The Colorado Trail is a 500-mile (800-km) trail that crosses the state from Denver to Durango, over some of the most spectacular mountains in the central rockies. I am breaking the trail into 1-2 week segments that I can finish over the next few years. The first segment I hiked is from Denver to Breckenridge, about 107 miles, that I did solo in the fall of 2022.
The trail starts out in a suburb of Denver. I left my vehicle in Breckenridge and took the bus to Denver, then took an Uber ride to the Waterton Canyon trailhead. The logistics were pretty easy. The first few days of the hike can be hot and on some stretches don’t have a lot of water. I had to camp once at a site with no water, which required me to carry quite a bit. I always carried 2 liters of water in bottles and had an additional water bag that could hold 2 more liters that I filled in the evening to have in camp.
Once you get a bit higher in elevation the temperatures cool down and there’s more possibility of rain. I spent a couple of days hiking in misty weather, which was a welcome change after the hot start.
Anytime you are in the mountains, of course, you have to be prepared for any kind of weather. As I climbed higher towards the bigger passes of Kenosha and the Continental Divide at Georgia Pass, it became cold and windy, but the skies cleared and the views were glorious.
I got to Breckenridge after 7 days on the trail. There were some pints of Guinness waiting for me at an Irish pub and I did not let them go to waste. I’ll start again here next fall and continue on my merry way!