After an unplanned zero day in Lake City, I got an early morning shuttle back to Spring Creek Pass. During the ride to the trail, the day didn't look like the most promising start with lots of low clouds. The trail climbs above treeline pretty quickly after a couple miles. The drizzle fell in the first hour or so but didn't last too long. I also saw a small herd of elk run away from the trail into the willows. Once the trail climbs above treeline above Spring Creek Pass, it stays above treeline continuously for at least 40 miles until it drops into the Elk Creek Drainage in the Weminuche Wilderness.
Above treeline, clouds soon dropped and obscured the trail. I hiked in terrible visibility. When hiking in the clouds, time seems to go slow since you can't really see too far. I wasn't liking how the day started knowing I would be above treeline for a couple days. Even though it seemed like a long time, the clouds lifted after a couple miles.
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| Hiking in fog |
Once the clouds lifted, the sky cleared somewhat with a mix of sun and clouds. The visibility increased quite a bit. Above treeline, the wind was quite strong. Even in the sun, it was a rather cool day. I had to strategically take breaks where I was out of the wind.
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| It cleared by afternoon |
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| Long expanses above treeline |
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| It was pretty windy and cool |
With the clouds lifted and better visibility, this section of trail is quite scenic. The trail reaches its highest point at 13,271' near Coney Peak. Despite the sketchy start, the day turned out quite nice.
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| Tomcat on the high point of the entire trail |
After dropping off the high point of the trail, the terrain becomes a little less enjoyable. The trail drops quickly, traversing exaggerated switchbacks that crisscross a jeep road several times, only to eventually follow the road. The road travels by old mining remains. I saw a few high clearance vehicles nearby.
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| Descending near the high point |
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| This stretch spent about 40 miles above treeline |
The trail leaves the roads after more than a mile, traveling above a creek in a long meadow. Willows line the creek. While looking down at the creek, I spotted two bull moose at different points along the meadow. Unfortunately they were a little too far for good photos. I watched both moose for while until they moved out of sight in the willows.
The scenery became more impressive as it climbed to over 12,900' at a pass. Interesting rock features and mountains rose above the basin. By later in the afternoon, mostly blue skies prevailed with just a few puffy clouds.
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| Climbing above the moose meadow |
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| Interesting rock formations near the trail |
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| A small arch |
Upon reaching the pass, the skies looked a little more ominous. I only had about two miles to my intended campsite near Cataract Lake. The campsite sits at 12,245' and would be my highest campsite of the entire trip. According to the FarOut comments, the several lakes in the area are a hotbed for moose. I made it too the campsite without any rain.
Although scenic and liking the thought of seeing moose, I didn't like the campsite too much. Sitting so high, it was quite windy. The entire stretch of trail was high, so this was unavoidable. If weather moved in, it wouldn't be they greatest place to spend the night. Eventually Alex and Jeff, the pair that had been camping near me most of the time since Monarch Pass joined me.
As I finished my camp chores and ready to eat, the weather moved in. Thunder and lightning with even gustier winds began. Just as I finished cooking the rain began. I ate from my vestibule as the tent took a beating. I was surprised my tent didn't pop a stake or topple in the wind. It was quite intense for a while. It was probably the roughest wind I tented in ever. The worst of the storm moved on after a half hour, but showers fell most of the night until I got up in the morning. With the bad weather, no moose showed up. I'm sure they hunkered down out of the element the best they could.
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| Darker skies approaching |
Even though I began hiking the next morning with no rain, my dry start didn't last thirty minutes. Leaving the campsite I encountered light rain pretty quickly. To make matters worse, it was quite cold and windy. Before I made it to a pass a couple miles from my campsite, sleet began mixing in with the rain. The initial rain didn't last too long, but it would shower on and off much of the morning. It was cold enough to wear rain pants, gloves, and a hood most of the morning.
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| Before the rain and sleet started |
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| Dark clouds lingered most of the day |
The scenery was stunning. Unfortunately it was hard to enjoy it in the cold weather. The trail stays quite high, traveling above 12,000' for more than 20 miles. The dreary skies, occasional shower, and stiff wind made it difficult to appreciate your surroundings. I just wanted to stay warm and keep moving.
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| Showers fell on and off through early afternoon |
Along this stretch I hiked most of the day with a PCT thru hiker and recent college grad, Tireless. I met Tireless briefly in Lake City. He hikes high mileage days, not necessarily by moving super fast, just by hiking long hours. It was nice to have company in the less than ideal conditions. It was the longest I hiked with anybody on the trail, covering at least 20 miles with him. Over the course of the day, I rarely hike with others for too long We parted ways when I decided to camp after 26 miles on the day. He kept going, presumable pushing 30 miles for the day.
