mags talked a bit about this at his site and here on WB as well.

IMO, the CT gets more strenuous past Breck going west(Durango). That's where the roller coaster ride begins. Maybe, it's just my perception. Good climb up from the Copper Mt Th and w/ exposure to Kokomo Pass.

[Coffee]

Your call. I think you're overanalyzing it a bit though. I know those who tend to over analyze. I see one in the mirror when I shave. Just keep it open as an option.

Yeah I tend to do that. I did something I said I wasn't going to do for the CT trip and made a spreadsheet this past weekend. I'm probably going to have to change my screen name which is more aspirational than reality at the moment - I'm more of a planner than a rambler!

[Cookerhiker]

I was going to describe my experience but Mountain Mike beat me to it.

I have never really understood why hikers go through all the gymnastics required to do this short slackpack, which turns a six hour hike into a multi-day project. My suggestion is to hike to Gold Hill, go to either Breckenridge or Frisco for the night, then return to hike over the Tenmile range to Copper Mountain and beyond the next day. There are some good campsites along Guller Creek above Copper which would situate you to hit Searle / Kokymo first thing in the morning. You do not need to carry much in the way of supplies out of Gold Hill if you are planning on going into Leadville. Depending on your speed, Guller to Tennessee Pass can be done in one hard or two easy days.

I have encountered some sketchy weather on the Searle to Kokymo part and strongly recommend that you hit it early in the day.

I don't disagree that this is entirely feasible. Yes, you could get an early start from Gold Hill Trailhead and hike all the way to Jacque or Guller's creek, putting you in place to ascend Elk Ridge first thing in the morning - definitely the time of day to do that stretch in alpine country.

In our case, Breckenridge was our first town stop and we wished to enjoy the amenities of meals, shower, etc. plus take a nero day. So the day after the slackpack, we slept in, left late, took the bus, and hiked to Jacque Creek. We did Jacque/Guller to Tennessee Pass in one long day plus a very short day.

I will point out that statistically, Segment 7 is the steepest of the Colorado Trail's 28 segments when measuring elevation change per mile. It's nice to hike it with just a light daypack.

[Cookerhiker]

Yeah I tend to do that. I did something I said I wasn't going to do for the CT trip and made a spreadsheet this past weekend. I'm probably going to have to change my screen name which is more aspirational than reality at the moment - I'm more of a planner than a rambler!

My GF teases me all the time about my spreadsheets (on lots of stuff, not just hikes), but she's grateful when I do one for our hikes together.

[Cookerhiker]

Oh, one last point FWIW: many CT thruhikers assert that the San Juans or Segments 22-24 are the best but IMO, the Elk Ridge/Searle Pass/ Kokomo Pass stretch was my favorite section of the entire CT. Perhaps it's because the wildflowers were profuse and at their peak when we hiked it in early August.

[HeartFire]

Oh, one last point FWIW: many CT thruhikers assert that the San Juans or Segments 22-24 are the best but IMO, the Elk Ridge/Searle Pass/ Kokomo Pass stretch was my favorite section of the entire CT. Perhaps it's because the wildflowers were profuse and at their peak when we hiked it in early August.

I too loved this section. It's just too short. We got up top to watch the sunrise ( spent the night right at tree line). So we hiked it very early morning and it was beautiful. Lots of wild flowers. Not another soul to be seen.. But it's only about a 3 mile stretch. Then there were tons of bike riders showing up as the morning wore on which spoiled the rest of the day.

[StubbleJumper]

RN, my take is that you are over-thinking this. The bus ride from Breck to Copper is a nuisance, but it's hardly a deal-breaker. The slack over the 10-mile range makes the nuisance all worthwhile. That short stretch is absolutely beautiful, and it's really a treat to make the 3,500 foot climb without a heavily loaded rucksack.

It's true that you can't get a very early start when leaving town on your way to Kokomo Pass, but what's new about that? I almost never get an early start when leaving any town because it can be hard to find a breakfast place that's open before 7am. The good news is that there are a few places to camp just before you arrive at the 10th Division chalet which is where you pop up above the treeline. If the weather is really sketchy, well, you can just call it a short day and hunker down for the night. If it's a half-decent afternoon, there's no difficulty getting up Searle, through Kokomo and down to the treeline.

Effectively, you will be faced with this type of challenge on several occasions as you head west. I ended up hiking a short day while climbing toward San Luis peak because a series of four thunderstorms rolled through, with the first starting at lunch time. It sucked to only hike 10-ish miles that day, but that's life in Colorado. And again the next day, I ended up hiking another short day because I felt that it would be safer to hunker down in the Mineral Creek area below the tree line. On other occasions, I was exposed to the risk of thunderstorms without the benefit of a low, forested area at all. That's Colorado.

Anyway, hike your own hike, but for my part I really enjoyed the time that I spent in Breck and when I do the CT again, I'll definitely be planning to slack the section from Copper to Breck.

[Dogwood]

I notice tons of logistics questions ONLY from one aspect - TIME. What takes the least amount of time? I seriously hope one doesn't go through all of life this way. In this area, and after Breck/Copper, what about the significant short term elev changes, hiking style, resupplying, zero/nero days, one's personal fitness level, the character of the CT going WEBO at this stage on a CT thru-hike going WEBO, etc. In regard to resupplying I take it in context with the elev profile when I have options. That's what factors into the slack packing and additional resupplying opps in this area. Some take advantage of these opps to not carry so much wt so often by breaking up the mileage and food wt while hitting some of the first truly significant short term elev. changes on a CT WEBO thru-hike. Look at the CT elev profile.

http://userpages.bright.net/~mziegle...%20profile.htm

[Coffee]

Just finished slack packing segment 7. It was the right call! I can't imagine not enjoying this segment but I sure enjoyed it more with very minimal weight. Some steep ascents in segment 7.

[Cookerhiker]

Yup, that's the way to go. BTW, when do you expect to reach Salida?

[Coffee]

Probably around August 13 but it depends on whether I attempt to summit Mt Massive or Mt Elbert. The weather seems to be improving so I'm hoping to get to hike both.

[Dobbins]

You can also slack pack several sections around Leadville, as the trail crosses about 5 different roads into town. The Leadville hostel was a nice, unplanned stop for me that lasted several nights. While I slack packed segments 9 and 10.

[Dogwood]

Sect 7 I once hiked at night. The night views of Breck, Frisco, Siverthorne, and Dillon on the northern side and Cooper MT on the southern side are pretty damn shweet. There are at least two decent campsites near/on water(Miners Creek) on the northern side and LNT sites in the fields near/on Ten Mile Creek just before Hwy 91 before the ascent of Copper Mt. One night, preferably in winter with some light snow cover, I will sleep atop this range on the CT.