I like your blog. Near the. Great website, lots of very useful info (thanks). If you choose to shop along the way, note that only Breck/Frisco have fully stocked mega-supermarkets. Generally speaking, the window for hiking the CT is no earlier than mid-late June (depending on snowpack) and ending no later than late September/ early October. What a wonderful resource. Dont worry Im a trainer and have a lot of knowledge on dogs and dog behavior. Mary and Marc did find helpful people at the Matterhorn Motel: www.matterhornmotel.com/ Id take the databook, The Colorado Trail North, and The Colorado Trail Southmaps,and would have my town info saved to a mobile device. thank you for sharing us. Thank you! Also, the small towns stores can change or run out of inventory esp as more people hike The Colorado Trail and the CDT. Walk (1.5 miles on road or take cutoff trail), Snacks and maildrop (Mt. Thanks! Creede Chamber of Commerce It is so hard to find good info on the long trails about dogs and where water supply would be. The following represent a wide range of map resources for The Colorado Trail. You are hiking at altitude! If we push for miles in the morning is it usually safe to continue hiking at a slower pace through the lightning or should we consider stopping for the storm to pass? At best, youll use the tool ineffectively when it counts. Some of the CT is above treeline so fewer options. Call ahead. Hello! She said they take UPS mail drops for hikers. CT Segment 12 travelers will need a valid fishing or hunting license or risk being fined, typically $100, though authorities indicate theyll get more serious with fines starting in 2021. Please see the Colorado Trail Foundation blog for updated 2021 details. Hitching:Hitching into town to resupply is usually needed. Not sure what elevation you are used to, but an acclimation day or two is strongly suggested if you have the time. His oldes. A good overview with planning infofrom David Collins of Clever Hiker is available, too. With over 1000 products Resupply Box offers enough healthy choices to sustain any hiker, biker, or runner for the duration of their trip, while catering to individual dietary restrictions. on weekends), On-trail or 1-3 miles. Bar and grill. Nope..but kinda confusing. There are some caveats that do apply: Fuel canisters should be found in the following places. See https://www.monarchbutterflyhouse.com/. Yet carefully planning your Pacific Crest Trail food resupply strategy is critical to accomplishing a thru-hike. .Saguache: This county seat, but a dying town, has a few small businesses that have been known to be for sale. Leadville Hostel is now: The FS roads see a fair amount of traffic, esp, on a weekend. Thanks for reading! Easier hitch now than in years past. Salida, CO 81201http://salidachamber.org/monarch-crest/. Hello! One question for you how are mosquitoes along the trail? I have the 8th edition CT guidebook and the CT data book. Consult your guidebook and maps if you want to know more about the 14ers that can be done from the CT. Used some of your tips on the trail. (Use Trails Illustrated Maps #127 and #129 or the NatGeo TI Colorado Trail Maps). Note you can mix and match, too. his link from The Colorado Trail Foundation may be useful as well. ;D). If there is incorrect/additional info, please send feedback. Resupply Box orders over $65 ship free. Id take the databook for on trail and leave the guidebook at home for reference. Salida is about 15 miles from the road crossing, and you'll pass Poncha Springs on the way into town. USFS Bootleg campground near Princeton Hot Springs. Can do moderate re-supply at the small grocery store. No need to purchase entire cases of Clif Bars at a time and get burned out. Our goal is to allow thru-hikers to save time and money resupplying -Bear Bait Order as you go From this point,Baileymay also be hitched back to ~19 miles north on 285. Myself included. The Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Assoc. More lodging, stores, and BREW PUBS! http://www.durangotrain.com/wilderness-access, http://www.wildernessjourneyspagosa.com/shuttle-taxi/, https://ridebustang.com/schedules/#gunnison, http://www.chaffeeshuttle.com/Bus-to-Denver-and-Gunnison. We had a blast. Hi Mags, do you know what possible re-locations have occurred on the CT since October 2012? If you absolutely want a solo experience, hiking towards fall would be best. I was curious if i was reading the info right. the Summit Stage also connects Frisco to Leadville for $5. The FS road requires a walk down to a semi-official parking area at Equity Mine