Newbie Questions, Backcountry Camping, and Trailblazing...

[RAHagen]

Hey everyone! My name is Robert Hagen, and I'm new to the forum. I'm from North Texas and I'm planning a trip to climb some of Colorado's 14'ers this summer. A little background, I've been involved with the boy scouts for six years and just recently got my Eagle Scout. Throughout my entire time in scouts I LOVED backpacking. I've been on multiple multi-day hiking trips and I've attended Philmont scout ranch three times. The first two times in normal 12 day treks of around 60-75 miles, the third on a "maverick" 21-day hiking trip that was a total of 175 miles. With these trips my highest summit has been around 12,700 feet. I like to think that I am a proficient hiker and that doing a few 14'ers wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me.

With the background behind me, here comes the questions. Sorry if these are super-newbie questions, but sadly most of my experience I got from Philmont. I am still confident in my abilities it's just something that I haven't dealt with too much. So for if any of y'all don't know how Philmont is set up, you hike from one campsite to the next. Some campsites are staffed with philmont employees, however most camps are primitive camps. Most of the time trails go around peaks and have a single trail to the summit that branches off the trail that bends around it. Sometimes you have a trail that goes straight over a mountain but those are less common. After looking through this site, I see a lot of trails, and trailheads, however I don't see very many trails spanning the distances between them. I guess my question is then, are there any hiking trails that connect multiple 14'er together? I know there are peaks like Greys and Torreys Peaks, but are there any hiking trails that you can camp on that go through the mountains and connect multiple trails together like Philmont is set up? Also, if there are not connecting trails like I mentioned, is trailblazing allowed (my guess is no)? Like I said, these a really newbie questions, but I just never really dealt with this stuff at Philmont.

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give!

[Shawnee Bob]

There are several peaks you can link up. Some are closer together (Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross), others farther apart. Look up Nolan's 14 and you 'll see how people link up many of the Sawatch 14ers. And you're right about blazing: A definite no-no. There are many people on this forum who can give you more detailed accounts of multi-peak trips throughout the state. Best of luck!

[acidchylde]

You'll probably want to look at the Colorado Trail / Continental Divide Trail. You may also want to examine a map of the 14ers. They're kind of spread out and in different ranges, so hiking to various ones in an particular area (and I mean an entire range, not just a single hike that gets you four peaks of a group or whatever) could be done. There are definitely groups that can be multi-day pack trips. 'Trailblazing' might be possible, but you'd have to plan your route and be careful about private property. National Forests are a lot patchier than you think. Especially on mountains where there are mining interests. Pick a range, get the FS map for that area, and look at the trails that run through it.

[huffy13]

I guess if you wanted to camp at Winfield you could connect LaPlata, Huron, Missouri, Belford and Oxford from one base camp. It would just involve some road hiking to get from Winfield to the Missouri Gulch TH...and I suppose if you are feeling froggy you could probably add Harvard and Columbia via Elkhead Pass, but I think that would involve moving camp once somewhere closer.

[justiner]

Colorado Trail, as others have mentioned would be similar to I think what you're looking for.

If you start at Mt. Massive, you would also be able to get Elbert in quick succession.

A little bit more South on the trail, you could could hike up to Yale, and Princeton very easily, as well as Antero, with a little more work (via Brown's Creek trail), and then again for Shavano/Tab, which is again, right off the main CO Trail.

I would give yourself an entire day for each mountain, if you're just backpacking the CO trail and taking trips off of it. Start the hikes up the 14ers as early as you can, and move your camp afterwards to set yourself up for the next mountain. CO has afternoon thunderstorms you don't want to be above treeline for.

You're going to find mostly primitive camping, except perhaps near Mt. Princeton, where you could get something a little nicer near the hot springs, and perhaps on the SE side of Elbert (Twin Lakes) both are resupply points for CT thru-hikers.

Making the Nolans route into a worthwhile backpacking route would take just a little bit of adjustment; some of the routes just wouldn't be too fun with a loaded down pack. Better options are available with a little bit more mileage.



That's a negative on the trail blazing - all these ideas have well-trodden trails to the summit.

[peter303]

Usually the fastest and safest are the standard car trailheads. Those trails are easy to find and in good shape. The alternative trails may fade after winter, or have steep technical parts. Downhill has more problems: if you get lost you may end up on a cliff or in thick brush. Old timers bored with the standard trails find the alternative trails. Some are used in peak racing.

As others have mentioned the Colorado Trail passes near several of the 14ers between Salida and Leadville. I remember being on the trail for part of the hikes up at least four of them. Backtracking to the Colorado Trail adds some miles, but it's safe and easy to hike. P.S. There the CT branches in two in Sawatches and one side has better access to 14ers.

