Avid distance hiker from CA need info about CO peaks

[G9t-20]

I am planning a hiking trip in Colorado in July 2019. I am an avid long distance hiker and I love climbing peaks and I generally hike all day. I usually hike about 20-30 miles in one day. I start very early around 6 am and hike until around 4 pm. I am planning on hiking Pike's Peak because of the distance 24-25 miles round trip. Are there other peaks within 25-35 miles of Pike's peak with long distance or any other distance hikes near Pike's Peak? Or is there another area maybe the San Juan Mountains where I can hike 20-30 miles everyday for about 5 to 6 days. So about 100-120 miles hiking for my entire trip. Or an area where I can do a peak or two or three everyday for 5 to 6 days straight that would be approx 20-30 miles everyday. Last year I hiked from the south rim of the Grand Canyon and back in one day. Thank you for any advice or recommendations. Looking forward to my first visit to Colorado.

[justiner]

See my fastpacking series on long, semi-technical linkups (note the mileage per day is much lower than you may expect - it can be difficult country out there). See also my guide on accessing the 14ers from the CO Trail.

Also see Andrew's guide of the Pfiffner traverse. Or maybe just the Four Pass Loop would be interesting to you?

[Jakomait]

I'm a fan of exactly what you are describing. I typically do 25 mile days hiking on trails but 15 mi/d start to become a challenge if you are scrambling ridges all day and not really following trails most of the time.

Here are 2 ideas that I did this summer in the San Juans:
https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine
this 2nd trip can be expanded into a week long excursion. That was actually my original plan but due to some work juggling I broke it up into 2x 4 day trips.

I've done a few more big linkups in CO, feel free to hit me up if you want more ideas or specifics.

[peter303]

Another idea is to combine a section of the Colorado Trail with side trips up the dozen 14ers in the Sawatch range between Leadville and Salida. All those 14ers are class 1 or class 2 meaning walkups and rock scrambles, nothing super dangerous. There are three variations of the trail through the Sawatch: East Colorado Trail, West Colorado Trail and Continental Divide Trail. The full loop might be closer to two weeks. But you could probably cross cut or somewhere or back track to get it down to 6 days. Or hitchhike up Hwy 24 to return to start. I have not done this full loop myself, but all of those 14ers and pieces of the CT and CDT.

PS The term Nolans hike another poster mentions is similar to this proposal. That is a speed hike to cover 14 Sawatch 14ers in under 60 hours. (People sometimes drop Holy Cross which is out of the way.) That also incorporates off-trail travel. Unless you really understand this mountain range very well and have an excellent set of trustworthy GPS waypoints this can lead to getting lost, steep cliff dead ends, and impentratable brush. I recommend sticking to established trails the first time in a mountain range.

[XrunclimbskiX]

You could do Nolan’s 14 near Leadville which is about 80 miles and you could link via car probably that with 4 pass loop near Aspen which is 30(ish) miles. Or you could do the grand slam near Durango which is 30(ish) miles in Chicago Basin then link with other trails down there. Or you could do the Hardrock 100 race course in the San Juan’s which has great maps! Best of luck!

[Wentzl]

Look at getting into Chicago Basin from HWY 550. Climbing any or all of the 14ers accessed that way without using the train is a satisfying day. Another nice long day is getting to the Trinity Peaks or Vestal from Molas Pass

[greenonion]

Snowmass east side route is ~22 round trip. Capitol is a tough 17 miles RT, and Kit Carson is a long 14.5 RT that took me all day. Blanca/Ellingwood/Little Bear (any one or all of those) are long and grueling in one day. Longs is a long day too.

[jrs1965]

If you're wanting a distance workout on Pikes, you could do Barr Trail to summit and then down Crags Route. Or any variation up and back. If you started at Barr Trailhead, went to the summit, down and back up the Crags Route and then returned going back down Barr Trail you would have hiked like 38 miles. (Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim in reverse) One thing on hiking Barr Trail in the summer, obviously an early start helps avoid afternoon thunderstorms, but also avoids the heat. With Barr Trailhead being so much lower it's hot by 6 AM...

[RWSchaffer]

You ask about "other peaks within 25-35 miles of Pike's Peak" that would be good for long distance day hiking.

I would suggest Bison Peak in the Lost Creek Wilderness. Round trip from the Ute Creek trailhead is only about half your desired distance. But it could be extended by a visit to neighboring McCurdy Mountain or excursions along side trails.

[aholle88]

If you must stay close to Pikes Peak, there are plenty of options to link up long hikes.
-Almagre from the seven bridges parking area (many loop options here, Pipeline, 701, St Mary's Falls, etc)
-Rosa from stratton open space
-Pikes via Heizer to Barr
-Kineo from Red Rocks Open Space (rr->Sect 16->bear creek->new upper buckhorn trail)
-LCW loop + Bison Peak (see hiking or trail run project app)

If you can get out further:
-Sangre de cristo 4 pass loop
-Aspen 4 pass loop
-IPW long loop (Pawnee-Buchanan) with the extra detour to Crater Lake
-CT from leadville to salida if you want to fastpack for the week

[jrs1965]

If you must stay close to Pikes Peak, there are plenty of options to link up long hikes.
-Almagre from the seven bridges parking area (many loop options here, Pipeline, 701, St Mary's Falls, etc)
-Rosa from stratton open space
-Pikes via Heizer to Barr
-Kineo from Red Rocks Open Space (rr->Sect 16->bear creek->new upper buckhorn trail)
-LCW loop + Bison Peak (see hiking or trail run project app)

If you can get out further:
-Sangre de cristo 4 pass loop
-Aspen 4 pass loop
-IPW long loop (Pawnee-Buchanan) with the extra detour to Crater Lake
-CT from leadville to salida if you want to fastpack for the week

Heizer to Barr is a haul, had never considered that route! I guess since the cog train is shut down the cog tracks could be listed as well. Love running Elk Park Trail from the Pikes Peak Highway to Barr Camp and the summit in the summer...

[Candace66]

I realize you came here to ask about CO peaks, but have you considered the Uinta Mountains in Utah?

Nearly all the 13ers there are 20-30 (or more!) mile RTs from a road. That's why Tokewanna is probably the only one I'll ever do!

I'm not clear whether you are looking for long day hikes, or to log major miles every day while backpacking. Either way, the Uintas would have you covered!

Here's some info about the UT 13ers:

http://www.utahthirteeners.com/

https://www.summitpost.org/utah-13ers/179593