Colorado 2021 planning

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
    For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
User avatar
dwoodward13
Posts: 735
Joined: 3/26/2011
14ers: 58  12 
13ers: 157 6
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Colorado 2021 planning

Post by dwoodward13 »

greenonion wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 9:43 am
Jon Frohlich wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:52 am
WanderingJim wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:36 am The East-West loop looks promising.

So are there bear boxes or some other places to stash resupplies along the way?
Bear boxes aren't a thing in Colorado. You'd have to figure out your own method of resupply.
They are at Capitol Lake. At least they have been recently. (But I realize he isn't including Cap in these plans.)
They installed bear boxes there? Like the brown ones you find in campgrounds? Or are you meaning bear cannisters are required to be brought by the hiker? Two very difference things in my mind at least.
User avatar
Trotter
Posts: 1406
Joined: 6/5/2013
14ers: 58  5 
13ers: 220 2 8
Trip Reports (10)
 

Re: Colorado 2021 planning

Post by Trotter »

WanderingJim wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:36 am The East-West loop looks promising.

So are there bear boxes or some other places to stash resupplies along the way?
I think some of the towns have places that will hold boxes for you for a fee
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. -Nelson Mandela
Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called Ego. -Nietzsche
User avatar
HikesInGeologicTime
Posts: 527
Joined: 10/28/2016
14ers: 58  7  18 
13ers: 60 2 11
Trip Reports (37)
 

Re: Colorado 2021 planning

Post by HikesInGeologicTime »

dwoodward13 wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:56 pm
greenonion wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 9:43 am
Jon Frohlich wrote: Wed Jan 27, 2021 11:52 am

Bear boxes aren't a thing in Colorado. You'd have to figure out your own method of resupply.
They are at Capitol Lake. At least they have been recently. (But I realize he isn't including Cap in these plans.)
They installed bear boxes there? Like the brown ones you find in campgrounds? Or are you meaning bear cannisters are required to be brought by the hiker? Two very difference things in my mind at least.
Don't recall seeing any bear boxes at Capitol Lake last September. Bear canisters were required, though we were up there midweek, which might explain why no one was checking to make sure we had one.
"I'm not selling drugs, dude. Drugs sell themselves. I'm selling stoke!"
- Guy at the table next to mine at Alta's Slopeside Cafe, in what I can't help but selfishly hope were (will be?) his verbatim words to the arresting officer(s)
docinco
Posts: 94
Joined: 7/6/2020
14ers: 50 
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Colorado 2021 planning

Post by docinco »

there was mention above of the late, great monsoon--there was none the past 2 summers and, if memory serves, only minimal monsoon 2018. this may be the new normal, only time will tell.
User avatar
greenonion
Posts: 1890
Joined: 10/3/2012
14ers: 50  1 
13ers: 2
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Colorado 2021 planning

Post by greenonion »

HikesInGeologicTime wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 5:20 pm
dwoodward13 wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:56 pm
greenonion wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 9:43 am

They are at Capitol Lake. At least they have been recently. (But I realize he isn't including Cap in these plans.)
They installed bear boxes there? Like the brown ones you find in campgrounds? Or are you meaning bear cannisters are required to be brought by the hiker? Two very difference things in my mind at least.
Don't recall seeing any bear boxes at Capitol Lake last September. Bear canisters were required, though we were up there midweek, which might explain why no one was checking to make sure we had one.
My bad. Not bear boxes at Cap lake. They require bear canisters.
User avatar
WanderingJim
Posts: 161
Joined: 12/30/2017
14ers: 17 
Trip Reports (1)
 
Contact:

Re: Colorado 2021 planning

Post by WanderingJim »

So, I've been putting together some options for doing the Collegiate Loop.

Resupply at Monarch Pass and Mt Princeton Hot Springs seem to be pretty straight forward with sending them resupply packages. I think I can do 7 days between those two points.

The problem seems to be in the northwest side of the loop. Tyler Park is way too far off the trail to be worth using it for a resupply.

If I start at Twin Lakes, that makes the first segments 8-9 days regardless of which direction I go. That’s stretching my load carrying capacity. I had hip problems carrying 7 days of food last year on the JMT, so doing 8-9 days may be a problem.

I was thinking of leaving a resupply cache (in some kind of animal proof container) between the Huron Peak TH and Sheep Gultch/Hope Pass TH. Is that kosher?

The other option is to not go all the way to Twin Lakes. Instead, I start from the Sheep Gultch/Hope Pass TH area and leave my Jeep there. Then if I go counter-clockwise, I need 7 days or so to get to Monarch Pass, 7 days to get to Mt Princeton Hot Springs, but it could be 8-9 to get back (assuming going down Pine Creek to do Missouri/Oxford/Bedford on the way back).

The clockwise direction is similarly long for the first segment. The east side of the loop will be longer due to my attempts to nail the 14ers along that side.

I have thought that I might be able to hitch along the dirt road going down to Huron Peak TH to cut time out of that part, but that is hard to count on.

Thoughts? Any resupply options I’m missing?

How was the snowpack this year? Any issues with water supplies along the trail?
Post Reply