Colorado trail in mid-aug to September??

Jennifer:

You will be fine and you won't need crampons, ice axes, and the like (unless Mother Nature gets wildly unusual). By the time you get to the higher altitudes in the San Juans, the monsoon season will be ending but the nights will be colder. You'll probably want an extra layer from Salida south.

With school ending Aug 8, figure you won't get on trail until around the 15th. Coming from the low lands, you'll want some time to adjust to the altitude. Stay 1 or 2 nights in Denver before starting at Waterton Canyon (5,520 feet elev). Five weeks puts you in Durango around Sept 19; later if you go slower.

Be sure to order the CT Foundations latest guidebook. http://www.shop.coloradotrail.org/Official-CT-Guidebook-8th-Edition-GUIDE8.htm

Other resources for you:

The CT Forum
http://trailforums.com/index2.cfm?action=forum&roomID=13

PMags CT End to End Guide <= EXCELLENT
http://www.pmags.com/colorado-trail-end-to-end-guide-2

Yogi's CT Handbook
http://www.pcthandbook.com/product.php?productListId=27

CT hike video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLusGFAG0Wg&feature=youtu.be

The CT on Google Earth (also the CT Foundation website)
http://www.coloradotrail.org/google-earth.html

August 2009 Trail report with many photos. They were entering the San Juans about the time you will be starting from Denver.
http://www.the2016plan.com/coloradotrail/400miles.html

Wandering Bob

+1 On everything Bob said.

I did the trail in 2011 (Denver to Molas Pass) and 2012 (Durango to Molas). My first section was in mid-August to September. I don't remember the exact dates. The second was in mid September. In my opinion that is a great time to hike. The monsoon season should be mostly over. In my case it lasted later then usual but even then it was probably better then hiking mid summer.

Water sources will be a bit more dried out and it is worth researching them and talking to people. There was one that was almost completely dried up and another that I never could find.

By the time I hit the dry sections I was averaging about 22 mile a day. If I did it again I'd try to pace myself for more like 25-30 mile days. That way you get through faster, can carry less food, and hit water sources more often.

Feel free to PM me about any questions.

Sweet!! Dried up water sources would be good practice for me for the southern pct I guess.

If my teaching wraps up aug 8…I'd like to be in Denver aug 9….hang out for a day or two, then hit the trail by the first of the next week. I'd like to start out doing 10 miles a day to acclimate, then ramp it up to 15 in that first week, then hit the 20s for most of the rest of the trip. But I also want some zeros or neros…I missed that during the JMT. There were a few places I wanted to stop and chill for a day to enjoy, but had to keep walking through because of my schedule. So I don't want to make that mistake again.

It seems like that time of year will be fine (of course, barring any weird climate change fiasco next year). So thanks!!! Now I can start planning and getting some maps and guidebooks!!!

Along this same thread, is there an advantage to doing a CT thru-hike SOBO vs. NOBO in late summer? It would seem going from Durango to Denver would be easier logistically*. Already did the basic framework for this past Aug but stayed on the job to pay off some vacation bills. With some free time, was looking at the north-bound plan i.e. …reserved flight to Denver, then another reserved flight to Durango from Denver, … then arranging the flight out of Denver – a bigger hub – depending on hiking pace, any obstacles like fires, etc… or just visiting the general Denver area if waiting on a flight. *Note: I do not need to acclimate being from a relatively high altitude zip code.

Quoting from PMags CT End to End Guide: http://www.pmags.com/colorado-trail-end-to-end-guide-2#Denver%20or%20Durango%20bound

"Northeast / Denver Bound: You do face some of the hardest terrain and higher elevation right away, end in the more subtle Wateron Canyon. End of trip will prove to be easy terrain wise. If you start late in the season, going
Denver bound extends the window of hiking by one or two weeks to early-mid October."