Backpacking, Photography and Misadventures on Segment 8 of the Colorado Trail
First things first, here’s a copy of my trip prep document:
Trail: Colorado Trail Segment 8
Parking: Copper Mountain Alpine Lot (call the resort for permission and details), Tennessee Pass Trailhead (free!)
Distance: 25 miles
Nights on Trail: 2-3 recommended
Resupplies: N/A
Terrain: Forest and high alpine
Elevation Gain: 4,468 feet
Min Elevation: 9,326 feet above sea level
Max Elevation: 12,261 feet above sea level
Recommended Time of Year: Between July and the start of October - it depends on snow conditions.
Water availability: Plentiful earlier in the summer. May get more scarce later, but should generally be consistently available.
Weather: At time of writing (October 2024) the high temperature for this trail is 61 Fahrenheit and low is 31 Fahrenheit. Note this is an abnormally hot Fall for Colorado as ski resorts typically shoot to open in early November. Always check before you go as your conditions will vary.
Notable Features: Wildflowers (seasonally), Janet’s Cabin, Cataract Falls, Camp Hale, Marmots, 360 degree mountain views for days.
When I backpacked this segment of the Colorado Trail in the summer of 2024, I knew it was going to be a tough weekend trip. The single-segment-distance was the longest I had done to date, the altitude was high above sea level at a ski resort, thunderstorms were possible in the afternoons, and I was going with a group of friends who would need help figuring out the logistics of a car shuttle shuffle.
To start the trip, my party consisting of Staci, Michael, Shannon, Louisa, Spencer, and Kuzco (the world’s coolest adventure dog), met and left a couple of cars at our finish point - the Tennessee Pass trailhead near Ski Cooper. Then, we carpooled in a third car back to our starting point at Copper Mountain where we strapped on our packs, found the trailhead just south of the Alpine lots, and walked 1.5 miles through the woods to the ski resort. There we offloaded our fully stocked bags and devoured some juicy burgs and beer… A hard day’s work! After gorging ourselves we started our journey for real; hiking along the Copper trails, past the stationary ski lifts, and over the Continental Divide.
Segment 8 offers much in the way of photography. From forests to marshes to mountain peaks with 360 degree views, you’ll find something to shoot regardless of your preferred photography style. My favorites from this trip included some wildflowers and streams near our first camp, close to the top of Kokomo Pass.
A word of caution to those journeying in the high alpine - thunderstorms and altitude sickness come on fast. You cannot see storms building beyond the vast mountain ranges and you won’t know they’re coming until they’re more or less on top of you. Furthermore, altitude sickness affects even those of us who live near the mile high city when we more than double our altitude for the day - exhibit A: it got Staci that first night. She thankfully was okay after some water, rest, and ibuprofen, but note that sleeping at altitude is something to do with utmost caution as lightning strikes and altitude sickness can be perilous to those who are not careful or acclimated.
On the second day of our trip we passed through the remnants of Camp Hale. A historic Army base and CIA training site, this rugged concrete village was once home to the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division as well as countless Tibetan CIA agents who trained to infiltrate the Chinese communist party. I took exactly zero pictures, a shock I know, because I found the site to be fascinating historically, but not very nice to look at - a missed opportunity for someone who recently realized he likes photojournalism. When you journey here, take home memories at least and photos if you’re inspired - history needs to be remembered.
After Camp Hale the hiking party was exhausted. We had crossed two mountain passes and covered 20 of the 25 miles, at altitude and under full load, in just over a day. A grueling ordeal. We knew thunderstorms were coming in the afternoon so our main goal was to get down from the high alpine and below tree level before those rolled in. Thankfully, mission accomplished. Unfortunately, we still got caught on the way to the cars.
Hail pelted us shortly after departing the aptly named Camp Hale and we hastily dug our rain gear out to keep as comfortable as possible. Thunder and lightning pounded around us and the trail ended a soaking, soppy, muddy mess. This was not my first backpacking trip in a Colorado thunderstorm, but it never gets any less intense. I’m happy to report that our hiking party’s mascot, the wünder-pooch Kuzco, did not lose his nerve and we all got back to the cars safe and sound.
Having endured the storm and 52,000 steps in two days, there was just one thing left to do - shuttle back to Copper Mountain to collect the other half of our cars and head home. Funny enough, this trip had one last wrench to throw at us. Louisa, a friend who I backpacked with a ton this summer and someone who I know as being a responsible hiker, accidentally forgot her keys in Staci’s car on the other end of the trail!!! Drat. As she was one of our designated shuttle drivers we now had to figure out how to safely shuttle two cars worth of people with just one car available.
Michael and Louisa gracefully volunteered to join Staci and I on the drive back to Copper where they collected Louisa’s keys and drove in Michael’s car back to the Tennessee Pass trailhead to pick up Shannon, Spencer, and an utterly exhausted Kuzco. This one small mistake cost them and the rest of the crew about 2 hours. While inconvenient, think how bad it could have been if the keys were lost on the trail…
Let this be a lesson, when doing a car shuttle, point-to-point backpacking trip: Secure your keys in your backpack! You’re much less likely to forget a whole bag of essentials, especially when those essentials include your food and shelter.
As usual, thank you for reading! If you have any questions about the Colorado Trail, Segment 8, or anything else I mentioned here, please drop a comment below!