Black bears are commonly sighted in the Rocky Mountains. It is common to see bears around small mountain towns like Durango, CO, where I live. So, learning bear safety is essential, especially when backpacking or hiking in bear country. Here is what you NEED to know to stay safe while backpacking or hiking.

Providing a unique experience, backpacking allows you to hike for a given amount of miles each day, camping in a different place each night. It’s essential to research backpacking so you can be prepared. No amount of research is a substitute for a good old-fashioned experience, so joining a seasoned backpacker on a short trail for your first trip may be a brilliant and safe idea.

The Colorado Trail is a 567 mile trail traveling from Waterton Canyon, just south of Denver, and finishing at Junction Creek in Durango, CO. The Trail passes through six National Forests, six Wilderness areas, traverses five major rivers and goes through eight of the states mountain ranges. Most of the trail averages at 10,300 ft in elevation with the highest point at around 13,271 ft, just below Coney Summit at 13,334 ft. The Colorado Trail was founded by Gudy Gaskill in 1974, the trail was endorsed by the U.S Forest Service, and developed by volunteers worked. The trail wasn’t fully completed until 1988.

Springtime in Durango can be very pleasant during the day but cold at night, especially if you do not prepare for frigid cold weather, especially at higher elevations. It can result in a trip that ends early. This was the case when my family and I went on a backpacking trip in mid-May of 2020.