Nearly everyone would argue with your comment that the “lower part is the best part of the trail”. The Collegiate West or San Juan Mountains are subjectively the most dramatic areas of the CT. The southern terminus is at Junction Creek TH outside of Durango and you could begin at Spring Creek between Lake City and Creede (on 149) and hike to the southern terminus which is roughly 130 miles with much of it above treeline. Conversely, if you wanted to finish at the northern terminus (Watertown Canton), you could begin at Tennessee Pass outside Leadville which is roughly 140 miles. Go to the Colorado Trail webpage for additional information and buy the CT Databook for specifics on their webpage. Ron
_San Juan Ron _