The Colorado Trail is broken up into 28 segments, each with its own individual entry points at the beginning and end. Maybe it was the developing trail legs and dwindling food weight in my backpack, but segment 5 was the first day I remember feeling excited about the views on the Colorado Trail. Gregory Jade 63: The alternate pack I tested out when completing Segment 5 with Taylor. While hiking the Colorado Trail, we loved the guidebook’s detail and the ease of being able to stash the databook in a highly accessible pocket. In January, 2018, I departed on what would be an endless amount of weekend section hikes, tackling the Colorado Trail segment by segment. But I loved the ability to look straight ahead and even upward, rather than directly at the ground. We got going by 8 a.m., starting off the first two miles with a tough climb. Shared By: Hiking Project Staff with improvements by K Keiter Full Details. Day 4 of a detailed online journal documenting a thru-hike of the Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango. At Wellington Reservoir, it becomes Wellington Lake Road #105. Big Agnes Insulated Q-Core SL: Every time I’m halfway into blowing this up, I swear it always went faster the previous time. They later moved the mill to a point just southeast of the North Fork Trailhead. Segment 4 of the Colorado Trail brings the hiker up out of the Ponderosa pine forests north of the Lost Creek Wilderness and into the open parks and Lodgepole pine and Douglas fir forests to the west. You will inevitably deal with a decent amount of elevation gain. Highlights of Colorado Trail Segment 5. Dust off your backpack and spend a couple nights under the stars along this incredible portion of the Colorado Trail. Elevation profile. The Colorado Trail is divided into 33 segments which includes a choice … Not long after, a car rolled into the parking lot and we were saved! Osprey Aura AG 65: Attention! The Hike Maps Denver Post photo editor Dean Krakel is spending part of 2015 hiking The Colorado Trail. We also performed our first act of trail magic, if you can call it that. Like. At least, that was the plan. By J.B. Bissell • July 24, 2018 After leaving Alex’s car at Kenosha Pass and driving mine to Rolling Creek Trailhead (the start of Segment 4), we set off. Segment three was incredibly beautiful. Segments: 4, 5 A Kenosha Pass Trail must-visit. I have not done anything about it for approximately three years. Worth Noting: Pssssstttt!!! Thankfully, it wasn’t raining when we awoke. Endpoints: FS-560 Wellington Lake Road/Rolling Creek Trailhead to Kenosha Pass (but not really) Rolling Creek/Colorado Trail (east trailhead); Continue on Highway 285 until you reach Bailey. FS-560 Wellington Lake Road/Rolling Creek Trailhead to Kenosha Pass (but not really), Gossamer Gear LT5 Carbon Trekking Poles Review, 19 Things 2021 Appalachian Trail Hikers Need to Know, Hiking Fanny Packs: The Ultimate Thru-Hiking Accessory, 5 Things You Should Know About the Lone Star Hiking Trail, 5 Books You Need to Read to Better Appreciate the Outdoors, Best Deals from the Backcountry Post-Cyber Sale. As you just read, it was practically winter for this test run, so we had the fly on. Don’t let this story scare you away from this marvelous wilderness area, however. From here follow a well defined trail winding its way through the Buffalo Creek Fire (1996). Kahtoola Microspikes: Brought them again, didn’t need them again. A few years later, after the creation of the Forest Service, Hooper became the District Ranger out of Bailey. A few groups headed off in the same direction, but after hiking another three miles to another creek-side campsite, we had the whole area to ourselves. It always amazes us how you can hike on a July weekend and run into just a handful of other folks. Due to snow constraints, I had to wait until June to begin Segment 6 … Me with a mouthful of dinner at our campsite Friday night. Lost Creek Wilderness Area is one of Colorado’s best kept backpacking areas. Right past our campsite, we hit the infamous (at the time) blowdown—a couple of miles where fallen trees almost completely obscured the trail. 