Over the past five and a half days my friend, Dru, and I completed a 71 mile section of the Colorado Trail. Dru and I met while working for the Appalachian Mtn Club's Teen Wilderness Adventures two years ago, and this was our first time hanging out since. I had decided that a section of the Colorado Trail was definitely something I wanted to do while in the state, and it was serendipitous that Dru also was headed out to CO with no plan, so she joined for the trip! The Colorado Trail is a distance hiking, biking, and horse packing trail that runs 500 miles from Denver to Durango. Something that sets the CT apart from other distance trails is that the whole thing is at elevation, adding quite a challenge. If you want to read more about the CT, click here! We hiked sections 6, 7, and 8 which wound all through Summit County- near the towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, and Leadville. Prime real estate. Overall we had a fabulous time on the CT! Something that blew me away was how there was zero rain on the whole hike. I've always thought that backpacking without rain might actually be fun... well I was right! This hike was type 1 fun, that means it was genuinely fun to do in the moment (unlike type 2 fun, where it's terrible in the moment but a great memory later). The weather was nice and dry, beautifully sunny, and a nice cool temperature for hiking. At nights it did get a bit chilly, especially at higher elevations. This is not unusual- Colorado is this great every summer apparently, although summer only lasts 3 months! Aside from the weather making the hike super pleasant, the terrain was just a joy to hike through. The trails were switchbacked and winding, none of this rock staircase stuff that I've seen in New England. The lowest elevation we were at the whole time was 9,500ft. As you can imagine, the views up in the alpine zone were spectacular and the rocky mountain water was from the source and delicious. Our friend Elissa (also from AMC Teen Wild) joined us for the first two days of the hike, then picked us up at the end. A highlight of the trip for me was that I planned a solo hike, then got friends to not only drive me, but hike with me as well. What a peachy trip! Here's some nitty gritty details: Gear: Backpack: Kelty Coyote 75L Shoes: HOKA One One Speedgoat 3 Sleeping bag: North Face W Cat’s Meow 20 degree Sleeping pad: Therm-a-Rest W NeoAir XLite Trekking poles: Leki W Legacy Lite Rain Gear: Marmot W Minimalist jacket, W Precip pants Water purification: Potable Aqua Food storage: BearVault 500 Tent: Big Agnes Fly Creek Ultralight 2 Here are some photos to tell the rest of the story... I am so happy with my experience on the Colorado Trail! Dru and I talked at length about our dreams of future through hikes. I can definitely see myself spending more time on trails like this in the next few years. For now, my road trip continues on! I have through the end of the month planned in Colorado then I'm thinking Utah... but who knows!
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