A thru-hiker's account of the Collegiate West loop on the Colorado Trail has captured what high-altitude backpacking in Colorado actually feels like near the end of a long stretch: soaked gear, afternoon thunderstorms, dead batteries and one very hard-won coffee.
The writer, roughly two weeks into a Colorado Trail hike done between mid-August and mid-September, was closing out the Collegiate West section near Monarch Pass. After days of dodging storms above 11,000 feet, the plan was two short days. It didn't quite work out. The first evening ended with camp set by 3pm and an early alarm-free sleep; the next morning, every electronic device — phone, power bank, satellite communicator — was dead after a movie night on 40% battery turned out to be a costly indulgence.
What follows is a genuinely useful cautionary tale for anyone considering this trail. The hike out was cold and windy, the writer down one glove, and the navigation got tricky exactly where you might not expect: the stretch of the Colorado Trail passing through Monarch Mountain ski area, a confusing tangle of trails with minimal signage. The hiker was pointed this way and that by ski area staff, a disorienting directional map drawn in dirt by a kindly older man, and a stream of mountain bikers, before finally spotting the visitor centre at Monarch Pass — and nearly collapsing with relief at the parking lot.
The redemption arc is charming: the first person approached for a hitch into Salida turned out to be the couple who'd given directions earlier that day. Back at the visitor centre, there's a hiker-friendly setup worth knowing about — the café serves coffee and breakfast burritos and keeps a hiker lounge with bean-bags out back.
For travellers, the piece is a window into one of America's great long-distance trails without needing a four-week window. The Collegiate West loop near Salida and Monarch Pass offers alpine lakes, mountain goat sightings and dramatic ridgelines, but the story underscores real logistics: storm season arrives most afternoons in late summer, town resupply usually means hitching into Salida, and carrying (and rationing) battery power matters more than trail miles. It's also a reminder that even experienced hikers get lost — a friendly attitude and a willingness to ask go a long way.
Anyone tempted to sample this section should treat Monarch Pass as a natural entry or exit point, with the visitor centre doubling as a surprisingly good trail-end reward.
