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  1. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dogwood View Post
    Is it any harder than getting out?
    I just priced from my city to DRO on tues 9/3, $400.

    But.....heres what i harp on.....only 12500 miles on AA. $125 value of freq flyer miles .
    Dirt cheap.
    Prime flight.leave 6am, in DRO at 10:30.

    You can buy freq fler miles, often theres bonus sales or double mile sales too. If you want to fly multiple connecting flights cheap......keep freq flyer miles on hand. Some credit cards give you access to more flights, like elevated status as well.

    My son goes to school in NYC, flies to and fro 5 times per yr. Plus my hiking trips. I use freq flyer miles to pay for most of them, when its the better deal. Only time it isnt is holiday..high demand time.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 06-06-2018 at 12:59.

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dogwood View Post
    if I recall that CT hike roughly was 24 MPD avg. The elev changes of doing added summits was where being in LD hiking form played the biggest help. There was no acclimation issue. I wasnt afraid to night hike either which is beautiful under clear crisp CO fall nights at some elev. I'm not fast but will hike long hrs with an UL kit. I really dilly dallied not doing a time efficient hike taking bunches of zeros and losing 2 days the way it was set up. And it was close to 4 wks, the same time frame as you have but without a dog. BTW, does the JRT help you hike more MPD?
    Dog does 20+ mpd with no problems back east but the Colorado terrain did him in two years in a row....not taking him out west again....I can fly in/out Jax, Fl to Denver for close to $300 on SW but Durango is almost double.


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  3. #23
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    This only works if you are in the Turquoise Lake Campgrounds Before they close the day after Labor Day. The Hostel in Leadville is an alternative.
    Fly to DIA. Arrive before noon.
    One way car rental to DRO.
    Spend a night at Turquoise Lake outside Leadville. Top up supplies in Leadville. Jog around the campground.
    Drive to DRO. Drop resupply boxes at Twin Lakes, Monarch. etc. spend the night in DRO.
    Hike NE to DIA.
    If you have to bail for any reason, you can catch a bus in Leadville to Breckinridge/Frisco and an airport shuttle to DIA from there.
    All the best to you!
    Wayne

  4. #24
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Albuquerque - Durango 220 miles
    Denver - Durango 360 miles
    How much is a fly drive trip via Albuquerque versus Denver?
    Wayne

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by saltysack View Post
    Dog does 20+ mpd with no problems back east but the Colorado terrain did him in two years in a row....not taking him out west again....I can fly in/out Jax, Fl to Denver for close to $300 on SW but Durango is almost double.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    And if you sign up citi AA card, spend $3000 (car ins is easy), get 50,000 sign up miles, ...then its free. Cancel before fee comes due next yr.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post
    And if you sign up citi AA card, spend $3000 (car ins is easy), get 50,000 sign up miles, ...then its free. Cancel before fee comes due next yr.
    Great idea....


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  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by saltysack View Post
    Great idea....


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Do this with Southwest, pretty much the same deal (off and on), 50K miles, flights are generally cheaper in miles on SW than with AA, at least to/from Denver. Both my wife and I got separate SW visa cards, then fulfilled the obligation (spend 2K in 2 or 3 months each, easy to do, we charge everything then pay off each month). 100K miles, was good for 8-10 flights each (4-5 roundtrips, maybe more, lost count), we've done all our long distance hiking travel in the last two years this way, basically free. All airlines have the same deal, I would think. Do it! No excuse not to. Just make sure to cancel the card before first year is up.

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post
    I just priced from my city to DRO on tues 9/3, $400.

    But.....heres what i harp on.....only 12500 miles on AA. $125 value of freq flyer miles .
    Dirt cheap.
    Prime flight.leave 6am, in DRO at 10:30.

    You can buy freq fler miles, often theres bonus sales or double mile sales too. If you want to fly multiple connecting flights cheap......keep freq flyer miles on hand. Some credit cards give you access to more flights, like elevated status as well.

    My son goes to school in NYC, flies to and fro 5 times per yr. Plus my hiking trips. I use freq flyer miles to pay for most of them, when its the better deal. Only time it isnt is holiday..high demand time.

