Maps and resupply on CT

imported
#1

Hey Ya’ll,

Hiking the CT this summer and I'm spending time figuring stuff out.

Any comments on my itinerary?
5 days @15mpd to Jefferson to pick up a package
5 days @15mpd to leadville via tennessee pass
5 days @15mpd to buena vista via rd 306
2 days @ 20mpd to salida via 50
6 days @ 16mpd to creede via san luis pass
4 days @16 mpd to silverton (or molas for package pickup)
5 days @ 15mpd to Durango

seems like a leisurely pace for me and a solid plan. There are LOTS of choices in CT resupply, not sure what makes the most sense.

I also thought about this:
Jefferson at Kenosha pass
Copper Mtn
leadville
twin lakes
salida
creede
molas campground (and silverton)
durango

and this:
breck, (stop in or skip leadville?), buena, (stop in or skip salida?), creede, silverton

Also, MAPS!
I’m pretty sure that I want topos. So either the Trails Illustrated ones or the CD Rom.

For the Trails Illustrated: which ones are most important? I’d rather not spend $130 on maps, and I’m sure that a few of them aren’t needed. Which ones can be skipped? I might go this route because it’d be nice to have a pretty solid map collection of colorado for future trips that may occur.

For the Map CD: I figure print two to a page, double sided (so four maps printed per 8x11 sheet). Is that a good system? How many maps are there on the CD? I want to use waterproof paper, how many sheets do i need to buy? If it’s a high number I wonder if it’d really be much cheaper than the trails illustrated maps.

Also, is a marginally warm 20 degree (golite) quilt going to cut for a mid august to mid sept hike? I think it might…

And, what are the best side hikes?? I really want to do some 14ers and other cool side trips. I’m thinking Hope Pass, Elbert and Massive. But what are some other easily accessible 14ers?

 Thanks!

JackH

#2

Check out www.pmags.com for some details, and an amazing review of the entire trail.

bugleboy

#3

Hi Jack,

We resupplied at Kenosha Pass (had a friend drop a bear cannister off a week prior). This negated the need to thumb into Jefferson. The resupply towns for us were Breckenridge, Twin Lakes, Salida, Creede and Molas Lake (the campground holds lots of CT boxes). We also had a very, very nice lunch at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs and bought some ice cream bars at the store. We decided against Buena Vista, Leadville and Silverton based on our mileages. Creede was a long hitch for us but the trail dumps you out at a rest area so we finagled a ride along with two other CT hikers. The four of us paid the cook at the motel we stayed at to drive us back out the next morning. He appreciated the extra money and we were glad for the taxi service. We liked Creede a lot and it was worth the long hitch.

We met a few folks who did the Buena Vista, Leadville and Lake City stops. You’re right, there are multiple options. You can’t go wrong with one resupply over another. Mileage will likely determine what is best for you (or weather you encounter).

As far as maps… I love maps and my hiking partner is a map maker by profession (GIS). Between the guidebook and data book and talking to other hikers we didn’t think we needed much else. The CT is marked really well and if you have good navigational skills you will be fine. We did not have a GPS either.

There were a few times I wish we had some better maps but that was due to curiosity more than anythings else. We got off trail twice the whole trip but caught our mistakes somewhat quickly. Our fault both times. TI maps are nice but heavy. If I was going to carry better maps I probably would get the CD and print the ones I thought I would need. We copied the guidebook pages we needed back to back, reduced on 8.5 x 11" paper and the guidebook maps in color. We mailed them in chunks ahead. We felt it was adequate.

Enjoy! We can’t say enough good things about the CT.

Sweetwater

#4

Hey Jack! I would agree with the above that the trail is so well marked, that I only brought the maps of areas where I wanted to do side trips or climb the 14ers. I bought 4 or 5 and was happy to have them even if I didn’t climb all the mountains I wanted to. Whatever towns you choose will be great and should fit your needs, I did really like Creede though and think you would enjoy it as well. I can’t wait to hear about your adventure!

She-ra

#5

Hi Jack,

I missed your first comment about sleeping bag and if a +20 would do it. You’ll be fine for that time of year. Temps could be below freezing in places but you can always wear a bit of trail clothing to bed if you encounter something really unusual temp wise. We used +15 down bags. Mine was a Marmot Helium and was losing loft so was more like a +20. It was warm even on below freezing nights which were only 2-3 in July.

I was also going to mention the CT Databook. It has been updated and is well worth the investment. Some days that was about all we used.

Joe

Sweetwater

#6

Jack - I’m currently playing with the maps on the CD-ROM right now. These are the 7-1/2 minute topo maps on the CD - very detailed. I’m fortunate to have access to a color laser printer … and printing one map on a single side of 11x17 tabloid paper makes for some very tiny print. I doubt that printing 2 maps per side on 8-1/2 x 11 paper would yield a useable map. Should I come up with a solution I’ll be sure to post it.

Larry

Bullet