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| A high, 12,000' plateau |
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| Cloudy, windy, and cold |
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| Arrow and Vestal Peaks in the Grenadier Range |
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A high plateau approaching the
Weminuche Wilderness |
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| It's interesting how flat it was for being above 12,000' |
Although the weather improved some in the afternoon, the day stayed pretty chilly as it cruised along above 12,000', fully exposed to the steady wind. Around mile 18 for the day, I was ecstatic to reach the split of the Colorado Trail and CDT. The CDT kept plugging along close to the Continental Divide to the south. The Colorado Trail began its descent to the west into the Elk Creek drainage in the Weminuche Wilderness. I have hiked along this stretch of the CT before. (see
Backpacking the Weminuche Wilderness for more photos of this stunning area and to read about that trip)
It's often considered one of the most scenic stretches of the trail. It also drops more than 3,000' to the Animas River. After several days of high elevation campsites, I was eager to spend the night without exposure with warmer temperatures and less wind.
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| View before dropping into the Elk Creek drainage |
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Zoomed in view- this view was on an early
edition of the Colorado Trail Guidebook |
The trail drops rapidly off the Divide. First, the trail zigzags down an exaggerated set of switchbacks. Then the trail follows Elk Creek. With the recent rains, Elk Creek and the surrounding small streams were gushing. Waterfalls plunged hundred of feet at places from the surrounding cliffs. Several creek crossing required care to cross the rushing waters. A couple spots saw the trail flowing with water where Elk Creek overflowed its banks.
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| The creeks were raging |
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| Looking upstream, the creek drops steeply |
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Massive waterfalls from all
the recent rains |
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| Nice scenery beyond the waterfall |
The trail leaves the Weminuche Wilderness just before reaching the Durango and Silverton railway. Hikers can flag down the train to Silverton for a one of a kind resupply for a fee. I stocked up in Lake City for the rest of the trail, so I passed on the train. I soon reached the Animas River, which was swollen and muddy. I moved on a short distance beyond the river and camped alone by Molas Creek, where I parted ways with Tireless. I camped under 9,000' for the first time in more than three weeks on my second day on the trail. As expected, it was much warmer and calm.
I left my campsite and began my climb to Molas Pass. Not far of Molas Creek, Mt Garfield comes into view. The peak stands framed by the Animas River Valley. I though it was one of the prettiest views on the entire trail.
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Mt Garfield is the pointy peak with Greystone and
Electric Peaks to the left |
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| One of my favorite views on the hike |
Crossing the road at Molas Pass, the trail passed numerous large waterfalls that dropped hundreds of feet down the mountainsides. Usually these waterfalls are only visible after spring runoff. Just over a week earlier, a northbound hiker told me that the San Juans were mostly dry apart from the larger streams and lakes. Now the water was abundant and every little stream was flowing.
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| Waterfall above the trail |
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| View back to the Weminuche |
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| A tumbling creek along the trail |
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| Creeks were gushing |
While the day started out decent, monsoon weather moved in by the afternoon. I enjoyed the alpine scenery for the first half of the day. When I stopped for a snack and water at Cascade Creek around 230PM weather started to move in. Over the course of an hou,r three fast thunderstorms passed by with the usual hail falling as well. The temperature dropped and it was quite chilly. I was hiking most of the day with Big Tuna. We waited out the storms under a few large trees until it finally let up.
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| The trail climbed back above treeline after Molas Pass |
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| Climbing toward a pass |
Leaving Cascade Creek, the skies actually cleared for a while. We were soon joined by another hiker Cade. We all were planning on camping near Celebration Lake. The trail traversed some more alpine terrain when another round of storms moved through. Since we were fully exposed, we picked up the pace. The rain didn't let up and we were quite wet. We finally reached a flat area under the cover of a thick spruce grove. It was one of the few places that wasn't puddled in the heavy rain. We set our tents up as fast as we could to escape the deluge.
We were a couple tenths of a mile short of Celebration Lake. With all the rain, water was plentiful by our campsite even though I'm pretty sure it doesn't flow in this area normally. By 730PM the rain stopped, but water dripped from the trees through the night. At least four other hikers joined us before dark.
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| Nice views descending a pass |
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| Hazy visibility after a storm passed |
After the wet night, I packed my sopping wet tent and put on my soaked shoes. It wasn't raining, but it was a fairly dreary morning. I passed Celebration Lake and could see fog lingering in the valley below. The trail was still saturated. A few hours into the morning, the trail approached Blackhawk Pass, which sits well above treeline at 11,984'. As I climbed above treeline, the clouds thickened until I was fully emerged in dense fog. I couldn't see more than 50 feet in the worst of it. I'm sure Blackhawk Pass has a great view, but you wouldn't know it on that morning.
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| Valley fog |
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| Into dense fog |
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| The visibility was terrible as I neared Blackhawk Pass |
As I descended the other side of Blackhawk Pass, the visibility improved as I lost elevation. Within a couple hours, the skies began to clear. I took an extended break to dry my tent when I reached a clearing along a dirt road. In the early afternoon I took a longer break. I took nearly everything out of my pack to fully dry and enjoy the warm sun.
