Resources and advice for Central Colorado

[Dobbins]

I live in Denver, and I have been day hiking segments of the ADT around Denver for several months now. I am looking to start doing longer trips, and I am wondering if anyone has any advice/suggestions for hiking the areas West of Idaho Springs. Trail tips, rides, condition reports, etc. Also, I have the waypoints for Colorado, and it looks like most of the trail through Central Colorado is on dirt roads. Any advice from experienced hikers is appreciated!

[Shutterbug]

I hiked the Colorado Trail from Denver to Breckenridge. It is a great hike.

I also explored a number of ghost towns in the area west of Idaho Springs. I used a Jeep to reach them, but one could hike to them also. As you suggested, the area has a lot of wagon roads. Some of the old roads have wash outs so they are no longer usable even with Jeeps. If you like to explore, there is a lot of pioneer history in that area.


When I started visiting the ghost towns, I hoped to find old coins with my metal detector. Unfortunately, they have thousands of bits of metal from rusty cans. There is not a square inch of ground that doesn't have enough metal to set off the metal detector. Now that metal detectors with better discrimination have been developed, I should go back.

[gram cracker]

I live in Pueblo and do lots of road walking in addition to backpacking.

I've noticed many people give up on the ADT in the eastern United States and pick their own routes. There doesn't seem to be an emphasis on white blazing across the country.

If I were to hike from Denver to Grand Junction, I'd take the Colorado Trail from Roxborough State Park to HWY 50 west of Salida. Then I'd take HWY 50 west to Grand Junction.

I've found using a push cart is great for road walking. I use a Schwinn push cart (which is also a bicycle trailer) I got on sale at Target for $94.99. Usually they are about $180. It's easier than carrying even a day pack.

If I were to hike the across the United States, which I wouldn't because I have a longer hike planned, I'd pick up the TransAmerica bicycle trail in Pueblo and head north to Oregon. That avoids the potentially fatal areas through Arizona.

If you are interested in my longer hike, which is a dream for now, check out my website at http://48statehike.blogspot.com. If you are seriously or even mildly interested in the longer hike, I can send an updated list of waypoints.

Gram