In 2012 I decided it would be cool to do the Colorado Trail, and in 2013 I officially added it to my "bucket list". Yesterday, after 10 years of working of this project, I completed it!
The CO trail is a 478 mile hiking trail from Denver to Durango, often done as a 4-6 week "thru-hike". But I didn't see a possibility of taking 4-6 weeks off from work and kids to do that, so I decided to get in whatever pieces of the trail I could, and keep track, checking off parts of the map every time I got a chance.
In the fall of 2012, my Dad visited us while we lived in Lafayette, CO, and we went to look at the fall colours at Kenosha Pass. I decided to run 3 miles out and 3 miles back on the trail.
This past 11 days I hiked 154 miles/248 km to finish off the trail. I did 6 days of day hiking and then 5 days backpacking the last section between Silverton and Durango.
This experience has allowed me to enjoy many beautiful parts of the state over the years. Although my logistics have been time consuming, less than efficient, and strange, it has been my reality. I have biked some sections, had a child since I started the project, and traveled back to Colorado twice since we moved away in order to make it happen.
There are a LOT of people that have helped me with this project, and they have made it special because each part of the trail has memories associated with them.
Jason - my partner has backpacked some miles with me, driven me to trailheads all over, and cheered me on with the kids.
Rachel - biked some miles with me on her strider bike when she was little, and also I've carried that strider bike on a few bonus miles.
Rachel and Ava - have had to wait for me at a few trailheads and allowed me time to myself to go explore the wild without them.
Jeff - my brother Jeff flew to Colorado in 2017 and in 2019 to hike some big chunks of the trail with me. He did the highest sections with me and helped me get in my longest day.
My Mom - came to CO in 2019 to drive around in a campervan while watching my girls, providing 'trail magic' for other hikers, and cheering us on at remote trailheads.
Kirk - has hiked several sections with me, educated me along the way with his wisdom, and been a terrific friend
Susan K - drove a shuttle to pick Kirk and I up at the end of the 'mountain lion' section
Ashley, Dan, and Jake the dog - Ash and Dan are great friends and they have the world's best dog. They are my hiking mentors and are beasts on the trail. They thru-hiked it in 2020 and I can't wait to hike with them again.
Lori - joined me this year for some great miles from Copper to Mt. Massive and had awesome heart-to-heart conversations the whole way. Her friendship is very dear to me!
Randy - thanks for helping shuttle in the van and feeding us along the way.
Shelly P and Kiki the dog - Who is brave enough to go backpacking for 5 days with someone they've never met? This cool lady and her puppy, who have more CO trail in store for them going forward.
Nancy M - joined me on section 7 from Breck to Copper and it was a beautiful day!
Charles D - joined in on some of that same section 7 hike and made us laugh with his Dad jokes along the way. His family also skinned the 1.5 miles of the trail that I have skied, although I ended up hiking them again this past week.
Jen S - shared some glorius miles with me from Cottonwood Pass, was kind enough to go at my pace, and then joined me for a heck of a jeep ride hitch to get back to the car!
Susan O - has cheered me on the whole time and watched my kids through many miles. Thanks for being such a supportive mother-in-law and a terrific Grandma to our girls.
I am so grateful. Thank you!
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