A day on the Colorado trail, told through Gear

Cue the lights

I wake up with the first ray of morning light, warm under my duvet. My brain begs, “Five more minutes,” but my bladder demands, “Now!” The call of the wild has no snooze button. I take off my Alpha Direct sleepwear and face the morning chill. Shivering, I struggle into my hiking clothes, my down jacket, and my waterproof pants. My cold fingers, now at 10% dexterity, clumsily tie my trail shoes. I unzip the tent and stumble out like a newborn fawn, poop kit in tow.

⛺ Camp clothing

• 😴 Farpointe Outdoor Gear: Alpha Cruiser, Alpha Direct Camp Pants, and Alpha Direct Camp Socks: Ultralight sleeping luxury. Ultralight downhill brush. Lower layer isolation protocol when used on the road.
• 🧥 Mountain Hardwear – Ghost Whisperer Down Hoodie: The ghost that haunts many team lists, and for good reason.

💩 Poop kit

• 🛍️ Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3L Drawstring Stuff Sack: Yes, I use a $40 bag of Dyneema to organize my 💩.
• 🪏 Vargo Outdoors – Digging Tool: Catholes in granite? This bad boy says, «Hold my beer.»
• 🧻 Charmin – Partial Toilet Paper Roll: Best for «bear» backgrounds.
• 🧴 Travel size hand sanitizer: The post-cathole “code brown alert” between your paws and trail mix.
• 🥪 Ziploc sandwich bags: I save my used TP twice. Failure is not an option.

It’s time to put the show on the road

I untied my bear bag from its tree. (Thank you, bears, for not stealing my food.) I take the day’s food out of the bag, brush my teeth and begin to break down camp. Rolled air mattress. Quilt filling. Then comes the daily ritual of Backpack Tetris: optimizing space, balance, and «will I need this in five minutes?» Before packing up the tent, I wipe away the condensation overnight with a small towel that seems wildly inadequate for the job. Take off your jacket. Sunglasses on. Fitted trekking poles. The hiking activity started under my watch. It’s show time!

Show time

Finally, the sun breaks through the peaks and brings a pleasant warmth. I strip down to my base layer and put on sunscreen. I refill my water bottle at a stream and shine UV light on it to kill any lurking viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. Breakfast is served: treated water poured into a packet of nut granola with no added sugar (because that’s how I’m healthy). I check my GPS app while I eat granola. I won’t delay: I have kilometers to do.

After an awkward stretch up a steep pass, I finally found my rhythm. I am in the state of magical flow. My feet move instinctively and walking feels effortless. I’m dancing across the terrain, the kilometers go unnoticed. I feel one with the trail until the sky takes on a menacing “storm” tone.

The show must go on

I chew cashews and look at the sky, wondering, «Should I put on my raincoat now or wait?» The sky answers for me with thunder. I dress well: raincoat, waterproof pants and waterproof gloves. It continues to thunder and it starts to rain, but I keep walking because I am in a low forest with small trees. I trudge to the rhythmic sound of rain hitting my hood. I resist the temptation to take off my gloves to use my phone’s GPS and camera apps; Wet and cold hands are a hard no.

🥾 Hiking clothing

• 🩳 Patagonia – Nine Short Trails: Disrupted. Now it’s rarer than a flat trail in Colorado.
• 👖 Zpacks – Vertice Rain Pants: Ultralight to the point of «Did I forget about leg day?»
• 👕 Outdoor Research – Echo T-Shirt: Ultra-breathable moisture wicker for backpacking in hot climates.
• 👕 Jolly Gear Triple Crown Button Long Sleeve: Equal parts go after credibility and «I could grab a burrito in the city and look semi-respectable.»
• 🧥Montbell – Versalite Jacket: Not the lightest grams, but underarm zippers + pockets > your 3oz trash bag.
• 🧦 Darn Tough – Hiker Quarter Midweight Hiking Sock: The name is correct, very difficult.
• 🥾 Athletic Mole – Ultraventure 4: Wide toe = my piggies have room to spread out.
• 🧤 Black Diamond – Gridtech Storm Hood Gloves: Because nothing says «ready» like quickly unfolding finger ponchos.
• 🧢 Trucker cap: Back mesh FTW!
• ⌚Garmin – Instinct 3 Solar: It records every moment of my browsing chaos.
• 😎 Ombraz – Teton sunglasses: No arms or pressure on the ears. It reveals that traditional sunglasses are facial vices in disguise.

Act 2

The storm passes (hallelujah). I take off my sticky rain gear and put on my headphones. Backpacker Radio keeps me company for the remaining kilometers. As evening approaches, I scour the landscape in search of the Holy Grail: a secluded, level area near the water with a spectacular view. Boat! I leave the hiking activity under my watch and get to work setting up camp.

First, I clear the ground for my trekking pole tent, which has the footprint of a small aircraft carrier. Next, I lay out the store and try to stake out the four corners to form a perfect rectangle, as demonstrated by the store designer in a YouTube video. Despite weeks of practice, staking out corners still requires several adjustments to form a trapezoid with angles less than 90°. Impatience appears. I finally settle for a speech that is «good enough.»

I spread the contents of my backpack in the tent to protect it from the rain and the mini bears. Inflated pad. Duvet tied to the mat. Clothes and electronic devices go on the head, everything else on the feet. Organized chaos.

Fade to black

Dusk approaches, signaling the dinner bell. I grab my stove, fuel, spoon and dehydrated food. I pull out the back padding of my pack to use as a sitting platform (multipurpose gear = trail genius) and find a spot with a prime view of the sunset. I boil water and take photos of the alpenglow while I wait 20 minutes for my food to rehydrate. I eat dinner and watch the sun melt behind the mountains. After sending my sister a satellite text message that says, «I’m not dead, I’m having fun,» I return to my tent.

It’s cold again. I put on my down jacket, brush my teeth, and banish the bear bag to a tree far, far away. I change into my sleep clothes, get under the quilt, and plug my dying electronics into the power bank. In the light of the headlamp, I scribble in my journal, reflecting on life on the trails. Exhausted, I turn off the light and fall asleep, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

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