Colorado Trail Segment 9 Hike Trail Guide

October 16, 2020 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 3 comments

Colorado Trail Segment 9 is a beautiful segment that involves miles of forest hiking including many in the Holy Cross Wilderness. This hike climbs from mile 7-8.8 with a high point at 11,702ft and fantastic views east to the Mosquito Range and Arkansas River Valley. Although not one of our favorites of the entire trail, segment 9 offers above average hiking for the segment or through hiker on the Colorado Trail.

Colorado Trail Segment 9 Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Colorado Trail Segment 9

Colorado Trail Segment 9 Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 Stars)

Distance: 13.6 Miles One Way

Elevation Start: 10,424ft

Highest Point: 11,702ft

Total Elevation Gain: 2,627ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 6-7 Hours

Difficulty: Moderate 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 10

Trailhead: Tennessee Pass & Timberline Lake

Getting Here: Start Trailhead (Tennessee Pass): From the junction of Highway 91 and 24 just north of Leadville take highway 24 west. Continue for 8.5 miles to reach the signed Tennessee Pass trailhead on your left. The segment will end near the bathrooms.

End Trailhead (Timberline Lake): From highway 24 in Leadville, turn west on 6th Street and follow it to the end of the block. Take a right here onto McWethy Dr which turns into County Road 4. Continue on this road for 2.5 miles and then take a slight right to continue on for another 4.3. At this point stay right at the fork to continue on Turquoise Lake Road for 2 miles. Take a left here and the road will end at the TH. The easiest way to get here is to enter Timberline Creek Trailhead.

Fees: There is no fee to hike segment 9 of the Colorado Trail.

Parking: Tennessee Pass has a load of parking which will never be a problem in terms of capacity. The TH also has non-plumbing bathrooms. Timberline Creek Trailhead is much smaller, can fit about 10-15 cars and has no restrooms. We have personal experience leaving cars overnight at Tennessee Pass and Timberline Creek seems to have no issues with that either although we did not personally do it.

Summary

Camping: Colorado Trail Segment 9 offers great camping spots throughout the segment. There is a span from mile 6.9 -10.9 that does not have great camping but outside of this section, camping is basically everywhere.

Dogs: This segment is dog friendly hike. Since this segment enters a wilderness area please keep your dog on a leash whenever possible.

Access to Water: This segment has fairly common water sources with several year round sources throughout the segment.

Make it a Loop: Colorado Trail Segment 9 is an out and back hike.

Trail X Factors: Climb to Highpoint

Although it doesn’t seem like much, the climb from mile 7-8.8 really tests your leg and lung strength, especially with a heavy overnight bag on. We cruised through the first 7 miles of this hike, but had to stop several times along the 800ft climb to the segment’s high point. To make matters a little more difficult, after your initial climb, you lose elevation before regaining it on the top of the ridge.

Hike Tip(s): If you want to make this segment a little more unique, check out one of the many huts that you can rent towards the beginning of the hike. Uncle Bud’s is located just right off the trail and a handful of others about 3 miles off the segment. Sure, this adds extra hiking but for the through hiker looking to get a good night’s rest or cook a hot meal on a stove, this might be a welcome pit stop.

Best Views: This segment was beautiful, but our favorite views were from the high point and the climb up to it. However, throughout the segment you hike through lush forests, cross a variety of streams and encounter ponds and lakes of all sizes.

Colorado Trail Segment 10 Route

Gear Needed

Jackie’s Gear:

Juno’s Gear

Colorado Trail Books:

Full Version
Pocket Guide
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Our Trip to Colorado Trail Segment 9: September 2020

Segment 9 of the Colorado Trail was part of a much bigger weekend of hiking for Jackie, Juno and I. We cruised through the first 7 miles, got our legs tested climbing up to the segment’s high point and then tested a whole different set of muscles descending down to Timberline Creek TH. We did encounter a few other hikers on this segment, but in general the trail was very quiet and we were able to finish this segment in about half a day. Although enjoyable, Segment 9 of the Colorado Trail ranked right in the middle in terms of our favorites.