Colorado Trail Help!

[UCONNMike]

Blake and I are planning a 8-9 day trip on the Colorado trail for this summer, but we have jsut started researching and have decided to cast out some questions to our fellow WB'ers for some advice.

1. What would be a good section to undertake for 8-9 days?

2. How would we get back to Denver when are hiking is done?

3. what would be the best time to do this, to maximize the good weather, make sure there will be water, not a ton of bugs, etc..?

These are teh questions that we have for right now, as we are just begining the planning process, but if any of you have been out there and done this trail, we would love to pick you brain. Thanks!

[MOWGLI]

Mike:

I did 60 miles of the CT in 2005 with my 15 year old daughter. We hiked from I70 at Copper Mountain to Twin Lakes in 5 days/4 nights.

First of all, checkout Mags' website which includes his end to end guide of the CT. http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.php

Mags has a whole analysis of the best time to hike the CT on his website.

Mags has forgotten more about the CT than most of us here know. There are a number of other hikers here who have walked all of the trail. That includes Tha Wookie, Profile & Almanac, and Bookburner. You might want to PM them.

From all of my research and from traveling around Colorado, I can tell you that pretty much everyone will tell you that the San Juan Mountains in SW Colorado offer the most bang for your buck. You might want to consider selecting a place along the CT and hike into Durango to end your trip.

I'm not sure how you'd get to the trailhead and back to Denver. Check with some of the thru-hikers that I mentioned above.

Good luck!

[Heater]

I'd go from Breckenridge or Leadville to Salida. It's about a four or five day hike. I second the suggestion of Mags website. Good info on there. They also have maps, guides and a databook on the Colorado trail Website.
http://www.coloradotrail.org/store.html

[Mags]

I'd go from Breckenridge or Leadville to Salida. It's about a four or five day hike. I second the suggestion of Mags website. Good info on there. They also have maps, guides and a databook on the Colorado trail Website.
http://www.coloradotrail.org/store.html

Thanks for all the kind words!

Going from Breck also makes logistics a bit easier to start and can get you in some nice scenery right away.

Getting out of Salida could be more difficult, but contacting the CTF and/or posting on trail forums may prove to be useful.

If you have more questions..ask away!

[Sly]

I have the CT Guidebook, Databook and CD Map package. $55 via Paypal takes all, includes shipping. All new...

[Heater]

Thanks for all the kind words!

Going from Breck also makes logistics a bit easier to start and can get you in some nice scenery right away.

Getting out of Salida could be more difficult, but contacting the CTF and/or posting on trail forums may prove to be useful.

If you have more questions..ask away!

They used to have a bus that went there. I think the closest now is Colorado Springs, right?

[UCONNMike]

Bought the guidebook. The book looks great, the photos and maps are nice, but does it need to be so heavy!!

[RITBlake]

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I will be heading from Leadville to Salida this september. Because of some work circumstances Mike can't make this trip.

[Tennessee Viking]

I never hiked the CT. But I have lived in the San Luis Valley of the Rio Grande Forest and made a number of trips up to Durango, Salida, and Buena Vista. Dry as hell in most of the valleys.

The summer time in the San Luis valley are pretty dry with the occasional heavy thunderstorm. Small forest fires are common during the summer.
Durango & Silverton mountain areas was the only areas that I saw some good flow water. But that was 10 years ago. While only a few peaks would still have snow. But I would guess that the northeast trail sections would probably be better for water.

But if you are wanting a end your trip around Denver, you might want to start around Leadville.

Bugs are not going to be a big problem except along rivers. There will not be a lot of bugs that high up.

Main thing to worry about on the Colorado Trail is elevation (thin air).
Friends of mine that try to hike the Sierras and Rockies end up only doing 10-15 miles a day on the higher elevations due to the air. They suggested drinking twice as much water to keep hydrated and the body oxygenated. You also want to be on the look out for bears, I am not sure what seasons have high encounters.

Then you will have to

[McQueen]

I was just out on the Colorado trail a few weeks ago. My friends and I hiked about 400 miles before we realized that we did not want to have to push through 30 mile days to finish the trail on time. So spur of the moment, we got a ride with a sheep herder on Jarosa Mesa who was moving a trailer and ended our trip.

Anyways, the trail was absolutely awesome. I had never been above treeline, or out west, and I had such a great time. I would suggest that you start out at segment 20 and go through La Garita wilderness and finish up at the end of segment 24 so that you can go through Weminuche wilderness(although we didn't make it there I have been told that is was gorgeous.) La Garita was definitely my favorite part of the trip.

As far as getting back to Denver you have a few options: You can buy an expensive shuttle, catch a greyhound of another bus, or if it was me, I would just hitch-hike. The feeling I got from Colorado was that it was a safe place and I felt very comfortable there. There are many outdoorsy people there and I am sure you could hitch a ride with a mountain biker or fellow outdoorsman, especially since you will be going to Denver.

I am not sure that there is a best time to start the trail. There are trade-offs each start date. If you go in June you will encounter more snow, but see cooler temperatures than if you started in July. We started July 15 and had a lot of bugs and very hot temperatures when not above treeline or at extreme altitudes. If you go in August/September it will be much cooler, have less bugs, but you will have increased chances of getting snowed on.

Anyways, hope that helped. If you have any other questions just ask.