Despite all the rain and flowing water just a day earlier, this stretch was pretty dry. Much of the trail follows the top of a ridge with no water. There were a few creeks flowing below Blackhawk Pass, but more than 10 miles passed before reaching Deer Creek. Deer Creek is an important water source in this section that nearly every CT hiker needs to take advantage of. Despite its importance, its certainly not an impressive creek. Even with all the rain, it's difficult finding a good spot to collect water from it.
I ended up camping at Deer Creek. I spent the night alone there. While I was enjoying the campsite, a handful of hikers stopped to top off their water for the night before moving on to a waterless campsite a half-mile further. I could hear people hooting and hollering from the other campsite, so I'm glad I wasn't around the noisiness. I did have a lot of rodents scurrying near my tent at night, however.
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Traversing the ridge, the Hermosa Creek Wilderness
drops to the left of the trail |
Deer Creek sits 30.6 miles from the Durango terminus and the end of the Colorado Trail. I got an early start and thought about finishing the trail. I have hiked 30 mile days in the past and generally the CT allows for high mileage days. Majority of the mileage was downhill, with more than 7,000' of vertical descent to the finish. I decided to hike quickly and reassess around lunchtime if I should finish the trail or spend one more night.
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| Sunrise above Deer Creek |
The trail climbs to alpine terrain after Deer Creek as it makes one last traverse above 12,000'on Indian Ridge. Unlike the dense fog the day before, this morning was full of sunshine. I enjoyed my last hoorah over extensive alpine terrain on Indian Ridge before descending to Taylor Lake.
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| Hazy morning view |
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| Looking back toward the Weminuche |
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| La Plata Range |
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| Traversing Indian Ridge |
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| Enjoying the La Plata Range views |
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| Continuing along Indian Ridge |
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| Taylor Lake |
Beyond Taylor Lake, the trail climbs over Kennebec Pass, where it briefly reaches the treeline one last time. The trail then begins its long descent to lower elevations. At times you can see civilization in the distance, a sign you are nearing the end of the trail.
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| Approaching Kennebec Pass |
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| Beautiful wildflowers along the trail |
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| Looking toward Durango |
In its lower elevation, the trail travels close to several streams. In Gaines Gulch, a short side trail led to a pretty waterfall dropping down a cliffside. I'm guessing the recent rains increased the flow of the falls. After dropping more than 3,000' vertical feet in about 6 1/2 miles, the trail reaches a bridged crossing of Junction Creek. I ate lunch at a bench along the creek and refilled my water. I hiked nearly 16 miles before noon. I decided to hike the last 15 miles to finish the trail.
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| Waterfall in Gaines Gulch |
The trail tackles one last climb leaving Junction Creek, gaining about a thousand feet over several miles. Most of the trail traveled through the forest for the remainder of the trip. I had a few more peeks at alpine summits in the distance. I could feel the temperature increase as the trail dropped elevation.
At one point a hiker traveling the opposite direction warned me of two bear cubs playing on the trail ahead, but I never saw them.
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| Hiking through a dense forest by Colorado standards |
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| Wildflowers lingering at lower elevation |
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| Passing through a grove of aspens |
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| One last look at an alpine summit |
As the trail dropped below 8000' the forest changed. Alpine vegetation and spruce trees gave way to more aspens and pinyons. In the last few miles I started to encounter more day hikers and runners. Knowing that the end was near, I picked up my pace, moving along in more of a slow jog than hiking. I had a few light sprinkles before reaching the end of the trail, but generally the weather held off.
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| Gudy's Rest |
I started hiking for the day at 640AM. I finished the trail few minutes after 4PM, hiking 30.6 miles for the day. I waited at the trailhead for about 15 minutes for someone to show up to get my picture at the end of the trail. The first couple to walk by took my picture and offered me ride into Durango. They had hiked the John Muir Trail previously and were happy to help a fellow hiker.
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The Durango terminus- the end of the
Colorado Trail |
The Colorado Trail was the longest backpacking trip I completed since my 1999 AT thru hike. When I hiked the AT I wasn't excited, but confused. I didn't celebrate when I reached Katahdin. My thought was more like "now what?" Finishing the CT, part of me was happy to be finished because of the unusually wet weather for the CT taking its psychological toll. For the most part, I felt something deeper. My first attempt at the CT, 24 year earlier ended after hiking just 1/3 of the trail when my head just wasn't in it. Since then I have hiked about 1/2 of the trail over the years, but a full thru hike felt like unfinished business. A lot has changed in my life since hiking the AT 25 years ago, so I wasn't sure what to expect of myself attempting a hike as long as the CT. I knew physically I could handle the trail. I just wasn't sure of the mental aspect having been so long since I tried to tackle a hike this long in so many years and the fact that I already had an unsuccessful attempt at the trail in the past.
In the 24 years since I first stepped foot on the CT, the number of backpackers has increased dramatically. I encountered three backpackers over 170 miles on that trip in 2000. I'm sure I encountered hundreds this time. I think having that shared experience and camaraderie helped lift my spirits on this trip. I also feel that if I didn't succeed in this attempt, I may not of had another chance to try again. One other helpful motivation was Puma back at home. She never doubts that I will succeed and is my personal cheerleader.
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