Colorado Trail Trail resupply points???

[Cookerhiker]

On our July 24-August 30 hike this year, we used 8 resupply points:

1. Buffalo Creek - maildrop to PO/General Store. Hitching to store was unsuccesful - had to walk the 3 miles. Got a ride back from a homeless guy living out of his car. Store was dingy and the clerk rather unresponsive to basic requests. Wouldn't go there again. The only reason we chose it was our desire to start out with light packs to acclimate.

2. Jeffersonville - maildrop to PO/General Store. Nice little store, nice people, got a ride to and back from a Trail Angel who happened by and wanted to "give back" after his own thruhike.

3. Breckenridge - maildrop to Fireside Inn hostel. Also bought supplies at the local grocery store (City Market). Stayed 2 nights, slackpacked the day after arrival to Copper Mountain using the free bus schedule. Owner gave me a free fuel canister.

4. Leadville - maildrop to Leadville hostel. Got a shuttle both ways from "Wild Bill," the hostel owner. One of the best if not the bes hostel I've ever stayed in.

5. Twin Lakes - maildrop to PO/General Store. Walked a mile to the store. Wasn't open yet but a local guy had a key and let us in to get our packages. Got a ride back from a vacationing family who were fascinated with our thruhike. The Dad said "it was an honor" to shuttle us! BTW, the store did sell fuel canisters for my Coleman Exponent Ultralight and similar types like the Pocket Rocket; didn't expect this.

6. Salida - maildrop to Simple Lodge & Hostel. Got a ride right to the door from a Trail Angel - a young woman we had met a few days earlier hiking up Mt. Yale. Salida was our first zero day - very nice town. Bought myself a new pair of trail shoes after my boots fell apart. Hostel owner shuttled us back to trail.

7. Creede - maildrop to Snowshoe Lodge. We really lucked out on transportation as Creede is a tough hitch. After walking the one-mile side trail, we walked another 2-3 miles down the dirt 4WD road where we hardly saw anyone. But a family from Texas drove up and offered to take us a few miles. After conversation in the car, they generously took us all the way to Creede and refused gas money. Trail Angels!

We decided to stay in Creede 2 nights and slackpack the next day so we obtained a shuttle from the guy who owns the outfitter all the way to the one-mile sidetrail and a return shuttle from a local woman from the the end of the next segment, over 30 road miles away on Rt. 149. She also drove us back the next morning to that point.

8. Silverton - maildrop to Silverton Hostel. Did a zero day. Got a ride with less than 5 minutes of hitching into town, got a shuttle for return.

Also, there was discussion about the Trail Angel at Lujan Pass. We met Mr. Appel on the trail several miles from his setup. He encouraged us to partake of his goodies which we did when we arrived there. Very generous. BTW, he also dispenses trail goodies to AT hikers in NC in the Spring.

[trailnametba]

So is there any comprehensive list of all the trail resupply points? Not looking for town names, want a bit more detail, specifically looking for points that I don’t have to hike into town but where friends can drive to meet me or where I can hitch from.
i.e. Segment 5: 14.4 mile point – Kenosha Pass – 4.5 miles to Jefferson
Any help, or additional resupply points like this one would be greatly appreciated.

[Hole-In-The-Hat]

TBA, Several resources are available. Yogi's Colorado Trail Handbook has just been released - it covers resupply, including maps of the towns, etc. Check it out here: www.pcthandbook.com

Also there's Mags' write-up which you can get here: http://www.pmags.com/colorado-trail-end-to-end-guide

The official CT Guidebook is a good reference too. The start and end of each trail segment is accessible by road - though some of them require 4WD. Check it out here: http://www.shop.coloradotrail.org/Official-CT-Guidebook-8th-Edition-GUIDE8.htm

[brian039]

So is there any comprehensive list of all the trail resupply points? Not looking for town names, want a bit more detail, specifically looking for points that I don’t have to hike into town but where friends can drive to meet me or where I can hitch from.
i.e. Segment 5: 14.4 mile point – Kenosha Pass – 4.5 miles to Jefferson
Any help, or additional resupply points like this one would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, buy the databook: http://www.shop.coloradotrail.org/Co...-DATABOOK4.htm

You'll need it to hike the trail anyways. I'd give you the mileage info you're looking for but my databook was destroyed during the thru-hike. Cookerhikers post lists all the resupply points in great detail.

