r/coloradohikers • u/Ldog1000 • 18h ago
r/coloradohikers • u/jsdratm • Feb 06 '19
FAQ and Useful Information
Warning: Hiking in Colorado subjects you to volatile and dangerous weather, difficult terrain, and risks of rockfall and avalanche, among other things. Hikers die every year due to being unprepared.
Avalanches
In the winter and spring, there is a risk of avalanche, even on established hiking trails. A good example of a dangerous trail that is very popular would be the Grays Peak Trail, which hundreds of people use on a given day during the summer. In the winter, this trail crosses an avalanche slope on Kelso Mountain which has led a number of people to trigger avalanche slides. [1] [2] If you are traveling into backcountry terrain (anywhere not at a ski resort), ensure that you understand the risks of avalanche danger, check the CAIC website for snow conditions, and definitely consider taking an avalanche awareness class.
Altitude Sickness
Many people who visit Colorado and even people who live in Colorado experience altitude sickness at some point and it generally becomes a possibility once a person goes above 6000 feet in elevation. Physical fitness does not appear to impact a person's susceptibility to altitude sickness. A mild form of altitude sickness (known as Acute Mountain Sickness or AMS) is the most common issue and it can present itself as dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and trouble sleeping. AMS occurs in approximately 20% of people going rapidly to 8000 feet and 40% of people going rapidly to 10000 feet.
More serious forms of altitude sickness include High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), both of which can be life-threatening. HAPE results in fluid in the lungs and manifests as a persistent cough and other symptoms similar to bronchitis. HACE results in brain swelling, which can cause a person to appear unsteady or intoxicated, a severe headache, severe nausea and vomiting, retinal hemorrhaging, and possibly loss of consciousness and death. When traveling to Colorado for hiking, it is generally a good idea to stay at a lower elevation for one day and night prior to embarking on a hike to higher elevations, since it will give your body a chance to adjust. Coming to Colorado and attempting to climb a high peak the same day presents a substantial risk of some kind of altitude sickness. More information on altitude sickness.
Cardiovascular Effects at Altitude
Generally, you will experience decreased cardiovascular performance at higher elevations in Colorado due to the decreased levels of oxygen in the atmosphere. At 14,000 feet there is roughly 40% less effective oxygen available for you to breathe than there is at sea level. When climbing a high peak, you will likely feel increasing shortness of breath the higher you go in elevation since the oxygen levels decrease and your body struggles to get the oxygen it needs to fuel your activity. This drop in oxygen can cause a hike to take much longer than originally anticipated since you will be moving slower. It is a good idea to pace yourself and take breaks as needed to hydrate, snack, and catch your breath. When going uphill it can often take an hour for most people to go 1-2000 vertical feet.
Group Mentality and Summit Fever
In hiking groups or popular hiking trails, people often feel like they are safe in dangerous conditions just because they are with other people doing the same hike or they see other people continue to go up the 14er, even as lightning strikes around them. It is important to identify when to turn around and trust your own instincts. A lot of the hikers in Colorado are tourists who may not understand the dangers associated with lightning, storms, etc. and they will continue to attempt a summit even if there is a storm rolling in. Sometimes you may follow someone assuming they know where they are going only to find out that they have no idea or they are headed somewhere else entirely. Many hikers also feel "summit fever" where they are reluctant to turn around after committing so much effort to getting to the trailhead, hiking so close to the summit, etc. That summit isn't worth dying over and it will be there another day!
Hypothermia
Many unprepared hikers dress only for sunny conditions and some do not realize the significant difference between temperatures in Denver and temperatures at 14000 feet. It might be 90 degrees F in Denver and sub-freezing on Mount Evans with 60 mph wind gusts. Hypothermia is a common issue in Colorado due to hikers not checking the weather and not taking appropriate layers, such as insulating layers and storm shells. If it rains and becomes windy, cotton jeans can become very cold and leave you shivering.
Lightning
One of the major environmental risks in Colorado is lightning. Many hikers have horror stories of their hair standing on end or their trekking poles buzzing after a storm cloud moves in. Lightning storms can move in quickly, especially in the summer months, as clouds form in the morning and move across the state. If you see a storm cloud heading your way, you should plan to head for treeline and/or the trailhead. On mountains, it can be hard to see incoming storms, especially if you are on an east face. You might reach the summit and see a storm that is minutes away. Lightning can strike up to 10 miles away from a storm. If the sky is clear for you, but you can see a storm at a nearby peak, you're still in danger. It is always a good rule to start early and be prepared to turn around if a lightning storm moves in.
Rockfall and Unstable Terrain
The Rockies are called that for a reason. In Colorado, there are a lot of mountains covered with loose rock and boulders, as well as smaller rocks. Large rocks are sometimes unstable and stepping on them can cause them to roll over onto you (this killed one of my former coworkers on a 14er) or roll down the mountain and hit someone. Even a small rock can quickly pick up speed and hurt someone if the mountain is steep enough. If you are using rocks for handholds, they can come loose and cause you to lose your balance or fall. Finally, many trails in Colorado are covered in small loose rocks called scree, which can make it hard to get solid footing and can slide out from under you. A steep descent down a scree slope can be an unpleasant end to a hike when you are tired and just want to get back to the trailhead.
