Another July Colorady Trail; complete gear list

[Shawn Bearden]

[Ha! Fixed Colorady to Colorado in heading but it doesn't change the main post heading]
I'll be doing the CT at the end of July (and first days of August). Seems there will be a few of us BPLers out there. Planning to complete it Denver to Durango in under three weeks; on the move whenever there is daylight and might take on a couple of 14ers. I expect little-to-no 'in camp' time. Below is my current gear list. Some item lines have questions in the right-most column. Any feedback on any of the list is welcomed. A couple of cells are highlighted, ignore that as that is just a reminder to me. Thanks!

[Brian Reyman]

Looks pretty solid to me. The following are a few comments but are largely based on personal preference.
– OR Research Helium II is fine. That's my jacket of choice. Most rainstorms in Colorado are short lived. On the off chance you get a multi-day storm, you'll just be a bit soggy. Worth the risk due to liklihood/average.
– Consider dropping/modding rain pants. I often don't carry any at all. If you really like them, consider a rain skirt or similar. Won't need much mobility (trail is well maintained) and there's a liklihood you won't have any/many storms that last more than 1-2 hours and really warrant something more serious.
– Agree on leaving bug net. Pressure – especially with lot of moving – not bad enough in Colorado on vast majority of years.
– Mornings can be brisk. I like a light mid-layer fleece or capilene equivalent and as an extra layer on a really cold night (subject to how hot/cold you get).

Enjoy! The Colorado Trail is an absolute gem!

[Andrew U]

Kit looks pretty good.

All following observations are personal:

I would bring a light fleece jacket to supplement ExLite, and long underwear bottoms in case of cold nights. But I get cold easily when not moving.

No-cook is bold choice, but practical since alky stoves may be banned that time of year. Not something I ever want to do again but if you can stomach it (pun!), more power to you.

XTherm is obviously overkill, but probably not worth the money for new pad just to drop 4 ounces. You couldn't pay me to sleep on a RidgeRest ever again.

Don't skip the bivy. Bugs aren't that bad here in August, but they still exist! Should also offset some of your lack of lower body insulation.

Would the camera on your phone be sufficient enough to leave Nikon CoolPix behind?

Expensive rain mitts are unnecessary. Bread bags should suffice.

[Shawn Bearden]

Thanks. I appreciate the vote in favor of a light fleece top (or similar). That leaves me unhappy with so many tops: hiking shirt, fleece, hooded wind shirt, ExLite, rain jacket = 5! Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

"That leaves me unhappy with so many tops: hiking shirt, fleece, hooded wind shirt, ExLite, rain jacket = 5! Thoughts?"

Substitute a fleece vest for the fleece shirt, leave the wind shirt behind. While you're on the move, a fleece vest should be adequate if you feel the need for more
core protection. In light rain and during your minimal camp time, your WPB will function as well as a wind shirt. I've been using this combo for years in the Sierra with excellent results. The only difference is that I use a Bozeman Mtn. Works Cocoon synthetic vest instead of fleece, and a Montane Minimus WPB instead of a Helium.

[bjc]

My tops when hiking here in Colorado in summer, and probably on th CT this summer:

Long sleeve zip neck lightweight knit shirt
100 wt. fleece pullover
UL down jacket
UL Rain jacket

If I am out for a short trip when it might be really hot and I'm mostly below treeline I might take a SS shirt.
If it's going to be nasty for a few days, but I'm going anyway I might include a wind shirt to layer.

[Author]

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