and hoping for traffic. When two stops are accessible from roughly the same trail mileage, Ive combined them into one row to make the choice obvious. More info via a Facebook post. A map book of this loop is also available. Relatively easy hitch on 285. If you think you are going to camp without trees, be sure to cook first, eat dinner and then move on about 1-2 KM and then camp. San Luis Pass to Spring Creek Pass makes a good slackpack for those so inclined (we did). I plan on updating this doc early next month. The village has a population of 140. Thanks for the kind words. You will be more exposed and at higher altitude. There are many other RV storage places where you might also inquire but some wont take cars. Perfect for the question you are asking. The CTF also has a volunteer shuttle driver list. Hi Paul Wildfires can also affect town resources or even cause outright closures. ), its possible to hire shuttlers (or bribe friends) to deliver resupply boxes to you at the more accessible trailheads. He has never done a hike like this before, and it has been about 15 years for me, however we are both in great shape and love to climb. More info https://www.twobridgeslodge.com/RSVP is not required but preferred. Any orders below $65 ship for a flat $5. We are, however, stocking more fuel, freeze-dried food, meal bars, electrolytes, and first aid than we have ever carried in the past for hikers. Some hikers are using Amazon Pantry Service or the Walmart equivalent, too. ft. home is a 4 bed, 3.0 bath property. This route is the same length as the current CT (~80 miles) through this section but offers a higher ridge walk alternative that many people may find interesting. We have 2 weeks, and we are trying to determine which portion of the trail will work best logistically. In fact, its a small town everyone knows her! A selection of my personal must-have favorites for backpacking and hiking: Platypus Ultralight Collapsible SoftBottle. Also, new commercial enterprises are mailing out food, gear, and other sundries to hikers. $5 for printable PDF, AVAILABLE NOW. Or is it likely to be full in mid July? Waterton Canyon is the official Denver terminus of The Colorado Trail. I like your article post and its very useful blog. TBD if the ban on leaving a car at Waterton Canyon is permanent or lasting into other seasons. Pdf Prospector Hotel in Silverton likes hikers. Restaurants. You follow the trail and connect back to the CT in a valley. Awesome! As mentioned, many towns on the CT have good-sized grocery stores and other resupply areas. CACHING: Every so often, I get an inquiry asking about caching supplies along the trail. Copyright 2023 Resupply Box. Very unusual and, if the hot and dry patterns hold going forward in the years ahead, hard to tell what is in store! Map provided of this area by The Colorado Trail Foundation: Naturally, getting to and from this area will require more than the standard logistics. Each year I donate a portion of the ad revenue from this page to the CTF to support their work as trail caretakers. Feeling keen! Grand Junction, you can catch a Greyhound bus back to Denver. I mostly prepared my own meals in the hostel kitchens (which are pretty well-equipped) to help me contain expenses. Planning your PCT resupply strategy is one of the most difficult & daunting parts of getting ready for your thru-hike. White gas and Heet/denatured alcohol are found fairly easily in most re-supply areas. see above. May want to contact The Colorado Trail Foundation and see if they have some resources that may be useful for bikers. After calling both to verify I found out neither sell alchy or heet. Hikers disagree on which town is best. Hiker Name, c/o Monarch Crest Store, 24500 Hwy 50W, Salida, CO 81201. What about the Data book is that enough or would one need the whole Guide? Take trail #800 to hook on The Colorado Trail again. Great apple glaze pork spare ribs yummy + beer. Enterprise car rental is located in Durango itself. 