One of my many hiking goals is to complete the Colorado Trail. I’ve made a slow start of it, but have some ambitious plans for the summer. Taking off work a month or more is not a financial possibility so I’m planning to tackle it section by section as time allows. I’m also planning nearby side trips to do a few 14ers and visit other interesting places I find along the way. I started with Section 2 to get my “feet wet.” It’s the nearest section to my house and is familiar territory. I started this section way back in November, with a 12 mile out-and-back hike from the Platte River to Raleigh Peak Road. Then, I got insanely busy with work and other trips and didn’t make it back to the trail until yesterday. To complete the trail, I started from the Little Scraggy Trailhead side and hiked to my previous turn around point on Raleigh Peak Road.
The Colorado Trail Guidebook (available at the Colorado Trail Foundation), describes this section as “brutally hot” and they are not kidding! Large portions of the trail meander through the Buffalo Creek Fire burn area and there is little shade and no water. Even though I hiked it in the cooler months of November and May, it was still uncomfortably warm. I would not recommend doing this section in the heat of Summer unless you enjoy being miserably hot.
Overall, it’s not too strenuous, mostly gently rolling hills, though the beginning near the Platte River has a short switchback climb that’s not too fun. There are some interesting sights along the way including and old abandoned quartz mine. The vistas are pretty wide open in the burn area and you can see Mount Rosalie to the north and Pikes Peak to the south.
Somewhere along the line I must have delete pictures I took in November, but here’s few from yesterday along the trail.
I’m planning to do some of the low elevation segments before the full force of summer heat is upon us. Stay tuned!
Happy Trails,
Katie