colorado trail wester collegiate route

[HeartFire]

Is there anywhere to do a food drop or shop along the western route? We do have the possibility of stopping in Tin Cup, Co, we know someone with a cabin there - but there is no post office, or store in town, I don't know if UPS would ship there or not - I'll have to check with UPS.

[Mags]

Plenty of places to resupply along the way (at least by maildrops)

Twin Lakes, Beauna (sp?) Vista, Leadville, Princeton Hot Springs...and more.

Depending which end you start at of the loop, Twin Lakes breaks it up it quite nicely as it is the middle.

[Cookerhiker]

Mags, if she's taking the western loop, won't she miss Princeton Hot Springs? Hiking SOBO, the loop starts at Twin Lakes and rejoins the original CT at the Monarch Crest south of Salida.

We supplied via a maildrop at Twin Lakes which lasted us until Salida - about 75 miles on the original route. Not sure of the distance on the western loop.

[Mags]

Mags, if she's taking the western loop, won't she miss Princeton Hot Springs? Hiking SOBO, the loop starts at Twin Lakes and rejoins the original CT at the Monarch Crest south of Salida.

EDIT: Just realized the confusion...I was reading this as doing the LOOP. Mea Culpa. You want to do the western option and not the loop.

The western portion is about the same as the eastern portion (80 miles).

BV, Salida, Twin Lakes, Monarch Mtn Lodge all could work. The new Western option is essentially the CDT. Some people also send a mail drop to Cottonwood Hot Springs just off Cottonwood Pass. Can you say LAY OVER day??

[Dogwood]

Just to add to Mags already solid resupply info from his CT End To Enders info:

Twin Lakes has LIMITED resupply, maybe a dinner or two, flavored oatmeal, junk food snacks, a sandwich, etc. IMO, this is a supplement to a more fuller resupply. Probably, better off mailing a box here. I guess some might eek out a short resupply though. This is hit or miss but there was a hiker box with end of the season goodies in it this past Oct 2012. Within the SMALL general store is the PO. One thing of note that I feel needs to be mentioned is that the open hrs for the TL Gen Store, which includes getting a box from the PO inside it, has reduced hrs during fall/winter. This came into play for me thruing the CT in late sept/mid Oct. Near both the CT routes. This Oct 2012, a new Inn/Restaurant was about to be opened right across the street from the general store. I talked to the owners. Certainly possible to grab a B-fast and/or dinner here. Check up on this though if relying on this for resupply though.

Princeton Hot Springs has small resort store but is more comprehensive than TL Gen Store. Even with my picky pesce veg diet I could have purchased two maybe three solid days of trail food. I supplemented my trail food haul here on this CT route by snagging some snacks, hitting the B-fast buffet(VERY good), and eating some veggie burritos at the bar before getting back on trail. I think they will hold boxes for hikers too IF asked nicely.

[Cookerhiker]

...Princeton Hot Springs has small resort store but is more comprehensive than TL Gen Store. Even with my picky pesce veg diet I could have purchased two maybe three solid days of trail food. I supplemented my trail food haul here on this CT route by snagging some snacks, hitting the B-fast buffet(VERY good), and eating some veggie burritos at the bar before getting back on trail. I think they will hold boxes for hikers too IF asked nicely.

Again, she's hiking the Western loop which is not convenient to Princeton Hot Springs.

[HeartFire]

To clarify (Thanks Cooker) we are going to thru hike the CT taking the Western Collegiate route

Thanks everyone, we may just have to carry a heavy load out of Twin Lakes. and then try to go to Salida from Monarch pass or Marshall Pass - Is this an easy option?

Our only other option if possible is a UPS or FedEx drop in Tin Cup - it's a tiny little ghost town 2 miles off the western loop near Mirror lake, my hiking buddy has a family cabin there. There is no PO no store etc in this tiny nothing-ness, I am hoping UPS will deliver there. We could put a drop in a 5 gal plastic bucket like on the JMT.

[Mags]

Thanks everyone, we may just have to carry a heavy load out of Twin Lakes. and then try to go to Salida from Monarch pass or Marshall Pass - Is this an easy option?

