Thousands of people will hike the Colorado Trail each year. However, the next time you plan to hike your favorite section, take a minute to appreciate what goes into preserving and maintaining this 567-mile trail. Hard work goes into making sure that we can all continue the time-honored tradition of backpacking on the Colorado Trail.
The Colorado Trail Foundation
Maintenance and preservation efforts of the Colorado Trail Foundation (CTF) are almost entirely thanks to generous private donations. The foundation is run entirely by volunteers led by the CTF Trail Crew. Together, these men and women will work tirelessly to improve the trails. However, there’s always room for more volunteers. If you love to hike the Colorado Trail, think about spending a weekend – or a full week – volunteering this summer.
Adopt-A-Trail
You can also go the extra mile and Adopt-A-Trail (AAT). This means that you are responsible for a section of the trail, making sure that the trail is always passable. Besides being in contact with the CTF and AAT coordinators about the condition of your trail section, Adopting-A-Trail also means that you are responsible for:
- Clearing fallen trees
- Fixing and adding signage to help fellow backpackers and hikers
- Redirecting clean water sources away from contamination
Preserving The Colorado Trail
Just because you’re not an official volunteer or an adoptive parent of a section of the trail doesn’t mean that you can’t do your part. Whenever you hike, you can do your part to preserve the landscape by not littering, respecting the wildlife and the flora, and taking as much care as possible to make sure that you are only taking photos and leaving footprints.
Backpacking on the Colorado Trail
The Colorado Trail is the premier long-distance trail. On the 500-mile trail from Denver to Durango, backpackers will see every type of ecosystem from the peaks of the Rocky Mountains with Alpine lakes to rivers, dales, and everything in between. You can choose to hike, bike, or ride. If you’re backpacking on the Colorado Trail, you need to get the right backpacking gear to suit your adventure.
Rent backpacking gear in Denver
When you are out in nature, whether for a day or a week, you have to always be prepared. The landscape and altitude will change many times when you’re backpacking the Colorado Trail. You’ll need navigation equipment, hydration equipment, camping gear, and more. Most importantly, you need to get fitted with the right backpack for your frame. When you travel long distances, you want the gear to be light, comfortable, and durable.
However you’re taking on the trails, as a volunteer or as an adventurer, hit up the Outdoors Geek retail adventure shop and get outfitted for backpacking the Colorado Trail.
