PHOTOS OF THE COLORADO TRAIL

The trail heading up from Gold Hill Trailhead (segment 7 of the CT) travels through lovely forest and eventually gives occasional views of the Breckenridge area. A total elevation gain of 3600 feet will take us to the summit, well above timberline at 12,440 feet. Lovely meadows of wildflowers predominate the upper areas just before timberline is reached.

From the summit, the view to the south shows Colorado Highway 91 heading over Fremont Pass to Leadville. The lakes to the right of the highway are the tailing ponds from the Climax Molybdenum Mine and a few ski slopes can be seen on the back side of Copper Mountain.

Also from the summit, the ski slopes of Copper Mountain Resort are obvious to the west, and the resort buildings can also be seen. The double ribbon of road snaking along the left side of the photo is Interstate 70. The Colorado Trail currently travels down the main road of the resort for over a mile. The project I worked on was one of many week-long crews working on an elaborate reroute to take the Colorado Trail across the ski slopes and off the road. Photos of the project can be seen here.

The trail down to Copper Mountain traversed the top of the ridge line for quite a distance before finally switching back north and heading down through rock slide areas and finally lush forest.