Colorado Trail Pre-Hike: What the Bucket Says

Today we dropped off the last of our resupply buckets for our 492-mile hike of the Colorado Trail. Yes, we will be “thru-hikers”, people who hike a trail in one trip end to end. Fondly, we are called hiker trash. The usual “hiker trash” is a 25-year old white male. Guess we don’t quite fit the mold being a couple in their 50s and 60s. I read statistics about females only being 25% of the Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, and 60+ years old being only 5% of the Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers. So we both are in the minority. And couples? I haven’t read any statistics on that.

I really enjoy prepping for a trip like this. It is actually a lot of logistics and I get pleasure out of pulling it all together. There are many tasks involved such as training, planning out average miles per day, where to resupply, what towns to stay in, what hotels are Ok with hikers, transportation to and from the hike,  what equipment to bring, what to put in the resupply buckets, what food to prepare and pack, where to send new shoes (yes – this is after all 500 miles),  etc., etc. We have spreadsheets for all of it. I am a planner by nature and goal-focused but am totally ok with adjusting the plan as needed. It is all part of the adventure.

As the bucket says “Let’s Do This”. I am ready.

Length: 492 miles

Location: Denver to Durango, Colorado through the Rocky Mountains

Average Elevation: 10,300 feet

Geography: six wilderness areas, eight mountain ranges

Total Climb: 89,354 feet