I Never Picked Cotton

Last year I set out on a quest to section hike the Colorado Trail. On Monday, July 25th I continued that quest with the start of another section hike on the Colorado Trail. This post is of the first day of that hike. I got dropped off by my parents at Cottonwood Pass with a starting elevation of 12,142 feet. This section of the Colorado Trail is an alternate route. From Twin Lakes to Monarch Pass, the Colorado Trail forms what is called the Collegiate Loop. The western half is called Collegiate West, and that is the portion I started my hike. The Collegiate West portion is also the Continental Divide Trail. I started my hike going north on the Trail. The first part of the day was downhill with lots of great alpine views.

Cottonwood Pass

Downhill hiking

Looking back

Rock Cairn

Alpine Paintbrush

After about seven miles, I dropped to an elevation of 10,007 feet along Texas Creek. I then had about seven miles of hiking that was more up then down along the Timberline Trail. Motorcycles are allowed on the Timberline Trail, so it is not the greatest section of trail. The Colorado Trail Foundation is in the process of rerouting sections of trail off of roads and motorized trails. Hopefully this section will be included some day. It also lightly rained off and on during this section so I don’t have much in the way of pictures for this half of the day. I camped at an elevation of about 11,100 feet and got myself in position for a big climb the next day.

Beaver lodge - located shortly before reaching the Timberline Trail