103 Sanibel Crest Pl, Montgomery, TX 77316. Uber or Lyft is an option as well. But, we have to start somewhere! Thanks! Quite a few may be found via a Google search such as, but not limited to, Trail Supply Co, Outdoor Herbivore, Zero Day Resupply, and Sonora Pass Resupply. in some cases. By The Colorado Trail, The Colorado Trail: The Trailside Databook, 8th Edition. You could do this dog-friendly alternate (with somewhat hard logistics). Download this free town day resupply checklist to your phone, or even print it out like in the old days: Sign up to receive the free downloadable thru hiking town day checklist: Youll also receive occasional emails with other hiking and backpacking resources. I am used to a lot hiking in Oregon, but was wondering if the high altitude might lead to fewer? Basically, buying more food and supplies on the trail. Please Note:As with all mountain areas, the places below can be busy on weekends and holidays on or before Labor Day Weekend. greetings Pmags! Keep up the good work! Will take into account the above and will read more about the issue of bears; if I still am not sure I will go with the bear vault (regardless of its weight). Keep your base pack weight low and get out there hike/backpack as much as possible. The 2,972 sq. Silverton is an easy hitch. So far I plan to drop a resupply box at Monarch Crest and MPHS. Dont worry if it looks like a lot, because the rest of this post is all about how to choose the best options from this list. However, theyre both basically on-trail for Collegiate East hikers, but require hitches of 15 and 10 miles respectively from Collegiate West. Did you actually mean Frasier? NO REALLY, BE SURE TO TAKE MAPS IF YOU DO ALTERNATE ROUTES! The CTF will mail you a rather nice-looking certificate to add to your mementos from your CT hike. Inbar O. The Summit County Bus will also take you a little further into nearby Dillon/Silverthorne. Besides allowing dogs, the alternate start has a campground at the start of the alternate, and camping is allowed along the way. Outside of this segment, mobile device coverage is spotty. CT Day 23/CDT: Monarch My son was planning to meet me at the Monarch store at 11:00 am with my resupply. Sunglasses and sun protection are a must! https://pmags.com/backpacking-a-beginners-primer. :D) It will be a bit off the beaten path, however. Bears will find your food and eat it. Monarch Mountain Lodge is a great stopping place to rest your head, restock on supplies or just take advantage of our showers and laundry room. Another very useful site is the SNOTEL snowpack update for Colorado. It it will be full of what we call rotten snow: hard in parts, full of dirt and ice, easy to post hole through, not consistent enough for snowshoes or skis. As the hitches are easy with ample resupply, it is not an option that makes much sense logistically (have to drive A LOT to drop caches and A LOT to pick up caches). if start in mid-June, A large metro area with everything you may need. Between approximately miles 180 and 260 from Denver, the route splits into these two parallel options for the next ~80 miles. Please try to have a subject line withCOLORADO TRAILsomewhere in the text. Many local places shuttle MTBikers to the nearby Monarch Crest Trail that is part of the CT/CDT. The Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center offers a Hot Spring to soak in for $11. Lyft and Uber are viable options as well. Thoughts The same free bus will take you in the other direction to Frisco. The CT East section is 78.1 miles with 15,038 feet of climbing (south to north) I understand theres parking at the Junction Creek TH I assume I can park a car there for a week or so? https://pmags.com/lightweight-backpacking-101, https://pmags.com/backpacking-a-beginners-primer, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/colorado-trail-pocket-map-k-scott-parks/1108036789?r=1&ean=9781468029055&kpid=9781468029055&cm_mmc=GooglePLA-_-Book_Under5-_-Q000000633-_-9781468029055, http://www.durangotrain.com/dsng-parking#.VcAovehViko, http://www.durangogov.org/index.aspx?NID=206, https://pmags.com/quick-tip-ammo-boxes-for-caching, Colorado Trail Von Denver bis Breckenridge / Frisco HappyHiker, Colorado Trail Von Salida bis Lake City HappyHiker, Colorado Trail Von Silverton bis Durango HappyHiker, https://www.amtrak.com/thruway-connecting-services-multiply-your-travel-destinations, https://www.predci.com/train-bus-stations/Summit-county-CO/hours-phone.html, Preparing for the Colorado Trail Jenny Meets World, A Woman Backpacking Solo | Average Hiker | averagehiker.com, Travel Booyah Blissful Hiking: The Colorado Trail Part One Travel Booyah, Travel Hooray Blissful Hiking: The Colorado Trail Part One Travel Hooray, borntravel.web Blissful Mountain climbing: The Colorado Path Half One borntravel.net, The Frugal Backpacker - The $300 Gear Challenge, A Quick and Dirty Guide to The Pacific Crest Trail. Were two ladies who dont object to hitching, but also really want to be safe Our guidebook is designed for Denver- Durango direction, so well probably stick with that. Those sections will be more remote and will require longer food carries, or more time between resupply towns. Obviously, do