A Day on the Colorado Trail, Told Through Gear

I awake at the first glimmer of morning light, cocooned warmly under my quilt. My brain pleads, “Five more minutes,” but my bladder demands, “Now!” Nature’s call has no snooze button. I peel off my Alpha Direct sleepwear and brave the morning chill. Shivering, I wrestle into my hiking clothes, down jacket, and rain pants. My cold fingers, now at about 10% dexterity, clumsily lace my trail runners. I unzip the tent and stumble out like a newborn fawn, poop kit in tow.

 

After answering nature’s call (you’re welcome for sparing you the details), it’s time to get the show on the road. I’d love to enjoy a leisurely breakfast while watching the sunrise, but I’m cold.  Moving equals warmth, so hiking it is.

I untie my bear bag from its tree. (Thank you, bears, for not stealing my food.) I grab my food for the day from the bag, brush my teeth, and start breaking down camp. Air mattress rolled. Quilt stuffed. Then comes the daily ritual of Backpack Tetris—optimizing for space, balance, and “will I need this in five minutes?”  Before packing up the tent, I wipe off the overnight condensation with a tiny towel that feels wildly inadequate for the job. Jacket off. Sunglasses on. Trekking poles adjusted. The hiking activity started on my watch. It’s showtime!

🎒 Pack and Poles

• 🎒Gossamer Gear – Mariposa 60 Backpack: Backpad pops out as your personal butt throne. Trail king status unlocked.
• 🦯🦯 Durston Gear – Iceline Trekking Poles: Lighter than my Black Diamond set. Less “indestructible” vibes.

 

Eventually, the sun breaches the peaks and brings welcome warmth. I strip down to my base layer and slather on sunblock. I refill my water bottle at a creek and zap it with UV light to kill any lurking viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. Breakfast is served: treated water poured into a package of no-sugar-added nut granola (because I’m healthy like that). I check my GPS app while shoveling down granola. I don’t linger—I’ve got miles to make.

 

After an uncomfortable stretch up a steep pass, I finally hit my stride. I’m in the magical flow state. My feet move instinctively and hiking feels effortless. I’m dancing through the terrain, the miles sliding by unnoticed. I feel at one with the trail until the sky turns a forboding shade of “thunderstorm.”

💧 Water

• 💧💡 Katadyn – Steripen Ultralight UV Water Purifier: UV magic wand for purifying water. No chemicals, no squeezing, no Giardia.
• 💧🍼 Nalgene – 32oz Wide Mouth Ultralite Bottle:  Wide mouth for Steripen, narrow tolerance for microplastics.

 

I munch on cashews and stare at the sky, wondering, “Should I put on my rain gear now, or wait?”  The sky answers for me with a crack of thunder. I suit up: rain jacket, rain pants, and water-resistant gloves. It continues thundering and starts raining, but I keep hiking since I’m in a low forest with small trees. I trudge along to the rhythmic sound of rain hitting my hood. I resist the urge to remove my gloves to use the GPS and camera apps on my phone—wet, cold hands are a hard no.

 

The storm passes (hallelujah). I strip off the clammy rain gear and pop in my earbuds. Backpacker Radio keeps me company throughout the remaining miles. As early evening approaches, I scour the landscape for the Holy Grail: a secluded, level patch near water with a killer view. Jackpot! I stop the hiking activity on my watch and get to work setting up camp.

 

First, I clear the ground for my trekking pole tent, which has the footprint of a small aircraft carrier. Next, I lay out the tent and attempt to stake out the four corners to form a perfect rectangle, as the tent’s designer demonstrates in a YouTube video. Despite weeks of practice, staking the corners still requires several adjustments to form a trapezoid with angles that are not quite 90°. Impatience sets in. I finally settle for a pitch that’s “good enough.”

 

I explode the contents of my pack into the tent to protect it from rain and mini-bears. Pad inflated. Quilt strapped to the pad. Clothes and electronics go by the head, everything else by the feet. Organized chaos.