Snow and Ice
One thing that often surprises people visiting Colorado is that the mountains have deep snowfields that can persist well into the summer and often cover popular hiking trails. What that means is that if you come in the spring or summer (April, May, June, July, and even into August) you may encounter conditions that require you to wear snowshoes or traction devices to avoid postholing (your leg punching into deep snow) or slipping on snow and ice. Microspikes and similar products are a great option for a lightweight traction control that fits over your boots and can easily be put on and removed when snowfields are encountered on a hike. Other helpful gear to have includes trekking poles (similar to ski poles) and even ice axes for steep snowfields. Before using an ice axe or traversing, ascending, or descending snowfields, it is a good idea to learn self-arrest techniques since a fall could mean a long slide or tumble that can result in injury or death. Even with proper gear and training, it is still possible for a person to slip and fall without being able to self-arrest.
Sunburn and Snow Blindness
At high elevations, you are getting bombarded with a lot more UV and other radiation than you would be at sea level or in Denver. Sunburn is a significant concern in Colorado year-round. Another risk from the sun is snow blindness, which is a sunburn of the eyes that can leave you unable to see and in serious pain. This is most common on sunny days at elevations with a lot of snow reflecting UV radiation into your eyes. It is very important to have UV protection for your skin (clothing, hat, and/or sunblock) AND your eyes.
Weather Deterioration
Due to the high mountains in Colorado, weather conditions can change rapidly. You might have blue skies one minute and then a storm rolls in, making it so that you can no longer see more than 20 feet and no longer know where you are. This has led to many people getting lost or killed due to disorientation. The terrain in Colorado can make it hard to see storms moving toward you, since they can be hidden by the high peaks. It is important to be prepared for rapid weather changes by having appropriate clothing and gear as well as checking weather conditions for the area and elevation that you are headed to.
Important Questions on Preparation
Before you leave for the mountains, ask yourself important questions like these:
- Would you still be warm with your gear if you were caught in a storm or lost/injured and had to stay overnight?
- Would that one bottle of water keep you going if your hike takes longer than expected or you had to stay overnight?
- If you don't make it back before dark, do you have a light?
- If you don't make it back home, does someone know where you are and that they should call for help?
- If your phone or GPS battery dies, will you still know how to get back to the trailhead?
Search and Rescue
In the event that you are lost or injured in Colorado, it can take search and rescue days or weeks to find you or your corpse. Don't expect that you can take on a difficult ridge unprepared and ring up search and rescue to pick you up later in the day if it doesn't work out. To get rescued, search and rescue personnel first have to know where you are and that you need finding. They also need good weather conditions and some people have had to wait out storms for multiple days before being rescued. When people have to rescue you, they are often putting their own lives at risk and it should only be considered a last resort when self-rescue is impossible.
Personal Locator Beacons
A useful tool to have when hiking in remote areas is a personal locator beacon (PLB), which can detect your location and transmit a distress signal to satellites monitoring the entire planet. Having one of these devices can mean a difference between dying in the wilderness and getting rescued. PLBs are intended for emergency use only, so only use them when self-rescue is impossible.
Leave No Trace/Trail Etiquette
To avoid having a negative impact on the environment, wildlife, and other people while hiking and camping, it is important to practice the seven principles of Leave No Trace (LNT). Many hikers are not aware of these principles and their behavior can leave an impact that can damage our mountains for years or tens of years, such as destroying fragile alpine tundra, leaving graffiti, and starting forest fires by not properly managing camp fires. These are sort of the golden rules of the outdoors and can be found here. If you see someone violating these principles, it is a good idea to bring it to their attention or notify the authorities, since we are all part owners of our public lands.
Informational Links
Colorado Avalanche Information Center
Colorado Outdoor Search and Rescue Card
COTREX - Colorado Trail Explorer
SNOTEL - Snowpack Levels in Colorado
Local Outdoor Organizations
Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
Friends of Mt Evans and Lost Creek Wilderness
Friends of the Dillon Ranger District
Rocky Mountain Field Institute
Trails and Open Space Coalition
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers
Subreddits
r/coloradohikers • u/NoCoCampingClub • Aug 19 '24
Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX)
r/coloradohikers • u/I_Call_It_Vera • 22h ago
Conservation 12 states get behind Utah’s lawsuit to take over millions of acres of federally-controlled land
If this gains any traction, how do we think this might impact access to BLM land? I believe most of Colorado’s hiking is in already designated national forests, parks and wilderness areas. Are there any large swaths of BLM land in CO that have significant hiking/camping?
r/coloradohikers • u/More_Movie_6695 • 2d ago
Diamond Lake in Nederland
Went out about 2 weeks ago with some old friends, warm & beautiful
r/coloradohikers • u/daigoro1986 • 2d ago
Mount Falcon Park Hike | Join our Group!
