I usually start my mornings slow when I’m backpacking: waking up whenever my body chooses and letting the sun warm the air before I start moving. When I started hiking the Colorado Trail this time around, I knew that would not be the case, I was trying to cover more miles than I usually do in an attempt to finish the 485 mile trail in 14 days. Early starts were a must, and I while I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the predawn starts, the long days were challenging. I ended up completing the trail in just under 15 days, averaging about 32 miles a day. During that time, I celebrated my 24th birthday, dealt with some serious tendonitis, experienced some amazing kindness, cried for some of the hardships some of my loved ones are experiencing, seriously considered quitting, and Mark and I got engaged!
After Mark and I had skied the Colorado Trail this spring, I was confident in my ability to complete it as a backpacking trip in the fall. I was looking forward to the opportunity to challenge myself by pushing big miles while I enjoyed the simplicity of camping and hiking the trail without snow. I came into the hike excited (travelling 38 miles and climbing 8,5000′ through the San Juans on my first full day of hiking) but shortly found my body responding accordingly to a summer without hiking, running, or carrying a heavy pack. My knees became painfully sore on descents after just a few days of hiking, and after about a week on trail I developed a terrible shin splint in my left leg. I slowed my pace, to accommodate the tendonitis I was experiencing and reminded myself that this sort of self care was one of the most important parts of long distance hiking. While I continued to push my mileage through the back half of my hike, I resolved not to sacrifice my well-being to achieve an arbitrary goal (completing the trail in 14 days) and rather focused on finding success in the other goals I had set for myself: enjoying the opportunity to try hard everyday, taking care of myself under challenging conditions, and relishing the little moments shared with other hikers. I finished the trail tired, proud of my effort, and ready to spend some time with my now fiance, Mark.
To see more photos from the trail you can check out my Colorado Trail Fall 2022 Google Photo album here. To read my full trip report, continue to the next page of this post.