Colorado Trail 2020


The Colorado Trail runs 485 miles continuously from Denver to Durango, traversing six National Forests and multiple mountain ranges. People can backpack, bike, or ride horses on the high-altitude trail in late summer once all the snow has melted. I’ve already hiked small portions of the CT, both from Waterton Canyon in the Denver suburbs and closer to Silverton by Molas Lakes, but I’ve always wanted to take a longer trip on this iconic trail. Last summer, I decided that backpacking part of the CT would be an amazing challenge to celebrate the end of high school with my friends and experience a longer trip before moving to college. Preparing for this trip will require lots of planning and coordination, but I’m determined to make the trip a reality.

After poring over the National Geographic’s topographical maps, I decided on a two-week portion of the trail starting between Saguache and Gunnison in Central Colorado and ending in Durango, where my extended family lives. The starting point is easily accessible by County Road 114, which intersects the trail at North Pass. The first few days shouldn’t have too much elevation change, which will give people time to get accustomed to backpacking. Then we’ll work our way through the La Garita Wilderness, which includes more high-altitude sections of the trail. After a few days of harder hiking, we’ll cross a section of the Wimenuche Wilderness and arrive at Molas Lakes. We can rest in a proper campsite, swim in the freezing lakes, and get ready for the last week of hiking. If everything goes to plan, it should take just over two weeks to reach Durango.

Despite my excitement, I must admit that I’ve never taken a backpacking trip longer than one night. I am not the most experienced backpacker, and I don’t even have the right gear yet. However, preparing for the trip has already taught me so much about hiking and camping gear. I’ve researched different types of packs, shoes, water filters, and sleeping bags so that I know what I already have and what I’ll need to borrow. Figuring out the water situation presents a challenge because fresh water won’t be readily available for the first half of the trip. We’ll need to carry large amounts of water at first, though in the second section we should find small streams along the trail. All the water we find needs to be filtered because of contamination from animal poop and agricultural runoff, as well as bacteria and sediment.

The beginning of senior year came with a great deal of stress, but thinking about my trip on the Colorado Trail encourages me to keep going to reach summer eventually. Despite the difficulties of college applications and senioritis, planning for the trip provides a goal separate from academic stress. Of course backpacking comes with other types of stress, but there isn’t the same kind of pressure I find at school. I plan to continue learning about backpacking throughout the winter and start taking small trips to test out gear in the spring. I want to be totally ready for the journey this summer!

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