1) Skip Buffalo Creek as he suggests, bring enough dinners from Denver to get you to Breck/Frisco but buy snacks, lunches, and breakfasts from the store in Jefferson. Eat at the store in Jefferson, it's cheap and the staff is super-friendly.

2) Resupply in Frisco because it's cheaper than Breck. Slackpack over the 10-mile range to Copper Mt then catch the bus back to Breck if you want an easy day.

3) Good resupply in Leadville, buy enough stove fuel to get to Buena Vista or Salida because Twin Lakes may not have any.

4) Twin Lakes you need a mail-drop to get you to either Buena Vista or Salida. It takes a little longer for mail to get here so send it with time to spare. I sent myself a package from Breck and I had to wait a day for it to arrive here.

5) Buena Vista has good resupply but you could skip it, though I wouldn't. Easy to get in and out.

6) Salida has good resupply. You need a lot of food to get you to Creede.

7) Creede has good resupply. You can get into town via a 1.5 mile side trail and an 8 mile hitch on a dirt FS road. Or you can get there via Spring Creek Pass, this has been described as a hard hitch so I didn't try it and went into and out of Creede via the FS route without difficulty. Everyone I talked to in 2011 that hitched from Spring Creek Pass said it was easy and if I had it to do all over again that's what I would have done. It's 33 miles to Creede but it's a paved road in Colorado. A man or woman with a backpack on a paved road in CO with their thumb out will get a hitch. Lake City can also be hitched to at Spring Creek Pass but there isn't a grocery store there anymore.

8) Silverton has a good resupply

Most hitches took less than 10 minutes, some where instantaneous. Hardest one for me was leaving Salida but it only took 20-30 minutes. You're hitching from a 4-lane highway in front of a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

[Cookerhiker]

The only thing I would add to Brian's post is if you stay in hostels in Leadville and Salida, the hostel owners offer shuttles. Salida is a good place to stay a night for several reasons: the hostel (Simple Lodge & Hostel) is cool, you have at least 90 miles before the next town (Creede) via San Luis Pass or 105 miles via Spring Creek Pass, the Salida restaurants are good. If you meet fellow CT hikers at the hostel, you can share the return shuttle costs.

Oh one other thing - if you access Creede via San Luis Pass, you can slackpack the next day to Spring Creek Pass. Worked well for us.

[Cookerhiker]

Bumping this thread because it contains a lot of good resupply info. for CT thruhikers.

[Coffee]

I found this old thread researching resupply issues. I've tentatively decided to add Jefferson to my resupply plan to lighten the load starting from Denver. Leaving Jefferson I would only need slightly less than two days of food to get into Breckenridge. From looking at the Jefferson Market website, it appears that there should be enough basic items to buy for that two day stretch. My plan is to get into Jefferson mid/late afternoon on a Saturday, eat at the diner across the street from the market (Hungry Moose Caboose), resupply, get back to the trail and hike a few more miles before camping. Hoping for easy hitch due to it being the weekend.

It seems like a waste to send a resupply box to Jefferson for less than two days worth of food. Can anyone who has been in Jefferson recently tell me whether the market there has really basic items like Knorr sides, oatmeal, etc? I wouldn't be too picky for just a couple of days resupply. Thanks!

[Mags]

They always have basic supplies for the car campers that drive by their store a fair amount in the summer. . I do not recall exactly what they had off the top my head, but recall the usual camping staples vs backpacking staples this past summer. Some of which can work for backpacking (bread, cheese, even hot dogs), some not so much, at least not easily (canned food)

If you aren't picky, can get 2-3 days of food.. IF it is during or just after a holiday weekend, this small store may be picked clean, though.

[Coffee]

If you aren't picky, can get 2-3 days of food.. IF it is during or just after a holiday weekend, this small store may be picked clean, though.

Thanks, that sounds good enough for under two days, won't be near a holiday weekend. I guess the fallback is to hitch further to Fairplay but probably won't be necessary.

[Dogwood]

WOW, someone that did a CT resupply search before asking the same question that's been repeatedly answered ad nauseam.

