Some new friends the author met on a summer Colorado Trail through-hike / photos by Malena Larsen

By Malena Larsen

The Colorado Trail (CT) is about 500 miles long and stretches from Denver to Durango. Hundreds of thru-hikers and volunteers set foot on the trail every year. From creating new segments to maintaining sections that have been in place since the 1970s, the Colorado Trail Foundation (CTF) works tirelessly to ensure the CT is an exceptional place for thru-hikers, day-hikers and everyone in between.

“Relationships are at the core of every part of the work CTF does,” said CTF Executive Director Tisha McCombs. “These relationships can be symbolized by bridges: a connection between two parties that is built on mutual respect, support and active communication.”

In addition to the metaphorical bridges McCombs mentions, the CTF built three new physical bridges and repaired four in 2023. These bridges can be found in the Camp Hale, Tennessee Pass, Corske Creek and Three Elk Creek areas.

As a 2023 CT thru-hiker, these figurative and literal bridges were a big part of my summer. I crossed rivers and creeks with folks from all over the world, from France to Australia to Alaska.

According to McCombs, of the 452 recorded finishers in 2023, there were hikers from 14 different countries and 46 different states.

“We are well aware that our numbers of CT completers is nowhere near accurate because we are only able to track completers that choose to tell us they finished,” McCombs states.

Of these recorded finishers, 10 completed the trail with children, with the youngest finisher being only eight years old. On the other end of the spectrum, the oldest recorded 2023 finisher was 80 years old; his name is Terry “Doc” Knapp.

Terry Knapp at the Colorado Trail high point / photo provided by the Colorado Trail Foundation

“I retired from my career in medicine in February of 2022,” Knapp said. “I’ve been a casual hiker most of my life, save for a thru-hike with my wife of the Haute Route from Chamonix, France, to Zermatt, Switzerland, in 2016 at the age of 73. After retirement, I decided to tackle the CT but couldn't find anyone near my age to go with me, so I was determined to go it alone. I had severe atrial fibrillation, requiring an interventional ablation and pacemaker, so I had a bit of trepidation.”

Doc started his CT journey in 2022. However, due to severe weather, he got off the trail in Lake City, after logging nearly 370 miles. He returned to the trail in August of 2023, one month after turning 80. He finished the CT on Sept. 23, 2023.

The CT gave me the opportunity to meet people I maybe never would have met otherwise. On the trail, it doesn’t matter if you’re eight or 80, or what your life outside of the trail looks like. Everyone has blisters, everyone has aches, everyone is excited and we’re all working toward the same goal: getting to the southern or northern terminus.

Hikers from all ages and walks of life wouldn’t be able to set out on this amazing journey without the hard work of the volunteers and the CTF. There were 434 volunteers with 6,044 (and counting) volunteer hours in the Adopt-A-Trail program. There were 18 trail crews, 302 trail crew volunteers and 11,240 trail crew volunteer hours.

“Not all volunteer time is spent on the trail,” McCombs explains. “CTF also has vital volunteers that make an impact through serving on our board of directors, volunteering in the office, helping out at our Field Operations Center, attending trainings, and so much more.”

In 2023 there were 152 office and event volunteers with 2,488 volunteer hours.

CTF is gearing up for the release of the newest edition of the CT official guidebook in February of 2024. The guidebooks are generally updated every six to eight years. This new addition will have new maps, provide information on trail reroutes and more.

Although the sun is setting on the 2023 hiking season, there are big things on the horizon; 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the CT.

“We plan to have a lot of fun next year celebrating the milestone,” McCombs says. “There will be some very exciting events to bring the trail community together and new opportunities for the public and partners to engage with CTF and support our important mission.”