In the coolness of late afternoon at 7,700 feet in the Buffalo Creek Recreation Area, a golden light filtered through tall pines, accentuating the intricate shadows of rock outcroppings looming over the Colorado Trail. Thirty miles into a trek she hopes will take her to Durango in 21 days, a young woman from Breckenridge wearing a floppy hat with “Junior Ranger” on the front came upon an unexpected reception. Five men in their 60s were gathered on the trail, reliving an adventure they had as high school students from Pennsylvania when they spent a month working to help build this section of the trail.
After hearing what they did there 49 years ago — when they were younger than she is now and the Colorado Trail was little more than a good idea — the hiker gave them props. “You guys are awesome, thanks,” said Sage Lafleur, 19, who borrowed the National Park Service Junior Ranger hat from a friend because she thought it was funny. The men who worked the rock and dirt there in 1975 encountered a dozen other trail users this past Tuesday who shared similar sentiments.
Thus the men of the reunion got a sense of what the Colorado Trail has come to mean to so many. “I’m just an outdoorsy person, and this calls to me,” Lafleur said. “I love being outside, I love walking and I want to see how far I can push myself.
I just think that’s really fun.” For the group, shoveling and raking three miles of trail in this peaceful setting 20 miles southwest of the Denver a.