Help us choose CT Segment(s)

[Namtrag]

My wife and I are heading out in mid-August to visit my son and his fiance in Denver, and then my best friend in Dillon. We want to do a segment or two while we are there, and are hoping we can get some advice on best sections near Dillon which are hammock hanger friendly. We are thinking Segment 8, or Segments 9 and 10, but Segment 6 is on the radar as well. Are any of these choices better with regards to hammock use instead of tenting?

We will have 4.5 days, and 4 nights for our trip, but we want to take it pretty easy since we are coming from sea level. 25-35 miles is about our comfort level, and those choices above seem to at least fit that criteria!

Thanks in advance for all the help!

[Namtrag]

We've narrowed it down and this is the plan, but still seeking advice from those in the know out there!

Our friends lives in Dillon, so we have pretty much decided to try to do Segments 8 and 9 in the 4.5 days. We decided just doing 25 miles in 4.5 days was too little mileage, and doing 8 and 9 would be a total of 38, which is is right at what we would be comfortable doing. Right now, we are looking at our friend dropping us off 1.6 miles into Segment 8 at the Copper Mountain parking area on a Sunday morning. We would then try to hike up to just before treeline to camp at around mile 6 of the segment. Then on Monday, go over the passes, and down to Cataract Creek area to camp. Tuesday, finish Segment 8, and find a place to camp around the end of 8 or the beginning of 9. Wednesday, hike to Porcupine lakes or Bear Lake. Then on Thursday, have a fairly short day to finish Segment 9, where our friend will pick us up for a lunch trip and tour of Leadville.

I just wanted to see if I could get a little advice on a couple of things now that we have it narrowed down:

First, based on the general plan above, do you think we will be able to find places to hang our hammocks, or should we play it safe and bring our tent instead?

Second, if hammocks are useable, which one of the lake areas (Porcupine vs Bear) would be better for that? From the vids I have watched, which don't show a lot of detail, it looks to me like Porcupine had more places to hang.

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give. We are really excited about seeing the CT!

[OutandBack]

Hi Hamtrag, Have you two ever hiked at altitude before? Even if you don't have issues with alt sickness the lack of O2 will slow you down. IMO 10 miles at 8-10K ft feels like 20 back East.
I have hiked the At around the Smokies and the Rockies in my youth so I kind of know what both feels like..
Back in 2011 I co-lead a summer hike hang on seg 6 of the CT over kenosha pass into Breckenridge. We only managed 8-13 miles per day and we were all dog tired by the end of each day.

Here's a few picts of that motely crew. we had hangers from Neb, New Mex, Tex, Western slope and the front range around Denver.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/outand...57637806844283

[Namtrag]

We did a trip to the Wind River Range 3 summers ago. No altitude sickness but you are right. 8 -10 was a hard day! I think we are in a lot better shape this year than back then, but it's still hard to figure out what we can handle. I feel like 25 might be too short, but 38 May be too much.

[OutandBack]

We did a trip to the Wind River Range 3 summers ago. No altitude sickness but you are right. 8 -10 was a hard day! I think we are in a lot better shape this year than back then, but it's still hard to figure out what we can handle. I feel like 25 might be too short, but 38 May be too much.

In all my years of hiking nothing spoils a trip faster than having too ambitious of a schedule and you find you can't meet do to trail conditions _______________enter X reasons. Have a backup plan. Have a bailout plan. The segments you are talking about are hard and very beautiful, rushing it, nose to the trail one foot in front of the other to make your miles you will wakeup and notice you saw/experienced nothing you might as well have walked on a tread climber in your basement.

[Namtrag]

Your Segment 6 album is really nice. Do you remember the rough itinerary? Looking at YouTube videos and the CT Guide, it looks like it has long tree free areas. Did you guys have any trouble finding places to hang?

[OutandBack]

Your Segment 6 album is really nice. Do you remember the rough itinerary? Looking at YouTube videos and the CT Guide, it looks like it has long tree free areas. Did you guys have any trouble finding places to hang?

Thanks it really was a bucket list trip. itinerary? Somewhere on this forum is the planning thread and Trip reports by the attendees. We had a weekend hang at a local campground and Monday we started our hike.
No we had no trouble finding trees. You really should not try and camp above tree line. This time of year we get fast moving lightning/heavy rain storms every day up there between 1 and 4PM. They usually only last an hourt or two. Above treeline is really dangerous.

[ringtail-THFKAfood]

I would hang at Porcupine Lake. Check my gallery pictures for a hang at Porcupine.

[Namtrag]

Thanks for sharing that. Lots of CT hammock pictures, which really helps me know we can do it!

[dallas]

Right now, we are looking at our friend dropping us off 1.6 miles into Segment 8 at the Copper Mountain parking area on a Sunday morning. We would then try to hike up to just before treeline to camp at around mile 6 of the segment. Then on Monday, go over the passes, and down to Cataract Creek area to camp. Tuesday, finish Segment 8, and find a place to camp around the end of 8 or the beginning of 9. Wednesday, hike to Porcupine lakes or Bear Lake. Then on Thursday, have a fairly short day to finish Segment 9, where our friend will pick us up for a lunch trip and tour of Leadville.

That sounds very doable, depending on the fitness of your partners. Like the others have said, altitude can be an issue.

I'm hoping to do Copper to Twin Lakes and back next month, maybe we'll run into each other.

I love the CT. Wish I had the time for a thru.