Mile for mile, the Colorado Trail was one of my favorite high-altitude adventures. But the elevation wasn’t the only notable thing about this epic long-distance trail. As I hiked from Denver to Durango in 2024, I tried my best to keep track of many of the interesting things I encountered. Here’s a general rundown of my adventure.
OVERVIEW
- Northern Terminus: Waterton Canyon (near Denver)
- Southern Terminus: Junction Creek Trailhead (near Durango)
- Distance: 483 miles
- Number of hikers who thru-hike the CT annually: ~500
- Average time it takes to hike the CT (per Co. Trail Foundation): 4-6 weeks
- Number of days it took me to complete the trail: 28 days
- Number of zero days taken during my thru-hike: 1
- Average pace: 17.25 miles/day
- Shortest mileage day: 10.7 miles (day 28)
- Longest mileage day: 22 miles (day 23)
- Number of days that I hiked 20+ miles: 7 days (25% of the hike)
Elevation
- Lowest elevation on the Colorado Trail: 5,498′ above sea level
- Highest elevation on the trail: 13,259′
- My personal high point of this thru-hike: 14,022′ (detour up San Luis Peak)
- Average elevation of the trail: 10,300′
- Days spent hiking entirely above 10,000 feet: 13 (46% of the hike)
- Route I took through the Collegiate Peaks: Collegiate West
Where I slept
- Nights that I slept in my tent: 24 (88% of my hike)
- Nights I slept in one of the trail towns: 5
- Nights I camped above 12,000′ elevation: 1
- Nights I camped above 11,000′ elevation: 9
- Nights I dry camped away from water: 6 (21%)
- Alpine lakes I camped at: 1 (Lake Ann)
- Other lakes I camped at: 1 (Little Molas Lake)
- Scenic overlooks I camped upon: 1
- Nights I slept without my trail family: 2
- Hotel stays during my hike: 3 (Frisco, Salida, Durango)
- RV parks/campgrounds I camped at: 1 (Lake City)
- Hostel stays: 1 (Leadville)
Out in nature
- National Forests I hiked in: 6
- Wilderness Areas I traversed : 6
- National Monuments I visited: 1 (Camp Hale)
- Ski Resorts I crossed: 2 (Copper Mountain, Monarch Mountain)
- Swampy areas I detoured though: 1
- Mosquito bites on my legs as a result of that miserable detour: 40+
- Elevation where I got buzzed by a small airplane: ~13,000′
- Ultramarathons occurring on the CT during my hike: 2 (San Juan Softie & Summit 200)
- Distance of each of the races: 100 miles & 200 miles!!!
Wildlife
- Types of furry alpine creatures: 7 (marmots, pikas, squirrels, chipmunks, prairie dogs, mice, & stoat)
- Number of my trekking pole handles nibbled by them: 1
- Other member of my trail family who had the same issue: 2
- Moose spotted in the wild: 4
- Horses I passed on/beside the trail: 6
- Mules on trail: 1
- Snakes that startled me: 2
- Bear encounters: 0
- Coyotes or wolves heard howling in the dark: 1
- Greater short-horned lizards spotted: 1
- Worms accidentally packed up in my tent’s footprint: 6
weather
- Days without any precipitation at all: 13 (46%)
- Days with some rain: 15
- Number of times I was pelted with hail or graupel: 3
- Massive rainstorms with lightning: 2
- Time when most rainstorms came in: late afternoon or evening
- Foggy mornings: 2
- Windy days: 5
- Smoky days I endured: 2
- Where the smoke was coming from: wildfires in Montana
Towns & Resupplies
- Number of times I resupplied on trail: 6
- Safeway grocery stores used to resupply: 3
- Local markets used to resupply: 3
- Partial resupply packages mailed to myself: 1 (Twin Lakes)
- Times I did laundry in town: 4
- Most expensive town on trail: Silverton
- Favorite town on trail: Lake City
- Longest food carry on trail: 102 miles
- Times I carried 100+ miles of food: 2 (Denver-Frisco; Salida-Lake City)
- Shortest food carry: 39.4 miles (Frisco-Leadville)
Food & Drink
- Number of times I received trail magic on the CT: 3
- Percentage of days that I ate ramen for dinner: 75% (usually, I eat dehyrated beans)
- Number of mornings I made coffee on the trail: All 28 days!
- Times I stopped at ice cream shops: 2 (Copper Mountain, Lake City)
- Free ice cream sandwiches randomly received: 1 (Twin Lakes)
- Bakeries visited: 1 (Lake City)
- Breweries visited on trail: 1 (Avalanche Brewing)
- Free beers Sing Song scored us from some campers near Celebration Lake: 4
- Margaritas I consumed in town: 1
- Longest water carry on the trail: ~14 miles
- Number of days with 14-mile water carry: 2
Transportation
- Where I flew in/out of: Denver airport
- How I got from Denver to the Northern Terminus: Lyft
- Number of times I thought the driver might crash as he drove: 10+
- Hitches to/from the trail during my thru-hike: 6
- Bus rides to/from the trail: 2 (Frisco)
- In-town hitches: 1 (Leadville)
- Rides to/from Monarch Pass from a hiker named ‘Thigh High’: 2
- Donation-based shuttles from an RV park: 1
- Number of times I rode in the back of a pick-up truck: 2
- Times that a driver stopped to pick up all 5 members of my trail family: 2
- How I got from the Southern Terminus to Durango: Co-worker of Squirrel’s brother
- Minivans rented to drive to the Denver airport after the trail was complete: 1
- Number of CT hitchhikers we picked up in the minivan: 1
Misc. Metrics
- Average time I started hiking each day: 6:10 a.m.
- Items lost on this thru-hike: 1 (a carabiner)
- Gear items that fell apart on me: 1 (my sun gloves)
- Days I remembered to wear my sunscreen: < 5
- Scars I acquired from the trail: 1
- How I got it: I walked face-first into a tree branch
- Detours off-trail to bag a 14er: 1
- Fellow Oregonians I met hiking the trail: 2
