A day on the Colorado Trail rarely goes by without a checkpoint moment, and day 17 delivered two: a climb over 12,400 feet and the first proper pika sightings of the trip. Writing on The Trek, a solo southbound hiker logged 116.7 total miles by the end of the day, camping beside Ten Mile Creek.
The morning began with a brute of a warm-up: four miles and 2,000 feet of climbing, started at 7:20am with the hiker's usual half-hour of walking before breakfast. The shady early miles went smoothly, but above roughly 12,000 feet things got harder. The trail steepened near the pass and threw in at least two false summits, the kind where the apparent top keeps sliding further up the ridge. The reward was sweeping views and a long stretch of high-altitude ridge walking, though relentless sunshine took the edge off the enjoyment. The hiker admitted sunscreen lapses had caught up with them, leaving even their legs burnt with three days of exposure still ahead.
The pika moment was the emotional high point. The talus fields along this section are prime pika habitat, and their sharp little squeaks carried across the rocks all day. Only three were actually spotted, made tricky by chipmunks darting through the same boulder piles and muddying the identification. Anyone who has hiked Colorado's high country knows these tiny rabbit relatives are worth the effort of a sighting.
Coming down was no gift either. After a ridge with barely any elevation loss, the final miles dropped a punishing 1,000 feet per mile over rocky, steep ground, the kind of descent that makes the hiker glad to be travelling southbound rather than northbound. The night's camp sat near a highway, trading peace of mind for convenience, with traffic noise and too many nearby people. A quieter stream camp half a mile back was a tempting alternative passed over to shorten the next day.
The finish line is inching closer: this was the second-to-last night in the tent, with a stay at Janet's cabin coming the following day and just one more night of camping after that. The hiker is homeward bound afterwards, travelling slowly by bus and train.
For anyone eyeing the Colorado Trail, this entry is a realistic snapshot of what the high sections demand: long climbs, deceiving false summits, fierce sun at altitude, and descents that punish the knees. The wildlife payoff, pika among them, and the rhythm of small daily wins are exactly why people keep coming back to this 500-mile route across the Rockies.
