Collegiate Peaks Loop 15-Day Itinerary

Below is the tentative 15-day itinerary, complete with daily mileage and our planned campsite, for our Collegiate Peaks Loop (June 26 - July 10, 2017). Leaving out the two layover days we scheduled in to make sure we had time to relax and enjoy the scenery, our average daily mileage comes out to 12.3 miles per day. We planned two resupply points, although I do believe the trip can easily be done with just one resupply. Some hikers start from the southern end of the loop and resupply at Twin Lakes exactly halfway through the hike. We chose two resupply points to lighten our packs, and because one resupply would require two large bear canisters, and we happen to already own one large and one small bear canister. With a resupply every five days, we can use the canisters we have and carry less at one time.

I carefully planned out this itinerary with the use of the Colorado Trail Guidebook, 9th Edition, and the maps and mile-markers included within. This book carries great information about what you can expect to encounter on the trail, where decent campsites may be found, resupply options, etc. It has been a highly valuable resource to me throughout this planning process!

Here is our complete itinerary:

Day 1: 9.4 mi
Drive 3.5 hours to Twin Lakes Trailhead
Turn left to start at the Northern terminus of the Collegiate East side.
Camp: Clear Creek

Day 2: 15.2 mi
Camp: Three Elk Creek

Day 3: 12.3 mi
Camp: South Cottonwood Creek

Day 4: 11.3 mi
Camp: Mt. Princeton Hot Springs

Day 5: 0.00 mi
Resupply & Layover Day
Camp: Mt. Princeton Hot Springs

Day 6: 14.7 mi
Camp: Squaw Creek

Day 7: 12 mi
Camp: S. Fooses Creek

Day 8: 7.3 mi
Turn right to cross over to Collegiate West
Camp: "dry campsite" on C. West

Day 9: 12 mi
Resupply at Monarch Crest Store
Camp: Boss Lake

Day 10: 0.00 mi
Layover Day at Boss Lake
Camp: Boss Lake

Day 11: 16.6 mi
Camp: Near Tin Cup Pass Rd.

Day 12: 13.8 mi
Camp: Lost Lake

Day 13: 14.1 mi
Camp: Illinois Creek

Day 14: 15.4 mi
Camp: Before Hope Pass (dry campsite)

Day 15: 9.8 mi
Back to Twin Lakes Trailhead
FINISH!


Note: Some hikers don't like itineraries, and prefer to wing it on the trail, camping wherever they need to. Of course, itineraries and plans should always be flexible, because you never know what you're going to encounter out there on the trail and how plans will change. However, having a tentative plan for each day gives the worriers and organizers like me a sense of security and structure that can lead to a much smoother and more enjoyable trip. The longer a hike is, the more an itinerary is subject to change. Our 160 mile trip is not a very long hike by some standards (think Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, or Continental Divide Trail), but it's much longer than either Nicholas or I have ever done. Fifteen days seems a very doable distance for sticking to an itinerary, so we hope to stay as close to this schedule as possible.