Colorado Trail Segment 11 & CW1 Hike Trail Guide

November 24, 2020 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 1 comment

Colorado Trail Segment 11 & CW1 are typically hiked together and presents hikers with the biggest choice of the Colorado Trail after 13.7 miles: take Collegiate Peaks East (the standard route) or take Collegiate Peaks West which adds 5.1 extra miles to the entire Colorado Trail. Segment 11 shares hiking with Mt Elbert day hikers, Twin Lakes day hikers and Hope Pass day hikers. Insanely beautiful and yet physically demanding, Segment 11& CW1 was one of our favorite segments of the Colorado Trail.

Colorado Trail Segment 11 &CW01 Hike Guide

Colorado Trail Segment 11 & CW1 Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Colorado Trail Segment 11 & CW01

Colorado Trail Segment 11 & CW01 Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)

Distance: 23.5 Miles One Way (13.7 Miles on Segment 11 & 9.8 Miles on CW01)

Elevation Start: 10,065ft (11) 9,222ft (CW01)

Highest Point: 12,548ft

Total Elevation Gain: 5,100ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 12-14 Hours One Way

Difficulty: Difficult Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 1 What does this mean?

Season: Late June- Early November (Expect snow outside of this period)

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Colorado Trail Segment 11 & CW1

Trailhead: Mt Massive & Sheep Gulch

Getting Here: Start Trailhead (Mt Massive): From US24 just outside of Leadville, take CO300 for .8 miles and then turn left on Halfmoon Road. Continue for 1.3 miles and then take a right to stay on Halfmoon Road. Continue for 5.5 miles to reach the trailhead on your right. The road turns to dirt very quickly and can get rough in sections but is drivable for most passenger cars.

End Trailhead (Sheep Gulch): To access the trailhead, turn onto Chaffee County Road 390 (20 miles south of Leadville, 14.5 miles north of Buena Vista). Take 390 (starts off paved, turns into a well maintained dirt road) for 9.5 miles until you reach the signed trailhead on your right.

Fees: There is no fee to hike segment 11 of the Colorado Trail.

Parking: Mt Massive trailhead will get very busy on weekends with parking spilling out onto Halfmoon Creek road usually. WORST case scenario, you could park at nearby Mt Elbert lot but this spot can also get very busy. Mt Massive TH has no restrooms. Sheep Gulch trailhead is relatively quiet, even on weekends. The lot is small, fitting about 5-10 cars MAX with no restrooms.

Summary

Camping: Colorado Trail segment 11 has great camping options and some of the most unique on the Colorado Trail. There are the standard off trail sites for the first 6ish miles and then Lakeview Campground which does require a fee at mile 7. After that, camping options are slim until you get around to the southern side of the lakes which has some of the best camping spots to this point on the entire trail. Camping near Hope Pass is an option and you can camp on top of the pass but I wouldn’t recommend it with any chance of bad weather. When descending from Hope Pass options are slim until you get down near Sheep Gulch.

Dogs: Colorado Trail segment 11 is dog friendly hike. Much of the hike is around or near Twin Lakes which is a very busy area so please keep your dog on a leash whenever possible.

Access to Water: Colorado Trail segment 11 is a funky one. The first 5 miles have a handful of reliable sources and then the trail goes dry for a while. WORST case scenario, you can walk down to the lake to pump which you follow for several miles. However, the trail itself never goes to the shores of Twin Lakes. From mile 6 -14.2 is dry (assuming you take CW01) with water available every couple of miles with the exception of the hike up and down Hope Pass.

Make it a Loop: Colorado Trail Segment 11 is an out and back hike.

Trail X Factors: East vs West & Hope Pass

To this point, the Colorado Trail has had one option: forward. However, at mile 13.7 of segment 11, you have the choice to continue on the standard trail (Collegiate Peaks East) or head to the new (as of 2012) section, Collegiate Peaks West. Both options have their pros and cons with easier resupply access on east and in general, better views on west. West does have 5 additional miles of hiking with a few thousand feet of extra elevation gain.

If you do go west, you will have your hardest climb of the trail to date: Hope Pass. The trail gains about 4 miles of constant elevation with over 3,300 feet of elevation gain. Hope Pass is without a doubt the most beautiful of all of the mountain passes on the trail to this point, but you have to work for it. The descent down the other side is no cup of tea either, losing 2,400 feet of elevation in just 2.5 miles.

Hike Tip(s): If you are segment hiking the Colorado Trail, tackle Segment 11 & CW01 during the fall when the leaves are changing. This segment is LOADED with aspen trees and lack of shade and tough climbing to Hope Pass will be much easier with the crisp Colorado Fall air.

When heading up Hope Pass, be sure to be aware of any incoming weather because there is absolutely nowhere to go if a storm rolls in. As we almost found out first hand, thunder and lightning will be your worst enemy on this section of the hike.

Best Views: This segment has absolutely breathtaking views from start to finish. The Twin Lakes themselves are beautiful but sit in front of several stunning Sawatch Range mountains. Hope Pass? Crazy beautiful. Be sure to also check out the Interlaken Trail which has some really unique historical buildings.

Colorado Trail Segment 11 &CW1 Route

Gear Needed

Optional: Cook Kit
Optional: Hiking Poles

Jackie’s Gear:

Sleeping Bag

Juno’s Gear

Harness

Colorado Trail Books:

Full Version
Pocket Guide
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Our Trip: Colorado Trail Segment 11 & CW1: September 2020

Segment 11 of the Colorado Trail was the final leg of a much bigger weekend of hiking for Jackie, Juno and I. After tackling segments 9 & 10, we pushed onto segment 11 which we knew would be the most challenging of the trip. The walk around Twin Lakes was insanely unique and beautiful while bringing us to the start of Collegiate Peaks West 01. We also decided to check out the Interlaken Historic Site which was 100% worth our time along this segment. The hike up to Hope Pass tested every muscle fiber in our leg while also forcing us to dodge thunderstorms for the most beautiful views of the Colorado Trail we had to date. Segment 11 & CW01 was my favorite of the first 11 and made me insanely excited to continue tackling segments of Collegiate Peaks West.