Day 1, 24.1 miles!

Aloha!! 

Day one of the Colorado Trail is here! Once again big thanks to Claire for driving me to the trailhead super early! 

I hit the trail at 6:30am. The first 6 miles or so are on a form gravel/paved road, and I had heard it’s not very fun, but it was actually quite lovely in the morning! I even saw a bear within the first 1.5 miles! 

Super far away but count it!! Haha

The road was cruisy and not steep at all. I made great time at 2.9 mph average by the time I hit the single-track, where I took a break at Lennys Rest.

The sun was in full effect as I left the canyon walls, so I deemed it time for my first sock change. That’s one of the most important things I’ve learned over my miles of hiking, YOU NEED TO CHANGE THEM SOCKS! Blisters occur from a combination of moisture and friction, so if you want to lessen those odds, eliminate moisture! I change my socks every 5 miles or so, basically when I can feel my feet are sweaty in them. 

Ahhh, single track! My feet were ready to ditch the hard road! 

Raspberries for days!! 

You caught me red handed… guilty as charged!

Man, these were so tasty I must’ve gone 1 mile an hour through this whole section! I can see it now in the news “Colorado resident dies at mile 8 of the Colorado Trail, refusing to leave a raspberry patch and dying of old age…” I was tempted to set up camp there for real! 

The trail was gorgeous and the miles were good to me! I was moving along quick and soon found myself going up and over a big climb. I knew the South Platte River was at 16.7, and my initial plan was to get there by 4, take a break during the heat of the forecasted 97° day, and then camp about a mile up the huge climb that goes 10 miles through a burn area until the next water source.

Descending to the river, and looking straight ahead at the notorious 10 mile burn section..

I need one of those! 

So crazy, but I actually arrived at the South Platte closer to 2pm than 4!! Soon after I arrived I met Sam and then soon after that officially met Nate, who I had seen briefly earlier at the trailhead.

Sam on left, Nate on right

They are good people, I hope to see them down the trail! I spent about an hour at the waters edge, it was so great soaking my hot feet in the river! Also, it was a perfect place for a Cold-Soak Cholula Burrito 5000!!

Yum!! My favorite! (I ate two of those today)

Speaking of food, I think I found a new favorite bar today!

I need 100 of these! Please send them to:

David Teehee

Colorado Trail, Mile 8

Big Raspberry Patch 2

Since it was only 3pm, I did not feel like waiting around for hours, and with the promise of clouds starting to dot the sky and with the winds picking up, I decided to take a gamble in the heat and begin the 10 mile climb! 

Ok, maybe more of a 6 mile climb and a four mile peruse, but still it’s 10 miles and 2,282ft ascent until the next water source! 

Because I knew I would be dry camping (not next to a water source), I loaded up with 4 liters of water for the hot hot climb, adding 8.4 lbs to my 19 lb pack, yeesh! Water is heavy. 

Into the burn zone I go! 








Uhhh… WUT?

It was still very hot even with the occasional could cover and wind, but it was still gorgeous! I even spotted a flowering cactus!

Looks like a chimney is making that cloud 

Once I hit mile 24 by 7:30pm I was pooped!! That’s way further than I was planning to go but I took it slow and steady all day with about 12 hours hiking total at 2mph average! I have found that this is the key. (For me). 

Move at a non-strenuous, slower pace, but just do it all day! That’s how I prefer to get my miles rather than pushing hard for a shorter period of the day. I find that if I do that, I am more prone to blisters and overuse injuries! 

When I get to camp I like to put my groundsheet down (which doubles as my hitchhiking sign and is still going strong from 2018 if you were wondering), and then lay down my sleeping pad on that and stretch before setting up my tent! This way, I can also get a good feel for the ground and see if I have to move any small rocks or sticks that I might’ve missed without doing so! 

Old Trusty! Over 180 nights on trail with it, AND I bought it second hand in like 2017!

It’s a gorgeous, warm tonight without a cloud in the sky. I’m going to gamble just sleeping in my tent with no fly. No, this is not always a good idea, and yes I have been rained on before! Running outside barefoot in my sleep layers to hurriedly set up my rain fly in a storm is one of my favorite past times! 

Lovely sunset, and now it’s 9:36pm.. Hikers Midnight! Haha. I’m off to bed! I’m well ahead of where I thought I’d be tonight, and my feet are doing well, even after 4,900 plus feet of climbing! 

So far this trail is great, the miles have been good to me, life is amazing…

Thanks for reading!