Looking at the CT another way

As day hikers, Laura and Kevin have spent many lovely days exploring the North American west. Along the way, we have set foot on quite a few long trails and often fantasized about how we could “just keep going”. The truth is, that’s not how we roll. Instead we enjoy day hiking, but that doesn’t stop us from seeking out a special hike that’s part of a long trail.

In 2020, facing a summer of pandemic, Laura signed up to do a virtual Colorado Trail (CT) hike as a motivator to hit the trails frequently. The concept was to do 500 miles of hiking over the course of the summer. There was no expectation your hiking would be on the CT, you could just walk around the block over and over. But what’s the fun of that? The commitment came out to about 5 1/4 miles per day, every day for the summer – sounds like a whole bunch of day hikes right?! With Kevin as her hiking buddy almost everyday, the journey began. Conversations while walking quickly turned to the idea that we should do some of these day hikes on the actual CT. We started with a few miles on the CT in Segment 6, which is fairly close to home for us, living in Summit County. Over the course of the summer, we did several more nearby hikes on the CT and finally traveled to Durango, with lots of social distancing, to hike the last few miles of the summer’s 500 on the end of the trail.

Those visits to the CT were a pleasant surprise in many ways. The trail is lovely, the views, forests and fellow hikers were all a plus every time. We immediately learned that an out-n-back hike didn’t feel repetitive- the trail and the views it offers seemed very different outbound vs. headed back to the car. This was more rewarding in every way than we expected.

In the course of doing these first CT day hikes, we learned how hard it was to identify and plan day hikes on the trail. The local tourist information offices, USFS ranger stations, and the like, had little or nothing to say about accessing the CT in their area. The available books and apps are helpful but tailored to thru-hiking – starting on one end of the trail and going all the way through to the other end. That didn’t stop us as day hikers, but we felt there was a gap that needed filling. This website is our effort to fill the gap. We share information about specific day hikes on the CT along with occasional observations, insights and advice for the day hiker on the CT.