40,000 words and 1,500 photos. Klymit KSB 20 Down Sleeping Bag: My lovable, bulky bag. I capped off three straight weekends of CT section hiking with something of a grand finale: sections of trail, more than 30 miles, over four days. Type: backpacking. This segment definitely seemed like a mountain bikers dream. Trail crews, due to the virus, hadn’t yet been able to work on the section. One of the scariest lightning storms that we have ever witnessed occurred while we were paralleling the North Fork of Lost Creek during our thru-hike of the Colorado Trail. Having started late and hiking until nearly sunset, we had chores to do before bed: filter water, find a place to hang the bear bag, hang said bear bag, eat dinner, and set up the tent, sleeping pads, and bags. This planning guide covers when to go, which direction, navigation, dangers, section highlights, elevation, wildlife, terrain difficulty, how long it takes and more. As we drove back down the bumpy dirt road to Kenosha, the sky darkened, thunder rumbled, and snow flurried, making us enormously thankful for having the opportunity to bail on our plans. This hike featured the Lost Creek Wilderness Area, where the CT confidence Markers aren’t allowed. Once in Bailey, hang an immediate left onto County Road (CR) 68 (Wellington Lake Road). You’ll need Colorado Trail references both while planning your trip and on the trail. Our wonderful fellow backpackers had returned after all. Do yourself a favor: don’t leave home without throwing these two invaluable items in your pack. 4/5. This segment (5) of the Colorado trail is easy to moderate in difficulty. The hip pads were more comfortable to me than the Aura, but it didn’t fit my sleeping bag as well. Colorado Trail Segment 4, 2019. The Colorado Trail is 485 miles, stretching from Denver, Colorado, to Durango, Colorado. We chose to end this segment at Deckers Rd. Elbert is also found on Segment 11 of the CT, ~4.43 miles from the start of Segment 11 and much closer to the town of Twin Lakes (39.1102, -106.3935). The trail and area was quiet despite the holiday weekend; we passed one other group at the Lost Creek Wilderness boundary and had one group of camp neighbors. We took a break, finding shelter under some trees, and discussed our options. We hiked about 4.5 miles,taking advantage of as much daylight as we could before stopping to camp. I hiked until I found Brian again, and we camped by a small stream near mile 33.4. When you reach Kenosha Pass Trail you will need to go to the east side of HWY 285 to park. August 2010. CT - Segment 4: FS-560 Wellington Lake Road to Long Gulch ... Colorado Trail (CT) Contacts. The East Ridge route for Mt. My brother, Glenn, and I recently hiked segments 4 & 5 of the Colorado Trail. I brought Taylor (meet Taylor: good friend and hydrology extraordinaire) to introduce her to the joys of car shuttling and tried to convey the misery of our bail while hiking toward Kenosha, this time under warm and sunny skies. From there, we gradually walked down out of the forest and into the long valley meadow that somewhat defines Segment 4. Segment 4 of the Colorado Trail brings the hiker up out of the Ponderosa pine forests north of the Lost Creek Wilderness and into the open parks and Lodgepole pine and Douglas fir forests to the west. CT - Segment 5: Long Gulch to Kenosha Pass Intermediate. You can read more about my personal experience hiking this section of the Colorado Trail by checking out: Colorado Camping (how I almost went down in a burning ring of fire). Colorado Trail: The Official Guidebook, Segments 4 & 5. After that, we went straight to bed. At least, that was the plan. Once we arrived at Long Gulch, the beginning of Segment 5, we dropped our stuff and refueled. At This Time (my pandemic catchphrase), the plan is to section hike the first undefined chunk, and thru-hike another large chunk over a couple weeks. Thanks for your support! We went to bed pretty much right after sunset, with various strategies for packing up depending on whether or not it was raining when we woke up. Turn right to continue on the Colorado Trail away from the wilderness to Kenosha Pass. The CTF has volunteer efforts scheduled again this year but completing this work to cut and dig through all the debris will take multiple Trail seasons. ELEVATION: average ~10,300 feet ROUTE: well maintained, popular trail, signed junctions GUIDEBOOK: Colorado Trail 9th Edition DATA BOOK: 7th Edition Things did not go according to plan. We were overjoyed by the thought of someone driving us back to our car and being warm and dry at home in just a few hours. Mostly, we were concerned about the weather—at the time it was decent hiking weather, but if for any reason they couldn’t get back to reach us, we wouldn’t know until the thunderstorms had set in. I really wanted to love this pack, and compared to my aforementioned horrible one, it was a great improvement. MAD Hippies Life 107 views Land Manager: USFS - Pike National Forest - South Platte Ranger District. Here’s the trail, segment by segment: Published July 27, 2015. The following two resources are absolutely essential for doing any significant amount of hiking along the Colorado Trail.