[elhombre]

There is a difference in hiking Philmont and 14ers. I think that you will find that hiking 14ers and hiking a long trail in the mountains requires a bunch more energy than previously experienced. Some say that a person will burn 1000 calories per 1000 foot elevation change when day hiking a 14er. Meaning, a nice hike up a Elbert from a road will take 4000 calories. It will be heavy and very difficult to carry a multiday backpack with enough food to get yourself through a week's worth of hiking and climbing 3 or 4 14ers. I know when I compare the food load when hiking the desert in Big Bend compared to climbing 14ers, there is a big difference in total number of calories consumed. For example, in the desert I can eat one Cliff bar over 3 rest stops. But on a 14er, I can and do eat 4 of those type of snack bars just in getting up and down, plus a nice PBJ on top.

I would suggest you try a few drive up mountains like Elbert, Yale, or La Plata to see how much food you really consume so as to get a feel for the food you will need to keep your body preforming at it's peak.

My family loves to backpack in Colorado and we usually have a mountain summit as a goal. But what we do is plan a nice 3 or 4 nighter with short days of 7 miles or less to do a loop to the mountain and back. There are plenty of 13ers in the Weminuche wilderness or Holy Cross wilderness area. But if you are most excited about 14ers, I agree with most here that doing it from your car is the best way to knock them out.

[RAHagen]

Wow thanks guys! This all will help a ton! In all honesty I kinda forgot about the CDT but that's no doubt a great idea. I guess I have a lot of trail studying to do. The drive up trailheads are kinda what's new for me, but I'm sure it'll be pretty easy to get used to. What I'm hoping is to get a few other people from around here interested in doing it with me. I've already interested a few friends, but I haven't gotten any confirmations yet. So when it comes to camping, can you camp at trailheads or on the trail? And if you can, is it safe to leave your tents, non-essential equipment, etc.. out and set up while you hike to the summit?

[fahixson]

So when it comes to camping, can you camp at trailheads or on the trail? And if you can, is it safe to leave your tents, non-essential equipment, etc.. out and set up while you hike to the summit?

You can camp at or very close to most 14er THs. In most cases, you also have the option to hike in 2-4 miles and camp near tree line if you prefer. The most notable exception is probably Longs, where you can't camp at the TH and must have a permit to camp in certain locations along the trail. If you read the route descriptions on here and TH descriptions, you'll likely find info about camping, sleeping in your car, etc. Also, be mindful of posted camping restrictions (e.g., signs near lakes/streams that prohibit camping within certain proximity). Certain areas may also enforce other restrictions, like food/waste storage requirements at Snowmass Wilderness area to mitigate impacts to bears.

If we do camp, we generally leave our tent and other gear in place while we're out hiking. We've never had a problem, but you'll occasionally hear about something getting stolen or damaged. I'd say most folks out on the trail are friendly and considerate, but I wouldn't leave stuff out in the open.

[spiderman]

I do like to start out the night before and do a bit of hiking before setting up a tent. I find that knocking off 3-4 miles makes things so much easier the following day. I have lightweight camping gear so it only adds 5 pounds to my pack to turn it into an overnighter. ZPacks are incredible.

There are not that many 14ers that are easily connected on a multiday backpacking trek. Because the trailheads are so high, it usually makes sense to return back to your car and drive to the next peak. The Little Bear / Blanca / Ellingwood group can be done in a long weekend with a central campsite at Lake Como. The Chicago Basin is a long weekend with another central campsite. There certainly are many other peaks that can be easily connected together; the route descriptions clearly show how to do the connections.

I am sure that you will find climbing partners if you post a week in advance. There are multiple groups going up every peak in the state during the summer months. They will give you the essential skills. Besides the obvious thunderstorm danger that you became acquainted with in NM, the next two largest dangers are rockfall and steep snow. Learn how to safely travel in groups to avoid dropping boulders on each other, and learn how to safely cross snow fields. Never do the El Diente-Wilson traverse no matter what you hear from other people on this site. I highly recommend taking a 1-day ice climbing class some winter. You will never need to do technical ice stuff on a 14er, but the skills that you learn are invaluable to staying safe on the snowfields that can persist until late August. It was sobering passing the site of a fatal fall on Crestone Peak where a hiker slid down a moderate snow field and off a waterfall. I carry an ice ax on a majority of trips; I have found myself needing it on way too many occurrences. Microspikes are also another critical thing to purchase.

The 14ers are a great adventure. Most of them are climbable by novices. Little Bear and Capitol stand out above the rest in terms of difficulty.

[painless4u2]

"Never do the El Diente-Wilson traverse no matter what you hear from other people on this site."

I respectfully disagree. This is one of the "Great Traverses" of Colorado and is certainly doable if care is taken.
Back to the OP, I'd also take a look at Chicago Basin but with a backpack up Johnson Creek and over Columbine Pass.

[SkaredShtles]

Trailblazing is completely fine. On popular 14'ers, though, it is quite unnecessary.

But if you find a blank spot on a map and want to go explore it - there are no rules that say you can't just head off and explore.

If you do decide to do it, use appropriate LNT methods.