    Next time doing the CT I'm going to hitch Hwy 160 between Durango and Wolf Creek Pass including more of the CO CDT making a loop back to Breck. I'll take public transportation to Denver from there. IMHO as great the CT is the CO CDT is better.

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dogwood View Post
    Next time doing the CT I'm going to hitch Hwy 160 between Durango and Wolf Creek Pass including more of the CO CDT making a loop back to Breck. I'll take public transportation to Denver from there. IMHO as great the CT is the CO CDT is better.
    Why is the CO CDT better?

    I was reading a old thread somewhere that the CO CDT is about 750 miles. If the CT and CO CDT share 300 miles (if we include collegiate west), I've been wondering what sections of of the other CO CDT 450 miles I should consider hitting this summer?

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by KWColorado View Post
    Why is the CO CDT better?

    I was reading a old thread somewhere that the CO CDT is about 750 miles. If the CT and CO CDT share 300 miles (if we include collegiate west), I've been wondering what sections of of the other CO CDT 450 miles I should consider hitting this summer?
    The 750 miles is way off.
    Think of the CT as a couple of approximately 100 mile add ons to the approximately 600 miles of the CDT that pass through Colorado.
    Diving into my flameproof bunker.
    Wayne

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    The 750 miles is way off.
    Think of the CT as a couple of approximately 100 mile add ons to the approximately 600 miles of the CDT that pass through Colorado.
    Diving into my flameproof bunker.
    Wayne
    I was surprised too, but the CDT in CO is close to 800 miles. 780 IIRC, something like that. But the rest of what you say is true about the CT being basically add-ons to the CDT. Completely different on both ends of the CT, mostly the same in the middle.

    Personally, I like the CT slightly better down in the Durango area, but this is very subjective, and the CDT is fantastic, though I've only been north of WC pass on it.

  12. #32

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    CO CDT, separate from the CT, is largely bike free or at least far fewer bikes than sections of the co-joined CDT/CT around Breck, Monarch Crest, and Durango. CO CDT maintains a higher over all and longer duration segments at high(above 10K) elev than the CT and more deep descents and significant ascents. CO CDT sees far fewer people than the CT. Maybe that's just my perspective as the CO CDT is of longer duration. CO CDT over its greater length is less well known than the CT. ie; probably fewer people mile for mile. The CDT is not a trail that is said, "is here and only here", denoted by a red line on a map. It has acceptable and expected alternates. The CT is too "official" of a trail. ie; this is the trail. Most don't veer from the mainstream CT to do much anything else. It's an XYZ Trail. The CO CDT opting for the higher elev ridge line alternates is more difficult than the CT is overall with much more potential exposure. I like ridge line hiking and the CDT has more potential for experiencing it. The hardest LD backpacking I've done to date was taking PNWT high elev ridge line and CO CDT high elev ridge line alternates and going from sea level in Hilo to the summit of Mauna Loa bush wacking to Mauna Kea. I'm attracted to that which pushes me beyond current limits. These were highly memorable because they were the hardest. What I liked too about the CO CDT is that Ive hiked it either on a CDT SOBO thru or multi state CDT NOBO LASH while also doing the CT so when getting to the CDT alone I was always in the LD hiker Zen Zone which I absolutely love. That's why I like the CO CDT better.

    Want both trails do some of each. Plenty of possibilities for creatively hiking both trails or parts of both. Few do LD hikes piecing parts of trails together. Most want to bag an entire XYZ and often do it as sheep.

  13. #33
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Silly me. I forgot to check the CDT mileage with the Guthook app on my phone.
    Guthook says that the CDT through Colorado is approximately 745 miles.
    Wayne

  14. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    Silly me. I forgot to check the CDT mileage with the Guthook app on my phone.
    Guthook says that the CDT through Colorado is approximately 745 miles.
    Wayne
    Isn't that amazing how many miles the CDT is in Colorado? I was blown away, I had previously thought about 600 miles too, before a relatively recent thread on the CDT correct my guess.

    Nice little treatise on the merits of the CDT Dogwood. I share you love of high ridge walking. Still, the CT is amazing south of Molas pass, one of my favorite little stretches. It's all good.

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