Colorado Trail thru hike

[endurance]

OK, I’m going to set this up more or less like a scenario, but what I’m really interested in is feedback. I’m an experienced backpacker who’s moved toward ultralight backpacking over the last 5-10 years. I recognize some of the inherent risks that come with ultralight gear and the entire concept of minimalist travel, but I have 18-21 days this summer to cover 480 miles, more than likely broken up into two 9 day stints and then probably a long weekend to finish it off if I come up short. That means 22-27 miles a day, every day, on a 46 year old chassis. If you want, you can generate your own calamities for me to consider or you can just tell me what gear you'd consider changing and why. I'm a big Andrew Skurka fan and he's definitely skewed my view of backpacking in the last couple of years. I was already moving toward lighter gear, but he pushed me over the edge.

The Colorado Trail is a 480 miles from Denver to Durango with over 150,000’ of climbing and dramatic climate differences based on elevations from 6,000’ to nearly 14,000’. It’s mid-summer and I’m solo-ing. I’ve been hiking and backpacking since 1987 when I started of a Forest Service Wilderness Trail Crew. Last summer I did a three day stretch of the Colorado Trail with a friend and on day two we covered 25 miles and over 3,500’ summiting at 12,100’. The trail sees hundreds of thru-hikers a year, and I have arranged for food and gear to be sent or delivered along the way every five days or so. There is only one section where I may not be able to get water for a full day. For most of the trail I have water available every 90-300 minutes of hiking. I will have the ability to text my wife and friends to make changes to gear and food along the way as necessary, but only when I arrive at drop points, obviously.

Starting equipment as follows (the stuff with brands is stuff I already own, the rest is likely stuff I’m considering buying):
Osprey Exos 34 backpack (34 liter capacity with hydration pouch)
100 oz. camelback bladder with Sawyer SP121 inline filter
Platypus 2.4L bottle
Western Mountaineering High Lite bag (40F rated)
Thermarest NeoAir X-lite pad
ZPacks Hexamid Solo-Plus Tent (haven’t purchased, but at the top of my short list)
Fancy Feast stove w/ 6-8 oz. alcohol and aluminum foil windscreen
0.9L titanium pan
Plastic spoon
3M Scrubber & visine bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap
Bic lighter
Standard book of matches
Fenix LD 01 light (clip reversed for mounting on hat brim as needed)
H&K 3.1” folding knife
Cotton bandana
Comfort kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, bandaids, pain relievers, sunscreen, superglue)
First aid kit
Android smartphone (serves as GPS with downloaded topo maps, camera, video camera, phone, e-mail, and works with satellite emergency communication for custom text messages)
5a/h lithium ion charger (good for 4-5 full charges of smartphone)
Delorme InReach (strongly considering, preferred over my existing SPOT which doesn’t allow custom text messages)
Trekking poles (serve as both walking aids and poles for my tent, 6’ of duct tape stored on handles)
Bear spray (10.9 oz., can’t recall brand)
30' 550 cord (orange with reflective piping)
CT trail data book
Pocket Kit (essentially this kit, plus disposable poncho, and mylar blanket.
Wallet

Clothing-
Ibex wool longjohns
Ibex wool Indie hooded base top
Smartwool shortsleeve t-shirt
Northface convertible pants/shorts (nylon)
Rain pants (need to upgrade, no brand in mind yet)
Northface longsleeve shirt (nylon)
Brooks hooded windshirt (silnylon-water resistant)
Golite hooded 2.5 layer goretex rain jacket
Down jacket w/ hood (need to buy a lighter one 12-14oz)
Defeet wool gloves
Golite fleece hat
Running hat
2 pair Defeet Wooliator short socks
Simblissity LevaGators (short running shoe gaiters)
Trail running shoes (currently Saucony, but I wear out 3-4 pairs a year and don’t always buy the same ones)
Sunglasses

Food-
Resupply every 5 days or less, carry ~6 days worth of calories leaving each resupply. Calorie target is 3500-4000 calories per day.
1 cooked meal a day (will vary, sometimes FD meal, sometimes ramen w/ FD meat and veggies added, sometimes dried mashed potato based w/ veggies and meats, sometimes hamburger helper with FD hamburger)
Breakfasts will consist of mostly Quaker oatmeal bars, MRE muffin bars, fruit loops, etc.
1,200 calories a day will be trail foods like GORP, fruit bites, sports bars, etc.
Lunches will be light, generally MRE crackers with PB, J or cheese (yes, I actually like this stuff), clif bars, corn chips, and possibly tortilla-based sandwiches, too.

