CT in August - The Colorado Trail

imported
#1

Howdy all,
I just found this site today, it seems great so far. I’m planning a thru-hike from 8/4 to 8/30. I plan to acclimitize for 2 or 3 days before. I know this is pushing it but it is all the vacation I have. I am planning on using a 20 degree down bag with a Ridgerest 3/4 and a Shires Tarptent. My base packweight should be in the 10 to 12 lb. range. My stove will be a home made alcohol/soid fuel Esbit type. I am planning on using a combination of both. I want to use this trip as a final shake down before a planned '04 PCT thru-hike. My re-supply spots are Copper Mt., Buena Vista, and Creede with zero days at or nearby. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks for your input and advice. Oh by the way does anyone want to go along? hafdome

hafdome

#2

I had a mail drop at Mt. Princeton Hotsprings that worked out well for me. If you are short on time and hiking in August you are going to have to be very careful you watch the weather and watch out for thunderstorms. I hike the AT in 5 months and spent 7 weeks on the CT. I loved the CT!

Leif

#3

I’m also concerned about the time it’ll take to adjust to the altitude. I live at sea level so the sudden jump to over 5000 feet and much higher will be significant. I’ve heard that Diamox (acetazolamide) is very effective at controlling altitude sickness. Figure I’ll go to a sports medicine doctor and ask him for a prescription. Anyone try to get a prescription for this without being sick already?

As to thunderstorms, at least you should dry out quicker in Colorado than here in Louisiana. Couple years ago I flew to Denver in July and the humidity here was in 90s, as usual (ugh), and in the teens in Denver! I hardly felt the heat there.

Good chance I’ll be on the CT in July/August. Just ordered the Data Book so am at the very beginning of the planning stage. Good to see the reports of the big snowstorm in Colorado today, water won’t be so hard to find.

steve hiker

#4

I am really looking forward to this trip. I’ve been inhaling the guide book. It is my understanding that the lightning storms are in early afternoon for the most part. The plan is if I see weather coming in to wait below treeline if possible until it passes and then keep hiking. Supposedly it stays light until 8:30 or 9 PM. Stay off passes and high points.

I’m going to try to get my HMO Dr. to prescribe the Diamox for me. There is a good section on altitude effects in Wilderness First Aid.

This site seems to have a lot more people who know about the CT than other sites. Thanks for the responces, hafdome

hafdome

#5

I have had no trouble getting prescriptions for Diamox, but my husband had a doctor who said “no, it’s a glaucoma medicine and I won’t prescribe it.” We shared my prescription. The second time I used it, I stopped using it after a couple of days because it is a diuretic and I was peeing every 10 minutes. The headache was easier to handle. Altitude sickness can slow you down a lot though, especially if it keeps you from sleeping and eating.

One thought, if you only have three weeks, rather than attempt to hike 20 miles a day to do the whole thing, why don’t you start at the southern end and just hike as far as you can. That way, if you get caught up in weather or have problems with the altitude you can take your time. The southern part is the best part anyway.

Another thought - don’t count on the storms being only in the afternoon. We had several days of all day rain – including total whiteouts that made navigation really iffy. With two people, it wasn’t so bad - one would stand at a cairn, while the other would head forward, looking for the next one. When they found it, they would shout, and the other would move forward. That way we were more likely to actually stay on the trail, instead of getting completely off track. (Of course, there have been a couple of times when we were following cairns that way through a whiteout, and they turned out to be the wrong trail. Ours branched off and we missed the turn because we couldn’t see it.) My point is, weather may slow you down more than you expect. You could even get snowed on at the end of August.

Ginny

#6

Ginny,
Thanks for your responce to my post. I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind.
Is the 20 degree bag enough? I’m still working on my clothing list, so I don’t know exactly what my insulating layers are going to be. So far I’m going with Frogg Toggs for water/wind suit. I also have a MEC vest and midweight long johns, with wool gloves and fleece hat. I’m trying to decide between an MEC insulated pullover or a fleece.
Since I live at sea level I was concerned about AMS. I will acclimate 2-3 days Aug 1-3 then start hiking on the fourth. I’ll take it easy the first few days going from 5500 ft. to about 9000 ft. Would the Diamox be a good preventive to the symptoms?
According to the guide book I can bail about 70 miles from Durango and take a train to Durango. Other than fun(my main motivation)I also want to use this trip as a final shake down hike before I attempt the PCT in '04. Thanks again, hafdome

hafdome

#7

The 20 deg bag is probably fine. You may have too many clothes though. For summer hiking in the high country I just bring a lightweight long john top, fleece jacket and rain jacket for warmth. A vest is part of my winter gear, but not really necessary for me in the summer, even at altitude. But of course, you can always mail stuff home, if you find you aren’t using it.

Diamox works for some, doesn’t work for others. Some people have no problems with altitude, others have terrific trouble. Biggest thing is to start slow. Young men often have worse problems with AMS because they start with a bang instead of taking it easy the first few days. I had forgotten that the Denver end of the CT is pretty low and you won’t be at altitude starting off. You may not have any problems. I’ve had some trips where I was sick for a couple of days starting out, other times I’ve had no trouble, but generally I know when I reach 10,000’ because I slow down considerably. My husband had serious trouble on our Colorado San Juans hike, but none on our CDT hike or on the PCT.

As for the PCT, have fun. The CDT is better, but the PCT is easier. The Colorado Trail will make a good training ground - but it isn’t really much like the PCT. On the PCT we were always dealing with heat. In Colorado it was cold. On our San Juan hike it rained almost every day. That didn’t happen for us on the PCT until Washington, and even then it was only actually raining one day in three. On the PCT you are only at high altitude for about 2 1/2 weeks, the rest of the time it isn’t a factor. But getting used to hiking all day every day – that is where a long prep hike can be a good thing. Find out if it’s something you really enjoy doing, before you disrupt your life completely.

