Tag backpacking

Why Is Minnie Returning to Colorado?

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

Why the photo of our rig from when we paused a few weeks ago on Colorado’s Wolf Creek Pass at 10,800 feet? Two reasons. First, my mom’s name, like our trailer, was Minnie, so our cross-country adventure has been dedicated to her memory.

Second, Sue and I turned around in West Virginia and are heading back to Colorado. This time we will camp at 10,000 feet, near Breckenridge, to hike as many high-altitude trails as we can do in eight days. Why the heights? We are conditioning. Can you guess the trail we are planning to backpack in August? Hints: 243 miles, mostly above 10,000 feet, named after a pioneer.

At the end, we will have camped for 30 days straight. The tent-camping part is new for two hikers used to a bed and shower, even after grueling days on the trail. Can we do it? That is what I wondered in 2013 before our first distance trek, Spain’s Camino de Santiago.

Walk the Longest National Scenic Trail

Reg Spittle 4 Comments

Of the 11 National Scenic Trails, which is the longest? The Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail?

The answer (Neither) may be a surprise, unless you are a fan of the North Country Trail, which stretches 4,700 miles from Vermont to North Dakota. We walked two spectacular sections of the path in Wisconsin today within Copper Falls State Park. Hikers in the northern Wisconsin park can view Copper Falls, Brownstone Falls (pictured above) and Red Granite Falls from the trail’s viewpoints, which are accessed via several bridges.