This week I got the pleasure of walking the 17 miles of new trail opening between Cottonwood Pass and Tincup Road west of Buena Vista with a group consisting of USFS, CDTC, CTF, and Adopters for the new trail. This section has been under construction for over eight years. It will be utilized by both Continental Divide Trail and Colorado Trail hikers, and anyone else who likes a nice walk.

The new trail is truly spectacular. It is mostly high alpine terrain (up to about 12,800') with a few brief visits to the trees. Really well made trail, especially considering the difficult terrain. We found plenty of water along the way and had several unmelted snowfields to cross. They could be avoided by dropping down but were not too problematic. Thru hikers report that hikers have been dealing with a large snow field and cornice on Lake Ann Pass, which is one segment to the north. The SOBO hikers have been glissading down, but NOBO are having problems getting up.

Hopefully this link to some photos taken by Teresa Martinez will work:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9437680&type=1