San Isabel National Forest, Continental Divide

I’ve entered the southern portion of the San Isabel National Forest. This huge forested area, which extends over 11 of Colorado’s counties, contains some of the highest mountains in the state, including Colorado’s highest peak, Mt. Elbrus. I’ll walk through this wilderness area until I’m near the Rocky Mountains National Park, which is over 300 mi (482 km)!

This area was once populated by the indigenous Ute tribe, who lived a nomadic life. In the summer, they would make the high mountains home, and then come down to the valleys when the temperature started to drop. These people carved out a great network of routes and roads, taking them all through the San Isabel Mountains. When Europeans began to come to this area for recreation, many of the trails blazed by the federal agents who created the wilderness area followed these ancient Ute footpaths. I wonder, as I traverse this long trek, how much of it was laid out centuries, maybe millennia, before the creation of the CDT.

After the coming of the Europeans, this part of Colorado became part of the great American West. The first Americans to settle here were, like in much of Colorado, gold prospectors. Often desperate people, many fleeing poverty, many others simple chancers, they followed rumours and promises far from home, hoping to pursue the American dream and make their fortunes. Some did make their fortune, but more returned empty-handed. Millions of them settled in this area permanently, creating many of the historic towns found in the American West today. 

Walking through here now, it’s hard to imagine the kind of industry brought by the gold miners, but it is easy to imagine the next wave of colonists - fur trappers. Working for corporations such as the Hudson Bay Company, the greatest prize for the trappers was beaver pelts, in constant demand from the hat makers of Paris and London for their durability and waterproof qualities, perfect for your top hats, your tricorns or your bowlers. The fur trade was huge business, and the desire to find hunting grounds funded expeditions such as that of Lewis and Clark. Unfortunately, it proved ruinous for the beavers, and overhunting and trapping almost brought them to extinction.

This is a long, remote route that stretches through a vast wilderness. I am usually far from human civilisation, yet still, many people have been here before me. There is a rich history along the CDT and much to ponder as I walk the long road.