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, Colorado Camping (how I almost went down in a burning ring of fire). DEBRIS FIELDS – There are 4 … Get Here. The segment starts off with a large climb on miles 3-7, works through a beautiful 5 mile field with endless views and ends in a valley. It’s only a 2 mile round trip so perfect for a day hike, or a leisurely afternoon. Colorado Trail Segment 4 is by far the most pretty of the first 4 segments while working through 16.6 miles of hiking and 3,330 feet of elevation gain. Alex and I tried to brace ourselves for the hike ahead, and since the hail had stopped, prepared to kick into high gear to make the most of the weather window. Our hike of on this segment of the Colorado Trail was filled with snow and graupel showers, thundersnow and poor visibility. Colorado Trail segment 2 officially ends at the Little Scraggy Trail (marked on map). Unlike the previous day, we had plenty of daylight to set up camp. While we understood prior to the hike that late May in the mountains is by no means summertime, hiking through the snow we hadn’t really expected reminded us that late May in the mountains can just as likely mean winter as spring. Trail Ratings 4.5 from 11 votes #2 in Lost Creek Wilderness #2134 Overall. My key references were the The Colorado Trail Foundation website, the Colorado Trail Databook (pocket-sized, lightweight, and a must-have for planning and as an on-trail reference), and the Colorado Trail Hiker app (as another on-trail reference). It also requires a rather precise setup, in my opinion; the anchors in each corner don’t lend themselves to a flat tent floor. Colorado Trail Segments 4-5: The Bail I capped off three straight weekends of CT section hiking with something of a grand finale: two sections of trail, more than 30 miles, over four days. When it started hailing at the top of a rise, morale plummeted. This tent tapers from the head to the feet so our sleeping pads were nearly on top of each other at the foot end. Segments of the CT. Colorado Trail Segment 2 . Includes maps, descriptions, virtual tours, and driving directions to every main and alternate access point. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. After tackling segment 4 and a bit of 5 in one day, we camped for the night and woke up to colder temperatures and nasty weather. and ride back to Platte River Trailhead for a great out and back ride. Luckily the wayfinding was not as difficult as we’d predicted, with the help of Guthook and following others’ tracks. I've been gradually leveling up my hiking game from short day hikes to backcountry overnighters. In Segment 24 of The Colorado Trail, there are large, avalanche debris fields that will be unavoidable all 2020 Trail season and beyond. From the junction, it’s 3.5 miles to the summit on a Class 1 trail. Driving Directions to Rolling Creek Trailhead (East): Driving Directions to Kenosha Pass Trailhead (West): Description: This hike is best done as a shuttle backpacking trip. They gave us the scoop on the last seven miles we all had to trek to Kenosha, which they’d hiked the day before—a mix of exposed and sheltered, not ideal for thunderstorm weather. Since we’d bailed at a trailhead along the trail, it was simple to go back to Segment 5 a couple weeks later and finish up the rest of the segment we’d missed as a day hike. One man offers his sage advice on how to tackle the 486-mile Colorado Trail, piece by piece. Visit Nomad Colorado’s complete list of Colorado hiking trails for hundreds of great hiking options in the Centennial State! If you read my Segment 1 experience, you’ll know this tent is new to my gear list. We decided we needed to hike as much as possible during any clear (read: non-hailing or lightning) spots and pause for shelter when necessary. Miles: 31.2 (but not really) Dust off your backpack and spend a couple nights under the stars along this incredible portion of the Colorado Trail. Trail on South Platte River and Spring Creek in Pike National Forest. But it would be a bummer midsummer. This section of the Colorado Trail closely follows the old Hooper Trail, a logging road built in 1885 by W.W. Hooper and two others to their millsite at the highpoint between Craig Creek and the North Fork of Lost Creek. Another highlight of segment 5 is its moderate terrain. Colorado Trail Segment 4 was our favorite of the CT so far, until we hiked segment 5. Just as we stepped back onto the trail across the road, one of the hikers called out to us and said he would come back for us if we waited at the trailhead. Yet we’d forgotten to get the hiker’s phone number. Segment 4 FS-560 (Wellington Lake Road) Trailhead to Long Gulch 16.6 miles 3,271 feet Segment 5 Long Gulch to Kenosha Pass 14.6 miles 1,858 feet Segment 6 Kenosha Pass to Goldhill Trailhead 32.9 miles 5,196 feet Segment 7 Goldhill Trailhead to Copper Mountain 12.8 miles 3,674 feet Segment 8 For Segment 5 (Long Gulch Trailhead to Kenosha East Trailhead), bikes are not allowed beyond/east of the Rock Creek Road/NFSR 133 from the Rock Creek Trailhead. Squeeze us it did. We passed several groups throughout the day, but everyone was headed in the other direction, which was only slightly ominous. More Stats for Colorado Trail (Seg 5.2) bike trail Activities: Hiking, Camping, Snowshoeing, Skiing, Closest Towns: Bailey, Grant, and Jefferson, Colorado. The day was warm and sunny, nothing hinting at the colder temperatures and precipitation in the forecast. Our tent is obviously very sloped in this picture, though we of course didn’t notice until we were going to bed. 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