It’s pretty easy getting to the start of the trail from Denver. The light rail leaves from Union Station and takes about 30mins to Littleton. I was also able to convince my friend Katy (trail angel extraordinaire) to pick me up and drop me off at the trailhead 10mi away at 5:30am!

The official start of the Colorado Trail !

It was nice and cool out first thing in the morning as I followed the South Platte through the canyon (unfortunately, on a dirt road… but bikes and pedestrians only).

First wildlife of the trip.

It was surprisingly lush considering how dry it’s been…lots of berries.

Apparently, the bears like the berries too!

Then there was the exposed burn section during the heat of the day. A little later some clouds rolled in and cooled things off with some sprinkles. The clouds looked angrier with lightning to the South.

Some cool rock formations above my campsite.

My new Nemo Hornet tent 🙂