Colorado Trail - July 9, 2025

Segment 7 - This day took me from the Goldhill TH in Breckenridge to Copper Mountain. This was a planned relatively short day to allow me to start my next day early and get through the high alpine sections of Segment 8 before any afternoon storms.

Early in the day, I encountered a bear that was crossing the trail. The bear stopped looked at me and then kept traveling through the forest.

After reading the book “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer earlier in the year, I try to give something back to the trail each day I’m outside. This is usually something as simple as picking up trash. On this day, I found someone’s shoe and picked it up assuming I would find the hiker it belonged to. After about ten minutes of carrying the shoe, I managed to find the owner and return it.

This was the first day on the trail with extended time above treeline and a few snow crossings.

The trail above treeline was not very rideable for me, but I was rewarded with great views and a fun steep downhill into Copper Mountain.

I continued to eat all of the food that Charley brought and saved my backpacking meals.

14 miles and 3800 feet of gain. Roughly 10 miles extra to ride back to camp at Lake Dillon.