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by T. Duren Jones
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Dream a New Dream |
This was a story years in the making, covering 486 miles, much of it at an elevation above 10,000 feet. |
I opened my packet with pride and anticipation. My suitable-for-framing certificate from the Colorado Trail Foundation had arrived. There was my name, and emblazoned across the top was the headline: “I completed the Colorado Trail.” What a dream come true. What a lot of work!
This was a story years in the making, covering 486 miles, much of it at an elevation above 10,000 feet. The trail is divided into 28 segments, and the challenge took my brother-in-law Kevin, my wife, Diane, and me from Denver to Durango, passing through eight mountain ranges, six National Forests, six designated wilderness areas, along five river systems, and through some of Colorado’s most beautiful country. And (as the certificate reads) the trail took us up a total of 89,354 vertical feet! Together, Kevin and I finished our final segment, a beautiful 20.6 mile section with a 4,186 ft elevation gain through the remote San Juan Wilderness—one of my favorite hiking areas in all of Colorado. Kevin and I had parked our vehicles at each end of the segment and hiked toward each other. We brought walkie-talkies to touch base along the way, but my radio decided to act up. However, surprisingly, because we were at such a high elevation, we were able to text each other about our progress. Around the time we met up about halfway, it started to rain. And it rained. And it rained some more. We lost an hour huddled under large pines for cover. It took me 13 hours to complete this section, feet dragging to the SUV at sunset. No bragging rights here for speed, but maybe some for endurance, especially since the last six miles were mostly uphill through alpine tundra above tree line. We completed the whole Colorado Trail! Looking now for the next big challenge—we will dream a new dream. See photos of this trip. More adventures |