The Colorado Trail

Stretching almost 500 miles from Denver to Durango, the Colorado Trail is rightly regarded as one of North America's premier long distance footpaths. Meandering over and through the spectacular Rocky Mountains amongst peaks with lakes, creeks and diverse ecosystems, it encapsulates six wilderness areas and eight mountain ranges topping out at 13,334 feet.

And I'm starting it on Monday.

The restrictions of corporate American vacation policies, and my own lack of desire to spend 6+ weeks on the trail make it impractical to attempt the entire trail as a through hike. Instead, like many others, I plan to cover a segment at a time, covering 75 to 100 miles in each trip, with perhaps shorter trips if time allows. At that pace, I estimate it will be about 7 years before I complete the entire trail, and I'll be into my fifties by then.

But, every step will be recorded here on The Gunsmoke Files. doG willing, I'll be done with the first stretch by Friday, June 22. Look for the first installment shortly after.