Why the Rockies?
Mile High
Hiking for a week is always a challenge, but the Rockies provides the new experience of hiking at high altitude. After a few short hikes in Yosemite and Sequoia, I am intrigued by the challenge of high elevation hiking. Completing a successful hike in the mountains requires the hiker to be in good shape, and this is a doable challenge I am willing to attempt.
Off Trail Navigation
Implicit in any backpacking trip is the desire to see great scenery, but great sights will attract large crowds. This Backpacker Magazine article indicates that the Continental Divide Loop is a "best of both worlds" hike: great scenery and solitude. A 55-mile loop that passes through famous spots in Rocky Mountains National park, as well as requiring off-trail navigation through rarely traveled regions ... enough said. Navigation skills are on my list "things to learn". What a great location to gather some knowledge.
The Divide
Of the three trails in the triple crown of hiking, the Continental Divide Trail seems most magical to me. Thru-hikers who have completed the trail often describe it as the "lonely" trail or the "silent" trail. Only a dozen people try to thru-hike it each year (compared to several hundreds who attempt the Appalachian Trail). It is unlikely that I will ever get to thru-hike this magnificent trail, so any hike that includes even a small part of the CDT is instantly interesting.
A Fourteener
Colorado is loaded with mountain peaks that reach 14,000 ft above sea level. Reaching the summits of these "fourteeners" is a popular goal for serious mountain climbers. While I have no interest in climbing (yet), it is enticing to be able to reach one of the highest spots in the continental U.S. It is especially nice that certain fourteener summits can be reached by hiking; a tough hike, no doubt, but more accessible that a technical climb.