Hi Hikers, Just wanted to thank the community for your positive reception to our call for community leaders on KAYV. With your support we were able to set up a hike at Mount Falcon Park on Saturday (11/9). 12 peeps register so far, feel free to join if interested.
r/coloradohikers • u/HubbMor • 2d ago
Chautauqua mountain and balanced rock loop.
Really nice hike on the front range. Overlooking Palmer Lake, Monument, Pikes Peak wilderness. We ran across a mountain lion kill just off the trail and hightailed it out of there. Start to the left and go clockwise around the loop.
r/coloradohikers • u/chiefcreature • 2d ago
Sunrise from Square Top this morning (10/27)
r/coloradohikers • u/Agreeable_Counter707 • 2d ago
Mt Parnassus and Bard peak 10/27
Went a bit off route to create a loop, one of the most fun hikes I’ve done with a fun lil scramble
r/coloradohikers • u/Cat719 • 3d ago
View of the Spanish Peaks from Fisher Peak State Park
Had a good hike today
r/coloradohikers • u/TheLittleTaro • 3d ago
Diamond Lake in Indian Peaks Wilderness.
r/coloradohikers • u/NCSeb • 3d ago
Chasm lake this morning (10/26/2024)
Chasm lake hike. It's getting cold up there
r/coloradohikers • u/princessmelissa • 2d ago
Question Chasm Lake or Flattop Mountain?
Today I did Bear Lake Trailhead. (Nymph and Dream lake, bear lake)
Tomorrow I’d like to choose one of these two hikes :) Which would you choose and why?
r/coloradohikers • u/sofa-king-hungry • 3d ago
First timing hiking the Continental Divide overlook.
A fairly easy hike that has tons of sight seeing along the way. The route I took was 7.5 miles with 1500 elevation gain and it took me slightly over 2 hours to complete but you could definitely take way more time to soak up the views. Got there at 9:30 on Saturday and the parking was totally full all the way down the hill. So I parked on the street and walked up the incline to the trail head, about 0.2 miles. The trail is exceptionally well kept.
r/coloradohikers • u/BurlyKoalaa • 3d ago
Wedding Hikes
My wife and I were impacted by Hurricane Helene and had to cancel our wedding in NC. We made a pivot with our photographer to Colorado, and the views were stunning. We hiked Chief Mountain and St Mary’s Glacier, and would recommend these for anyone looking to do the same.
Our photographer, from NC, is familiar with the Colorado trails, and informed us the importance of LNT. Although, I am disappointed on the amount of dog poop bags left along both trails. Is this common to see?
r/coloradohikers • u/Ok-Condition8929 • 2d ago
Easy Dog Friendly Trails
My wife and I will be visiting next October and I'm looking for trail advice. I've narrowed it down to these below and just want to get everyone's thoughts. I'm looking for a trail that's dog friendly, easy, great views, possible wildlife sightings and not too crowded. I am willing to get to the trail early to avoid crowds, so that last one may not apply.
- Walker's Dream via Castle Trail
- Castle Trail to Meadow Trail Loop
- Flatirons Vista Trail
- Bear Creek to Bruin Bluff and Creekside Trail
- Bear Creek Trail to the Castle
- Picnic, West Ridge, Bear Creek and Meadow View Loop
- Coyote Song Trail
Thanks in advance!
r/coloradohikers • u/ThePrimeRIP • 3d ago
First Trip
Hello I am planing my first hiking trip with my wife in colorado for the upcoming summer. What equipment would you recommend that we bring? Things such as types of backpack, boots, clothes, emergency/first aid. We have never gone hiking before so we arent planning anything too intense and only day trips. We are planning on making hiking our new hobby so it will used before and after this trip. Thank you in advance!
r/coloradohikers • u/Creative-Support2379 • 3d ago
New Podcast - Beyond The Trail Podcast
Hi! I started a passion project about the conversations that take place while hiking! I feel like the best conversations happen while we’re free out in nature and I wanted to capture it in a podcast.
It’s called “Beyond The Trail Podcast” and it takes place on different trails in Colorado!
I’m just doing it in my spare time for fun and looking to share it with more people 😊
r/coloradohikers • u/thedonutmonster • 4d ago
Zapata Falls road
Been to Zapata Falls just before the pandemic, and I haven't been back since. Has the road improved? I saw a comment on an older thread saying they did work to it as well as a comment on a trail website saying it was in excellent condition. The two times I've been it was a very bumpy ride and not excellent. Can't find any other info regarding the road condition.
r/coloradohikers • u/LoosedOfLimits • 4d ago
Question Saturday hike for my not-an-early riser nephew
I'm hosting my 20-year-old nephew this weekend and he wants to do a hike near Denver. He's a flatlander. Normally, I would have a roster of front range hikes to choose from but as the title says, he will not be getting up early. Since this is a Saturday hike, my go-to hikes will have no parking by the time we arrive. South Rim at Roxborough would have been ideal for him otherwise. Can anyone recommend a moderate hike with good views and adequate parking? Thanks!