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Shoutout to a hiker I met on the Colorado Trail who said the Collegiate West loop is better than the East.
We were at the Twin Lakes resupply. He'd done both sides. Said the East is crowded, views are good but not great. West has way fewer people, more alpine stuff, better campsites. Showed me pics on his phone. The San Juan peaks looked insane. I was set on the East for weeks. Now I'm rethinking my whole August plan. Anyone done the West side recently? How's the water situation past 11,000 feet?
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mary7226mo ago
You mentioned the San Juan peaks, but those aren't visible from the Collegiate West. That hiker's photos were likely of the Collegiate Peaks themselves, like Harvard and Columbia. The West loop is fantastic and less crowded, but the water up high is usually just snowmelt streams that can dry up by August. You'll want to carry extra capacity between certain passes.
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dakota4796mo ago
Mary722 is right about the water sources drying up, but I've done that section in late August with just two liters. People overstate how bad it gets, you just need to plan your campsites near the remaining creeks. It's not the desert out there.
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sean_barnes835mo ago
Doesn't this kind of overcorrection happen everywhere though? People act like if you don't prepare for the worst, you're reckless, but reality usually sits somewhere in the middle.
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