CATARACT RIDGE - Section 6

This is an extremely difficult week of hiking.  Only hikers experienced with long hiking days at elevations of 12-13,000 feet should consider this week!

The good news is that you will be hiking the extraordinarily scenic new re-route of the Colorado Trail, Cataract Ridge!

You will meet at the personal residence of Chris and Jeanne Szczech and the headquarters of Colorado Mountain Expeditions.  It is a long shuttle to the first night’s campsite, so we will be leaving promptly. 

This section of hiking follows an exhilarating alpine portion of the Colorado Trail.  Hiking at an average elevation in excess of 12,000 feet, this section has the distinction of being the highest portion of the Colorado Trail.  The Colorado Trail reaches its highest point here, at 13,200 feet, on the second day of hiking.  Additionally, this is one of the most remote sections, thus making the logistics for the support crew more challenging than any other section.

It is the most beautiful and difficult section of the trail as well as the most exposed to weather.  During this week, we will camp at an elevation of 12,360, above timberline.  The hiking consists of four arduous days.  Because of the remote nature of the trail in this area, it is impractical to have a fifth day of hiking, thus we have reserved Wednesday for a rest and recovery day. 

The FIRST day of hiking is a splendid, but difficult, day.  It consists of a lot of trekking up and down high mountain passes, and an afternoon spent crossing Snow Mesa.  Snow Mesa is a 4.5 mile table of tundra over which the Colorado Trail passes.  The hikers have always been tired and ready for some hot grub and their sleeping bags this evening!

The SECOND day of hiking takes you over the previously discussed highest point of the Colorado Trail – Coney Summit!  Again, this is a solid bit of walking, and again, most of the day is spent above tree line.  A gradual, but steady climb takes us up to the Continental Divide, and we stay there for the rest of the day.  The afternoon is spent hiking some exhilarating terrain, and descending into camp.

Which is where we will spend our rest day on day THREE.  After hiking almost 35 miles in two days, you’ll be quite happy to trade in your boots for your sandals, and enjoy the scenery at 12,360 foot Carson Saddle.  Be sure to bring a book or your favorite leisure activity for this day.  We will spend it soaking in the scenery, resting, recuperating, and getting ready for the rest of our week!

Our FOURTH day takes us over the newly rerouted section of the CT.  This reroute was created to keep the trail on the Continental Divide as much as possible, taking advantage of the epic 360-degree mountain views.  The trail follows a series of cairns through alpine tundra, past Cataract Lake and on to Stony Pass, where we will spend the night. 

In the morning, an early start will get us on our way for our LAST day.  We will follow the Trail into the Weminuche Wilderness, and garner spectacular views of the Grenadier and Needle mountains.  From that point, we descend nine miles, from an elevation of 12,660, until we reach the Animas River at an elevation of 9,000 feet.  This hiking is breathtaking; we descend 34 switchbacks and then go through the Devil’s Keyhole!  The hiking is not finished yet though, we will be wrapping up with a 4 mile, 1,700 foot climb to the final campsite (with hot showers!)  at the top of Molas Pass.  After a well deserved night’s rest, we will deliver you to your vehicle on Saturday morning.