Copper to Monarch on the CT – day 6. Into the Collegiates

@ 38.9404, –106.4576

Near CW mile 16.9

Up for breakfast at the Twin Lakes Inn at 7, out on the road by 8:30, walking the 2 miles to the trailhead that bridges Lake Creek and thus makes our entry into the Collegiates.

The price of entry is high: a 4-mile 3200-ft climb up to Hope Pass. It was steep and hot and sweaty all the way to the top, where it was of course cold and windy.

But the weather was fine. To the north we could see not only Mt Elbert but Homestake Peak and even Peak 10 above Breckenridge. To the south lay the Collegiates, with Missouri Peak in direct opposition to the gully leading down.

A family from Missouri was there , pleased to have made the pass in their third year of trying.

Also talked to a pair of trail runners who were training for the Leadville 100 race. That’s 100 miles, not km’s. Leadville, in the far distance at the upper end of the Ark valley is the terminus. Winfield, on Clear Creek below us is the halfway/turnaround point and they were scoping out the route, planning race strategy.

One runner (the man) would be the pacer for the woman on the return 50. The pacer’s job is to keep the racer on the trail in the dark, as it takes most runners 18 hours to finish the course. They probably also have to talk the runners down from hallucinations and deliriums that must arise toward the end of the run. Having runners jump off cliffs to escape giant bats would no doubt give the event a bad name.

To our accusations of being crazy, they pointed out the that we were hauling heavy packs over the same trail, only to sleep on hard ground and drink from streams. After the race they would be having a cold beer and go to sleep in a warm bed. Who’s crazy?

The CDT hikers from Kansas we hung out with yesterday all complained of the northbound hike over Hope Pass, even though it starts 1000 feet higher. They had a point. The climb down is not only steep and dusty but covered with loose rocks. There is little shade on the south-facing slope. It was a fairly miserable hike going down, it would have been atrocious going up.

We veered up the S Fork Clear Creek valley with La Plata on our right, Huron on our left, and the Three Apostles dead ahead. It is a delightful stretch of trail, a gentle climb through shady forests and view- filled parks. Nothing crazy about that.