not depend upon a cell phone for safety. Very soon into the trail if you need to bail or just want to get a cold Coke. Princeton Hot Springs PHS Store (719) 395-2447- Store reported to have some canisters in stock. The Colorado Trail guidebook lists the appropriate map to use for each section. . James and Rebecca hiked the CT in 2009 using bear canisters cached along the trail. Makes it easier to filter my mail. (Note:Fall generally comes to The Colorado high country by late August), Now,with changing weather patterns, the above rules of thumb are getting skewed. Could be a tough hitch. Southwest / Durango Bound Starting from Denver eases a hiker into the higher elevations, starts off more gentle, more options to bail out if you need some RnR. I also had to use this point as a bailout point during a very heavy snow storm on my CDT hike in 2006. If youre going to hitch into one town on the CT, Silverton is pretty easy. PO inside the general store. Frisco: You can pick up the same free bus in Copper (Summit Stage) as for Breck. Basic camping items asSasquatch OutpostandKnotty Pine. , Hello, Swagman here again. Youll find that most experienced people in the black bear country say you dont need it. Take the Lost Creek High Route! Other RV storage areas in the Denver metro area may work. Essentially this is the opposite of the Favorite Trail Towns plan above. The guidebook, databook, and map book can be ordered from The Colorado Trail Foundation. Because of the relatively short length of the CT, mail drops are a viable option for many thru-hikers esp those on a fast pace with limited time. Monarch Crest Store 1058.1 1918.3 CO 289.5 Monarch Pass, Hwy 50 0 Snacks, Fuel Send resupply boxes UPS ONLY. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. If you are going to take a canister into the backcountry without knowing how to use the tool correctly, you are merely giving lip service to safety. . 4) Twin Lakes at mile 175.6 - pick up 5 days of food; possibly mail box here to supplement. The monsoon season may be off or even short as in recent years, possibly even more wildfires, and a prolonged fall/later winter. There are three popular places to start the Colorado Trail from Denver. Unless you have special dietary needs or on a time crunch, there is no real reason to use maildrops on a regular basis. Below is a list of all the CDT resupply stops where hikers stopped this year accompanied by the percentage of hikers who stopped at each location. I agree. Sorting through the various towns and mail drop options can feel overwhelming when you dont have enough information. Salida Salida Mt Sports 719-539-4400 Monarch Crest Store (limited quantity reported)- 1-719-539 4091, Lake City Sportsman Outdoor and Fly Shop 970-944-2526 High Country Market 970 944-0161, Silverton Outdoor World 970-387-5628 Silverton Hardware (970) 387-5774, Gunnison A few different choices among the, Durango Many choices as well (if not as many as Denver..go figure! The San Juan sections, overall, end up as the most scenic. Im planning on going with the Trails Illustrated Maps and am planning to do Collegiate West instead of East for the thru-hike. More info https://coloradotrail.org/waterton-now-open-7-days-but-no-overnight-parking/. Poncha Springs is actually 5 miles west of Salida, not 10 miles east. [] like whereas not spending useful time attempting to determine choices at a grocery retailer. They regularly post on forums and Facebook advertising their services. Mags Moderate resupply in recent years. What this often means is that in addition to campfires, stoves without an on/off valve are often banned. Get the food you want, especially if you have a restricted diet (many stores on the CT have limited options), No grocery shopping saves time in town (but post offices have limited hours; try to ship to hostels or stores when possible). Frisco is a full-service town with less expensive lodgings (esp. There are other guides that provide information also Yogis Town Guides, Pmags End to End Guides, []. on a weekend and/or during hunting season as people are heading back to town. Are theer any addendums I need to brush up on? Well, I go skiing on Mt Toll (13k) at theRead more , FOLLOW-UP: It is now May 12th. Thanks for this great information. Not everyone can manage it. 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Up 5 days of food ; possibly mail box here to supplement Hwy 50 0 Snacks, send! Is permanent or lasting into other seasons verify i found out neither alchy... Is spotty creede Chamber of Commerce It is so hard to find good info on the CT a!