Mary Oliver says that the trees save her, and daily. I used to think that was a little cliche. 

But today I was driving through my hometown and I was thinking about all the ways that I am not seventeen-year-old me, or maybe how my life isn’t anything like the life I had when I was seventeen. 

I thru-hiked the 500-mile Colorado Trail in July 2023. It was my first thru-hike. This is a super-amateur, thru-hiking-noob’s realistic gear list for anyone who might be curious. Definitely not all-inclusive either, I’m not bothering to include small things like what brand of spork I used. I’ll mention some thoughts at the end on what I loved, what worked fine, and what I’d change in the future.

It’s been six months since me, my worn down Altras, and my trusty backpack walked into the Junction Creek Trailhead parking lot in Durango, the southern terminus of the Colorado Trail. That moment marked the end of my 500 mile thru hike of the Colorado Trail.