Quite a bit of traffic going by Monarch Pass. There is a parking lot and a CONTINENTAL DIVIDE sign (lots of people pausing to take photos) along with a gift shop/ cafeteria IIRC. Many CDTers go into Salida from there.

[HeartFire]

Mags,
Thank you so much.

[On Track]

Colorado Trail Collegiate West (CW) route connects with roads that lead to possible resupply towns.

1. Taylor Park Trading Post - West 11 miles from CW along Cottonwood Pass Road is Taylor Park Trading Post open in summers. Talking with them on the phone, sounds like a fair-sized lodge with store (more than snacks), showers, laundry. Maybe even stove gas and mail drop. Road gets some traffic but might be an iffy hitch, more likely on weekends & holidays.
2. Cottonwood Hot Springs or Buena Vista - East (I don't know miles) along Cottonwood Pass Road are these two possibilities. Possibly longer and iffier hitch, though this landscape is popular with jeepers and motorcycle folks and they might assist.
3. Tincup - West 4 miles along Tincup Pass Road (this road might also be called Mirror Lake Road) this teeny town reportedly has a restaurant and very small store. I don't think they offer mail drop.
4. Saint Elmo (4 miles) and Mt Princeton Hot Springs (15 miles) - From where you'll diverge from Tincup Pass Road southeast of Tincup Pass, you can access these two resupply places. Saint Elmo supposedly has a tiny store for snacks etc. Mount Princeton Hot Springs is a NICE SOAK & SHOWERS plus lodge, store, possibly stove gas, and I believe they'd accept your mail drop. Again, hitch kinda iffy I suppose.
5. Garfield/Monarch Mountain Lodge - From Middle Fork Road at Boss Lake Trailhead just 2 miles is this hiker-friendly place and they have a restaurant and have accepted hiker mail drops for years.
6. Monarch Crest Store - This is ON the CW and is a souvenir store with snacks and they'll accept UPS mail drop.
7. Salida and Gunnison - These are both accessible when you're at Monarch Crest Store along US Highway 50. Salida is about 22 miles. Gunnison is about 42 miles. Both are full service towns with good hostels. Either should be a relatively easy hitch, or you might just chat someone up at the top of Monarch Pass so you don't even need to stick your thumb out.

[HeartFire]

On Track- Thanks, this is all great info. we will be going into Tincup for the night - it's good to know there is a restaurant store there - We have access to a cabin in Tincup, I'm going to check with UPS tomorrow to see if we can mail a package to the cabin and do a food drop that way.

[fiddlehead]

I hiked through Tincup once.
Don't remember if it was when I did the CO trail, or CDT but remember it being a very interesting town.
Like a ghost town except people live in the houses there. (in the summer anyway)
I remember some kind of store but it was small.
Sounds like a good blue blaze for ya.

[Dogwood]

Yeah, thanks all for the additional input. Didn't know about some of the additional possible resupply pts.

Gotcha CookerHiker. Threw the PHS info out there anyway. Thought it might help someone. Hopefully it didn't confuse folks doing the western CT route.

Fiddlehead, BOO!

[Mags]

More Tincup info:
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/co/tincup.html
http://www.pitkincolorado.com/tincup/

[Coffee]

Tin Cup looks like a really interesting place. HeartFire, did you have any success mailing a UPS package somewhere in town?

At the moment, I'm planning on a resupply at Twin Lakes and at the Monarch Crest Store (right on trail) but Tin Cup might be a good alternative to Monarch Crest and allow for a very light pack from Twin Lakes.

[HeartFire]

Rambling Hiker.