Ginny

#8

I can swear I’ve had minor altitude sickness in Denver and at 5,200 feet in the Appalachians. (Shortness of breath, slight dizzyness, headache.) Remember I live at or below sea level in Louisiana, so I need to adjust to altitude slowly and as soon as I get off the plane at DIA. I’ve heard good things about Diamox, that it can prevent altitude sickness altogether. But I’m still gonna take it slow, Diamox or no.

steve hiker

#9

Steve, I found this site that has a lot of info on altitude sickness. www.high-altitude-medicine.com. Click altitude illness explained. They have some good pictures of Everest also.

Ginny, I kind of know what you mean about the PCT. I hiked in the Bob Marshall and Wind Rivers and got my butt kicked. The Rockies are just tougher mountains. The Sierras and Cascades aren’t easy just not as wild somehow. My long range plans are to hike the CDT after the CT and PCT. One trip at a time though. I hiked from Snoqualmie to Manning in '01. I’ve been changing to ultra light since that trip. This CT trip is my first trip to go all ultra light with gear and practices. hafdome

hafdome

#10

Water, water, water. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. That will help you adjust very quickly and if you start to get a headache drink water right away. I felt like I had a hangover the first time I flew into Denver (5000 ft) from sea level. By the afternoon after drinking water I felt much better. Now I live at 5000 ft. but I find that at 11,000 feet I get headaches if I’m not drinking enough.

Also, if you live at sea level you are going to want to be aerobically fit before you hike at 8000 feet or so. Otherwise you get easily winded (out of breath).

Farrell

#11

like at the start? If I start at Denver and do no more than 10 miles per day at first, can I stick to the maxim of gaining no more than 1,000 feet per day until acclimated?

steve hiker

#12

I think you’ll probably be fine.

Looking at the data book from The Colorado Trail Foundation it looks like roughly:

first 0 - 10 miles is 5520 ft to 7200 ft
next 10 - 20 miles is 7200 ft (down and back up) to 7760 ft
next 10 miles is 7760 ft to 8000 back down to 7600 ft

They say sleeping one night in Denver before hiking really helps.

Altitude sickness is usually related to dehydration. You get dehydrated quicker at higher altitudes. Thus you get drunker faster when drinking at higher altitudes. Same principle with hangovers, you get a hangover because the alcohol dehydrated you. But every person is a little different. SO if you drink lots of water it will help you acclimate faster. I dehydrate very easily so I have to watch myself at 11,000 ft or higher. BUT at altitudes in the neighborhood of 5,000 to 14,000, in my unprofessional opinion, altitude sickness at this level usually consists of nothing more than a bad headache, some nausea, dizziness (not the really bad stuff you might experience if you were hiking up at 20,000 to 27,000 feet). So basically if you don’t get totally acclimated in the first couple of days then your facing what feels like a bad hangover.

See http://www.skitrips.net/faqs/altitude.html

Farrell

#13

Just wanted to concur with Farrell on the importance of water. I think what a lot of folks attribute to altitude sickness is at least partly dehydration. Thin air carries less moisture, and it is amazing how moisture much you lose just breathing. I have had dehydration sneak up on me at moderate altitudes (6 or 7 K ft) causing headache, tiredness, and even loss of appetite. Now, I drink A LOT of water, especially at first, in the mountains. Have had several trips going from the coast (300 ft) into > 8 K ft mountains with no altitude sickness. Everyone is different though.

TomK

#14

Drink as much as you can! The low humidity / High temps we have here in the West will do a number on you at even moderate altitudes. Spending 2 or 3 days getting acclimated will help a lot, too.

I’ll be on the southern CT in early August with my Boy Scout Venturing Crew. But the fact that we live at 6K and train at 10K sure helps. Have a great trip!

Zia

#15

I have had experience with Diamox on a Boy Scout trip to climb Uncompahgre Peak. Almost all of us took Diamox two days before the trip and during the first several days as a preventative and we are all convinced the stuff is terrible. We were sure to fully hydrate all of the time and spent two days acclimating before hand so we should have been reasonably prepared. On the hike up to the peak all 8 who took Diamox exhibited the signs of altitude sickness and the two who did not take it at all felt the best of all of us. Myself and my friend, who both took it, became terribly sick with fatigue, severe nausea, and loss of appetite but our symptoms stopped as soon as we stopped taking the Diamox. As was mentioned before, everybody reacts differently and some people could possibly benefit from it, but we will never take it again. I recently read that Diamox should only be taken after showing signs of AMS and not as a preventative. Alternatively, I have also read that aspirin works well for high altitude headaches. Bottom line: hydrate well, and spend some acclimation time and you should be fine

Moose

#16

I had the same experience as Moose when attemping to summit Longs peak in Colorado. I came from sea level in Florida and flew into Denver with no problems. I also started taking diamox 2 days before leaving with another 2 days acclimating. Drinking plenty of water we started our hike I had no problems and was feeling great until I reached about 13000ft. It all went down hill from there.
I’m not sure if it was the diamox, but I agree that everyone is different on how certian drugs and or altitude effect us. I did feel beter after I came down about 1500ft and others from our gruop did manage to summit. So yes we are all a little different.
I also had no truoble getting diamox from my doctor after I explained to him what my intentions of use were. :x

Brian

#17

I wouldn’t recommend taking asprin or pain killer for altitude related headaches unless they are very severe. The reason being that the headache is a great indicator that you need to drink more. I know when I wake up in the morning at 10-11,000 feet with a headache that it is time to drink lots of water. Then the headache goes away.

Seraphina