 

⛺ Shelter

• ⛺ Durston Gear – X-Mid Pro 2 Tent: Drank the Durston Kool-Aid. Love this storm-slaying palace. Footprint accommodation = bonus adventure miles.
• 🔨 MSR – Mini Groundhog Stakes: Goldilocks stakes: bend-proof enough, gram-shy enough.
• 🛁 PackTowl – Ultralite Face Towel: Name says face, duty says shelter—dedicated X-Mid condensation wiper.

🛌 Sleep System

• 🛌 Hyperlite Mountain Gear – 20-Degree Quilt: From mummy-wrap to quilt bliss—toss, turn, pad-stuck security.
• 🛌 Therm-a-Rest – NeoAir XLite NXT: NXT = quiet enough that wildlife doesn’t think I’m opening snack wrappers all night.
• 🛌 Hyperlite Mountain Gear – Stuff Sack Pillow:  Dual-duty dream—stuff sack by day, pillow by night.

📱 Apps

• 📱 Goat Maps: NatGeo map purge = Gaia GPS dealbreaker. Started by Gaia GPS co-founders who bailed on Outside; premium cartography redeemed.
• 📱 Far Out – The Colorado Trail: Goat companion app: Goat primary, Far Out safety net.
• 🎙️▶️ Overcast – Podcast Player: Backpacker Radio delivery system.
• 📚 Audible – Audiobook Player: Mental bailout when miles get monotonous. CT reading list suggestions? Drop titles in the comments!

 

Dusk closes in, signaling the dinner bell. I grab my stove, fuel, spoon, and dehydrated meal. I pull the back padding out of my backpack to use as a sit pad (multi-use gear = trail genius) and find a spot with a prime sunset view. I boil water and snap photos of the alpenglow while waiting 20 minutes for my food to rehydrate. I eat dinner, watching the sun melt behind the mountains. After sending my sister a “Not dead, having fun” satellite text, I head back to my tent.

 

It’s cold again. I put on my down jacket, brush my teeth, and banish the bear bag to a tree far, far away. I change into my sleepwear, burrow beneath my quilt, and plug my dying electronics into the power bank. By headlamp, I scrawl in my journal, reflecting on trail life. Spent, I turn off the light and drift off to sleep, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

🍳 Kitchen

• 🍳 Jetboil – Stash Cooking System: Michelin-star technique: add boiling water.
• 🥄 TOAKS – Titanium Long Handle Spoon: Long enough to reach the bottom of freeze-dried delicacies.
• 🛍️ Adotec – Grizzly Bear Bag (14 Liters): Lighter than my Ursack. Bears, please respect my weight savings.
• 🛍️ LOKSAK – OPSAK Odor-Proof Barrier Bags: Fits perfectly in my bear bag.  Seals…aspirationally.

🔋 Electronics

• 📱 Apple – iPhone 17 Pro: Captures cinematic footage of me saying, “Totally worth it.”
• 🛰️ Garmin – inReach Mini 2 Satellite Communicator: For when “still alive” needs to be sent from orbit.
• 🔋 Nitecore – NB 10000 Gen 2 Power Bank: Trail tech enabler—turns remote wilderness into a mildly powered office.
• 🔦 Nitecore – NU25 UL Head Lamp: Ultralight, ultra-bright, ignites my journaling at night.
• 🎧 Jabra – Elite 8 Active Gen 2: Because long trails deserve long-form storytelling.
• 🔌 Belkin – 45W Dual Port Wall Charger: Small brick, big energy.
• ➰ Anker – 1 FT USB-C to USB-C Cables: One foot long, braided strong.

📓 Journal

• 📓 Field Notes – 3.5″ x 5.5″ Memo Books: Small enough to stash anywhere, big enough to hold all my trail‑induced revelations.
• 🖊️ Fisher Space Pen – Backpacker Pen: Writes in the cold, upside down, and in space—even though I hike closer to sea level.

 

Behind the Scenes