Yes, we did go into Tincup and had the most amazing trail magic and adventure. But I think the trail may be moved next year away from TinCup. The town is about 4 miserable (if you have to walk it) miles from the trail head, we lucked out and there were several cars at the trail head and we talked them into driving us into Tincup. Bill, the owner of the general store was wonderful. He had our boxes and took us around back so we could do our laundry - and we heard him on the phone trying to find out if there was an empty rental cabin in town for us for the night! (we hadn't asked about it). Well, the washing machine was broken, and there were no available rental cabins in town, so he had someone come pick us up and take us '6 miles down the road' to Holts Guest Ranch. - All of this without us asking anything about this, we just sort of let it happen, having no idea where we were going, what was happening! Well, it turns out his mother owns the guest ranch. We were put up in a cabin, had free laundry and showers, his mom Eleanor drove us back into town to eat at the restaurant in Tincup - Frenchies, (which she owns). Then drove us back to the ranch. The next morning she drove us back to 'town' for breakfast, we toured around Tincup - explored the cemetery - and then she drove us to the trail head. Eleanor is 75 yrs old, and one amazing woman! She would not let us pay for anything! She and Bill will just say that they love their Thru Hikers, and only get 5 or 6 a year. I think if more people knew about the place they would go. Frenchies restaurant was very good. Don't expect to get anything more than a gatorade and candy bar at the general store. I made a nice donation to the CTF in their names to thank them for their wonderful generosity.
The road going into Tincup is a 'jeep' road - very rocky, it would be a rough walk, but if you can yogi a ride, it's a great place to visit. It was bustling with a lot of activity - lots of ATV riders, so it would be easy to get a hitch back out of town.

If you do go to Tincup and meet Bill and his mom, be sure to send them my love.

Also, send your package via USPS not UPS (same goes for Twin Lakes - USPS will get it there)

[Coffee]

Wow, that sounds like an awesome experience! I like the looks of Tincup from what I've seen of it online and your description makes me want to check it out next year! I've planned out my trip based on the 2013 map/data book so I'll have to see what reroutes were done to see if it still makes sense.

[Hot Flash]

Rambling Hiker.

Yes, we did go into Tincup and had the most amazing trail magic and adventure. But I think the trail may be moved next year away from TinCup. The town is about 4 miserable (if you have to walk it) miles from the trail head, we lucked out and there were several cars at the trail head and we talked them into driving us into Tincup. Bill, the owner of the general store was wonderful. He had our boxes and took us around back so we could do our laundry - and we heard him on the phone trying to find out if there was an empty rental cabin in town for us for the night! (we hadn't asked about it). Well, the washing machine was broken, and there were no available rental cabins in town, so he had someone come pick us up and take us '6 miles down the road' to Holts Guest Ranch. - All of this without us asking anything about this, we just sort of let it happen, having no idea where we were going, what was happening! Well, it turns out his mother owns the guest ranch. We were put up in a cabin, had free laundry and showers, his mom Eleanor drove us back into town to eat at the restaurant in Tincup - Frenchies, (which she owns). Then drove us back to the ranch. The next morning she drove us back to 'town' for breakfast, we toured around Tincup - explored the cemetery - and then she drove us to the trail head. Eleanor is 75 yrs old, and one amazing woman! She would not let us pay for anything! She and Bill will just say that they love their Thru Hikers, and only get 5 or 6 a year. I think if more people knew about the place they would go. Frenchies restaurant was very good. Don't expect to get anything more than a gatorade and candy bar at the general store. I made a nice donation to the CTF in their names to thank them for their wonderful generosity.
The road going into Tincup is a 'jeep' road - very rocky, it would be a rough walk, but if you can yogi a ride, it's a great place to visit. It was bustling with a lot of activity - lots of ATV riders, so it would be easy to get a hitch back out of town.

If you do go to Tincup and meet Bill and his mom, be sure to send them my love.

Also, send your package via USPS not UPS (same goes for Twin Lakes - USPS will get it there)

I've been trying to find contact information online for Bill at the General Store in Tincup, but have not managed to find any so far. Could you share it with us, for those of us that might want to make a package drop like you did?

Thanks in advance.

[HeartFire]

I've been trying to find contact information online for Bill at the General Store in Tincup, but have not managed to find any so far. Could you share it with us, for those of us that might want to make a package drop like you did?

Thanks in advance.

Oh boy, I'll have to search for this - I know I have the info somewhere, and it may actually be in another thread here on whiteblaze, but I'll try to find it later tonight
Judy

[Hot Flash]

Oh boy, I'll have to search for this - I know I have the info somewhere, and it may actually be in another thread here on whiteblaze, but I'll try to find it later tonight
Judy

Thank you so much!