Day 13 of a Colorado Trail thru-hike is rarely glamorous, and this one nearly ended the trip. The hiker covered 13 miles from the Swan River to Highway 9, camping riverside the night before beside a fellow hiker and his dog, filtering water in two trips and sleeping in a tent still damp from the previous night's rain.
The morning started gently — wheels rolling around 7:15, a quiet exit past a fawn grazing at the campsite, and a quick chat with two women section-hiking. Then came the work: a 3-mile climb gaining 1,200 feet. Ongoing nausea made the ascent grind, complicating the usual trail math of eating enough to keep moving. The payoff was real, though: pine forest climbing nearly to tree line, wildflowers, red-spotted mushrooms, and moody light where sun broke through cloud.
The afternoon told a different story. Ten more miles of sun-exposed trail led toward the highway, skirting large clearings where the forest service has cut beetle-damaged trees, before dropping down a dry, desert-like slope into town. Weekend mountain bikers streamed past; a couple of through-hikers going opposite directions appeared later. Two mistakes compounded — not enough sunscreen, and not enough calorie stops — and the hiker reached Highway 9 completely drained.
The recovery plan is where this diary entry gets interesting for anyone dreaming of a long trail. A Summit County bus ride into Frisco (dropping a four-minute walk from the hotel) shows how trail-friendly Colorado's transit can be. Instead of quitting outright, the hiker is taking a double zero — two full rest days — and plotting a deliberately slow push to Tennessee Pass, with a decision point in Leadville. The logic: don't quit on a low, reassess after easier mileage. The next section climbs above 12,000 feet, spectacular but punishing for anyone whose altitude tolerance is already shaky.
It's a useful reality check for aspiring through-hikers. Days of 13 miles that sound modest on paper can break you when nausea, sun and altitude stack up. The entry also highlights practicalities guidebooks skip: soggy tents after rain, the temptation to skip lunch when you're close to a road, and the value of bail-out options like buses and hotels in Summit County. Whether this hiker makes it to Durango or calls it a summer in Leadville, the story is a honest window into the Colorado Trail's middle miles — beautiful, exposed, and harder than they look.
