This video describes my 5 year journey of backpacking the Colorado Trail. It describes my experiences segment by segment, reliving the highs and lows of my adventure.
Before the Colorado Trail, I was only a weekend warrior backpacker. I had seen the videos of long distance thru-hikes like the AT, PCT, CDT and the Colorado Trail. I always wondered if I had what it takes to complete a long distance thru-hike and more than just 3 days and 2 nights out in the backcountry. I knew my circumstances were different than most. I started this adventure when I was 45, have a wonderful marriage, two great kids and a fantastic job. I couldn't envision leaving work for a month, let alone my family. So I needed to figure out a way to tackle this adventure.
That's when I decided I would tackle this one year at a time. I figured I could average 100 miles a year, which I could accomplish over the course of a week. My thought was that I could easily take a week off of work and a week is a manageable time to be away from the family. So that's what I did, and starting in 2019 my epic journey began.
I would say that the Colorado Trail made me fall in love with backpacking. It is now one of my passions. I grew so much in knowledge and experience on how to be a better backpacker during this time. I will always be forever grateful to the Colorado Trail.
I know I missed out on some of the thru-hike experience by breaking this up over a 5 year period. I never had to get a hitch in town, I never had to worry about a resupply, I never had a zero day in town in rest my weary body only to push myself to get back on the trail and not give up, and I never got to form a tramily as I met different thru-hikers every year. Therefore, some might say that I'm not a "real" thru-hiker. And that's okay, I wasn't doing this for the title of "thru-hiker", and I definitely wasn't doing this to the acceptance from others, I was doing this to see if I had what it takes to at least hike 100 miles over the course of a week? Did I really love backpacking and all the highs and lows you experience during a trip like this? I found out that I did! I love it and I want more of it.
This is only the beginning for me, a stepping stone you might say to bigger trips and pushing myself even farther. My goal for 2024 is to hike the JMT (if I am able to secure the permits). It is over 211 miles and I would tackle it in approximately 15 days. I figured that would be a good next step in my evolution of a long distance hiker.
Anyway, I hope folks enjoy the video and maybe even inspire someone to realize that they don't have to follow the standard path or approach to completing a hike. That they can make it their own journey, something that works for them. Maybe you find that the weekend warrior things works best for you, maybe not. For me, I fell in love with backpacking and can't wait for the next adventure.
Thanks for watching!
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