Colorado Trail
In 2022 I no longer needed to stay out of the U.S. to qualify for the FEIE (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion) as I had retired. I decided to take advantage of this freedom and do what they call a thru-hike. The question is which one to do, the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Continental Divide Trail(CDT), or the Pacific Coast Trail(PCT). Are you nuts? There is no way I would hike any of those long trails as they were all over 2000 miles. Having lived in Colorado most of my adult life I knew of the Colorado Trail. At roughly 500 miles it seemed like a much more reasonable goal than the AT, CDT or PCT. Since had done some backpacking in Colorado I knew roughly what the conditions would be like which also made the decision easier.
It had been a few years since I had done any backpacking. All of those trips had been less than 50 miles. So after researching this trip I decided at my age, 65, I needed to drastically reduce the weight I was going to carry. from 45 lbs to less than 20lbs. This resulted in me also replacing all my gear except for my down sleeping bag.
So here is what I took on my trip:
Gear:
Klymit Insulated Static V Lite Inflatable Sleeping Pad
Coghlan's Backpacker's Trowel
Microfiber Towel
3F UL GEAR Lanshan 1 pro tent
Gossamer Gear G4-20 backpack
Rope for bear bags
Stuff sacks
Trash Compactor bags - 2
Stuff sacks
Trash Compactor bags - 2
Electronics:
Anker Portable Charger, 313 Power Bank
Pixel 6
Charger
cables
Ultra Bright Mini Hands Free Cree LED Clip on Cap Light - Rechargeable
USB C Charger, Spigen 30W USB-C Power Adapte
Jabra Elite 7 Pro in Ear Bluetooth Earbuds
Misc:
Colorado Trail North, Monarch to Denver Map
Colorado Trail South, Durango to Monarch Map
BSN Medical BEI076168 Leukotape P Sports Tape
Medical Kit
Lighttrek Hiking Umbrella
CuloClean
Clothing:
HoodyFROGG TOGGS Men's Ultra-Lite2 Waterproof Breathable Rain Suit
ALTRA Men's AL0A4VQE Lone Peak 5 Trail Running Shoe
CAPAS 2mm Neoprene Waterproof Socks
OHOHAI Warm Socks
Patagonia Shorts
Injinji Men's Trail Midweight Mini Crew Toesocks
Darn tough Socks (2 pair) Crew socks
Other Items:
CETAPHIL Sheer Mineral Sunscreen Stick for Face & Body
Glide
Preparation:
Get the Colorado Trail - book (yeah, I didn't read much of it)
Join the Colorado Trail Facebook group
Get the Gut Hook/Far Out app for your phone
Watch youtube videos on both backpacking and the Colorado Trail
Read various web sites regarding the Colorado Trail
Watch youtube videos on both backpacking and the Colorado Trail
Read various web sites regarding the Colorado Trail
I ordered or bought most of the food I was going to need. This I feel was a mistake. Yes, the stores near the trails in the mountains were more expensive, but shipping stuff costs anything I saved by buying it at home. The one advantage I did see was some items would not be available at the small stores along the way. I might do a mix next time and ship to a few of the more remote places.
I did an overnight shakedown backpack trip. But one thing I did not do was check my battery backup. This bit me in the first part of the trip, because even though my backup had a usb-c port and I had a usb-c cable. The usb-c port was only for input, not output. Uggghh. The hikes with all my gear did start getting my feet ready for the trek.
I did an overnight shakedown backpack trip. But one thing I did not do was check my battery backup. This bit me in the first part of the trip, because even though my backup had a usb-c port and I had a usb-c cable. The usb-c port was only for input, not output. Uggghh. The hikes with all my gear did start getting my feet ready for the trek.
Comments
Post a Comment