[finallyME]

It looks really good. Skurka would be proud. The one thing that I would recommend would be a 20F bag. The Rockies are notorious for July snow storms.
Is the 550 cord for bear bag hanging? If not, then I would switch it out for something better. However, it is really good for bear bag hanging. That's the only reason I bring about 30'.
Post your list on BPL. They will probably tear it apart. They like to do that. I am not brave enough to post my list over there.

Make sure and post a trip report. I want to do a thru sometime, and I think the CDT is first on my list.

Oh yeah, physical conditioning........how is yours? Most thru hikers take a little time at the beginning to up their walking fitness. If you plan to hit high mileage at the start, then you will have to make sure you can. Make sure and plan for this. Otherwise your first week will be hell on earth.

[kyratshooter]

Your list is fairly complete, espically for ultralight consideration, but you do not list total weight.

The only thing I can say I would definately change would be the schedule. Consider slowing down so you can smell the roses. Seems to me that the only thing you will remember in twenty years is how many miles a day you covered.

But that is just me.

[ubercrow]

I would add some mmj to your "comfort kit" in case you get high altitude headaches or sore legs.

[endurance]

Thanks guys. I'm not looking to go out of my way to get shredded, but certainly respect the folks in this forum for their experience and perspective.

The 550 cord was guy lines and hanging food. There's only a few areas where I've heard hanging food is a necessity, provided you go with low smell foods and keep things well sealed up. I was planning on hanging more for keeping the squirrels out of my food than for bears. I've found the reflective stuff is nice because you tend not to trip on it as much with midnight runs to the bathroom with nothing but a headlamp.

I currently have three backpacking bags, a Northface Inferno (-35F, down, 6 pounds 10 ounces), a Marmot goretex 10F rated bag (down, 3 pounds 10 oz.), and a Western Mountaineering 25F bag (down, 1 pound 15 oz.). I originally was planning on using that bag, but the friend I hiked with last summer did the CT the previous summer and used a 40F bag and just wore all his clothing to bed and never had a cold night, despite nine straight days of pouring rain (very unusual). I'm certainly not opposed to saving $250-300 and just going with what I have, but it's an extra pound and my goal is to have my pack down to 11 or 12 pounds, plus food and water (about 8-9 pounds of food, generally 2-5 pounds of water where available with a peak of 10 pounds for dry stretches). I've found that I'm very efficient with sub-25 pound packs and really can't hold a decent pace and enjoy the hike if I drift over 30 pounds. I haven't actually assembled the entire pack or formally added up all the grams and ounces, but I certainly will as summer approaches. Up until two weeks ago it looked like an early June departure would have been doable, but with the recent snows and the rising snow pack levels, I'm thinking the third week in June at the earliest.

I really do enjoy fast hiking. That doesn't mean I don't slow down on the climbs or take a nice lunch by a stream, but moving fast makes me feel good.

It's winter. My current fitness is fair at best, but as soon as this damn white stuff melts, I'll be back on the path to recapture what I had last summer. I was hiking and running 20-40 miles a week last summer (averaged about 25). Most of it was without a pack, but that's another reason I want to keep things as light as possible. It was mid-June when my buddy and I did 40 miles in three days and I kicked his scrawny little 22 year old butt. There's no doubt I could afford to lose about 15 pounds and trust me, that's one of my motivations to do this trip. Up until 2009 I was one of the fittest people on two wheels in Colorado, doing endurance mountain bike races all over the state, but once I met the love of my life I slowed down to spend more time at home. No more 14 hour training weeks, no more 24 hour mountain bike races, and viola, 15 pounds from my desk job and too many good places to eat around here.

[endurance]

I would add some mmj to your "comfort kit" in case you get high altitude headaches or sore legs.

LOL, well, it's not lawful to have both a MMJ permit and a CHL permit, so I'll stick to the CHL.

[finallyME]

If it was me, I would save weight in other areas and use the WM bag I already have. But, that is just me.

[Old GI]

If you can see the prairie on the other side of Peaks Peak out east of Colorado Springs, give us a wave.