Into the Collegiate West we go (on the Colorado Trail)

This post first appeared on The Trek on August 22, 2022. If you’re hiking southbound on the Colorado Trail, as most people do, just past Twin Lakes Village, you reach the revered Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. Here, you have two choices. March on into the wilderness via the official CT route – the Collegiate East –

Six tips for hiking the first quarter of the Colorado Trail

This post first appeared on The Trek on August 20, 2022. One aspect of trail life that I love so much is that the learning curve is so steep. You hop on a trail and a week later you’ve already learned so much! This holds true for the Colorado Trail, which I am currently thru-hiking.

A swimming bear, shooting stars, and a 10 by 10: Colorado Trail thru-hike days one through three

This post first appeared on The Trek on August 10, 2022. The beginning of my Colorado Trail thru-hike didn’t exactly go off without a hitch. As I mentioned in my preparation posts, my friends Ibex and Dori, both of whom were a part of my Appalachian Trail tramily, are joining me for this adventure. I

Six ways I’m preparing for my Colorado Trail thru-hike

This post was first published on The Trek on July 27, 2022. I ditched Washington, DC, for the Appalachian Trail (AT) and then Colorado over four years ago, but the Type A habits I picked up there live on. While I certainly can fly by the seat of pants, I typically don’t. The truth is,

Six Reasons I’m Thru-Hiking the Colorado Trail This Summer

This post was first published on TheTrek.co on July 20, 2022. After dreaming about and planning for my upcoming Colorado Trail thru-hike for the last six months, the countdown is on. I’m a mere two weeks away from my start date, and I am so ready! I’ve spent the last few weeks training, researching town

Appalachian Trail memories surface as Colorado Trail thru-hike draws near

This post first appeared on TheTrek.co on July 17, 2022. As my Colorado Trail (CT) thru-hike start date approaches, I find myself looking in the rearview mirror at how profoundly my 2018 Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hike changed my life. Whenever I think of my trek, the Lord Huron song, “Meet Me in the Woods” comes