Sounds like a good plan RN. There's a decent LNT camping area at a small stream only a few miles towards Breck from Kenosha Pass. You should have little issue getting to the Jefferson store/USPO,/gas station/bathrooms/Hungry Moose and back to Kenosha Pass(KP). KP is a busy TH(mountain bikers, campground, etc). Many folks choose to get into Breck from Hwy 285(Kenosha Pass) by turning off in Fairplay on Hwy 9. The store has been well stocked all four times I've been there, perfect for quickly grabbing 2-3 days of trailfood, gnosh a bite, and get a quick ride back to the KP. Hiker friendly folks in Jefferson. Your fall back plan into Fairplay(large grocery store) is great IF for some odd reason the Jefferson store doesn't have what you want. Couple of fast food/convenience store options in Fairplay as well. Try to time your stops into both Jefferson and Fairplay should you go to either place for the middle of the day. They have some odd hrs and may close early.

[Coffee]

Thanks Dogwood. It is useful to have recent information since I know that services in small towns often change.

I now have no food carries in my plan longer than 4 1/2 days. The most my pack will ever weigh on the trip is just under 27 pounds, more typical weight in the very low 20s. A much cheaper way to lighten my load than buying gear!

[Dogwood]

AHH, I'm impressed! Someone who sought to lower pack weight by not having a knee jerk throw money at it approach. How refreshing!

Now, when you do replace current gear as it starts wearing out with new possibly lighter wt gear it has the potential to be that much more rewarding.

[Coffee]

AHH, I'm impressed! Someone who sought to lower pack weight by not having a knee jerk throw money at it approach. How refreshing!

I give you credit for that insight! (I changed my screen name from RamblingHiker to my current screen name btw - we corresponded before).

[Dogwood]

Thank you RN. I get it right occasionally. I offer up what I've learned as different options to those who it might help. Notice I was the one asking some of the same questions as you almost 3 yrs ago to the dayas i was finishing up a CDT hike and planning for a future CT hike.

[Cookerhiker]

They always have basic supplies for the car campers that drive by their store a fair amount in the summer. . I do not recall exactly what they had off the top my head, but recall the usual camping staples vs backpacking staples this past summer. Some of which can work for backpacking (bread, cheese, even hot dogs), some not so much, at least not easily (canned food)

If you aren't picky, can get 2-3 days of food.. IF it is during or just after a holiday weekend, this small store may be picked clean, though.

You can also get a fresh sandwich made at the Jefferson store and take on the trail - that's what we did. We found the store staff to be very hiker-friendly.

WOW, someone that did a CT resupply search before asking the same question that's been repeatedly answered ad nauseam.
...

That was why I bumped this thread in April and also included a live link on one of RN-PCT2015's other threads because I remembered there was good info here.

[handlebar]

Hiked the Ct in '13 and would add these updates:

1. Recommend resupply at Twin Lakes either via package mailed to general store or by purchase food there. It's under new ownership and is very hiker friendly. They have yellow Heet and fuel for canister stoves which are often a required option when fire bans are in effect as this past summer. I tried to give owner $ for holding my package but he declined, so I ate lunch of food I bought there. Could have easily resupplied there.

A number of posters recommend resupply at Creede but I chose to hitch to Lake City both on my CDT and CT thru's. Ravens Rest at LC is great hostel run by former CDT thru hiker and the town is cool.

[HeartFire]

Lucky, the owner of Ravens Rest was talking about starting a daily shuttle to Spring Creek pass next year, so check with him to see if they are doing it. Lake City was a fabulous stop.

[wandering_bob]

He was talking about it for the 013 season too on the Trailforums.com CT Forum, but apparently did not get enough support from local businesses. He was trying to determine the best time for departure from Spring Creek Pass.

[wandering_bob]

http://trailforums.com/index2.cfm?action=detail&PostNum=62220&Thread=1&ro omID=13&entryID=145018

Here is the URL for the referenced discussion:

[Dogwood]

To add to Handlebar's Twin Lakes(TL) data, TL now has the recently nicely renovated historic Twin lakes Inn(Hostel too) that has a bar(saloon) and restaurant w/ some excellent freshly prepared meals. It's nice for a splurge or to get a very good professionally prepared meal to supplement a resupply. The TL Inn may hold boxes as well. I spoke to the owner amidst the renovation who seemed very hiker friendly. Mag's well done and regularly updated CT End to Ender's Guide refelcts most of this info. Agree with "Gumby's" assessment of the food.

https://thetwinlakesinn.com/Home_Page.html

http://www.pmags.com/colorado-trail-end-to-end-guide-2

There's also a FS CG a short distance north(towards Denver) of TL on the Colorado Trail. And, going south(towards Durango) of TL on the CT a short distance you'll come to legal places to camp.