Colorado Trail day 31
July 25, 2026
It was chilly but not as cold as the night before. We still woke up with the inside and outside of the tent wet. However, we stayed in bed until almost 6:30 and the sun began hitting the tent - lucky positioning! We got up and pulled our sleeping bags out and put them on a large rock that was dry (and freshly cleaned from the rain last night!) so that they could dry in the sun since they were a bit damp as well.
With the shortage of water, we decided to hike a little way and get more water before making hot drinks. There was a creek in a bit less than a mile and then we stopped after another 3/4 mile or so when we found a flat rock with a bit of a view.
Shortly afterwards the trail crested a ridge and the views started being epic.
For about three miles the trail goes up and down small ridges that are all on this high, large ridge. There are no trees and bushes only near ponds or tiny streams, but the ground is green with grass and little flowers. There are mountains all around - it’s a very different landscape.
We stopped at the top of a hill to make a video. If this isn’t the most scenic spot on the trail it’s definitely a strong candidate.
Somewhere in here, the tip of one of my trekking poles broke off
After another half mile the Continental Divide Trail diverges from the Colorado Trail - the Colorado Trail turns west and stays inside the Winemuche Wilderness while the Continental Divide Trail continues south. After climbing up a ridge the trail reaches a saddle at the top of the Elk Creek canyon.
The trail switchbacks down into the valley, initially with a view of a couple of hanging lakes. Then down into a steep-sided canyon with some old mines.
Finally it reaches a tiny creek and follows it down. We dropped 2800 feet in six miles before finding a campsite.
The scenery, especially near the upper end of the canyon, is spectacular. Huge rocky peaks on the south side of the canyon and steep slopes (and sometimes cliffs) on the north.
There was another pika that wanted to check out Julie’s shoe.
And a marmot watching the trail.
We stopped for lunch and it started sprinkling. We managed to finish lunch just under an umbrella, but afterwards it started raining. It rained for over an hour, then stopped for a while before starting again.
We passed a massive collection of downed trees, like a log jam. Apparently there was an avalanche here a couple years ago.
We passed the 400 mile mark in this valley.
We had a hard time choosing a campsite. We almost stopped at a pretty nice one but it seemed a bit early so we continued on. It started raining lightly shortly afterwards which caused some regrets.
Eventually we found a fairly nice site, although a huge fallen tree about five feet off the ground made it a little awkward.
We were both out of clean socks and underwear so we rinsed some in a creek a quarter mile before the campsite, but we weren’t set up to actually wash them. It’s not clear anything will dry before the morning, anyway.
Julie found a tick on her pants while filtering water, but that’s only the second tick that we’ve seen on the whole trail.
We made an “add boiling water” macaroni and cheese dinner. We added some turkey sausages and Cholula salsa to try to jazz up the fairly plain Mountain House meal. We had some brownies we bought in Lake City from a girl raising money for some charity for dessert along with hot cocoa.
There were a lot of flies at this camp, but they weren’t always active.
While we were finishing the cocoa a rabbit came into camp. It was very interested in something near the tent - maybe a previous camper spilled something? We were excited to take photos but then it suddenly came over to my very wet shoes and started nibbling on them. I shooed it away and looked for a safe place to put my shoes and then a moment later the rabbit started nosing my pack. We hung the packs on broken branches of a big tree with a dry spot underneath, and my shoes in a different tree.
The sun briefly shone on the canyon wall before setting.
10 miles over about eight and a half hours. It sounds slow but we took so many photos and stopped to look in an old mine, talk to other hikers, and examine campsites - it felt like a very full day.