Making my Way to the Devil’s Thumb in Colorado

People that love to hike can easily spend a lifetime hiking through the great Rocky Mountains, which run like a spine through North America, beginning in Canada in the far north and ending in northern Mexico. Basically, the further north you go, the more wild the mountains become and by far many of the roughest hikes are in fact in the Canadian Rockies. Nevertheless, even as far south as Colorado – where I lived in Denver – the mountains are still incredible and fairly wild, though there are many well cut trails and the bears and mountain lions are fewer and farther between than they are up north.

The Devil’s Thumb is an enormous granite spire that runs towers more than 3,600 metres over Devil’s Thumb Lake and is truly a natural sight to be seen. The National Park Service actually has a set trail, known as the Devil’s Thumb Loop, which runs for fourteen miles and makes for an excellent day hike or overnighter (depending on how aggressively you want to take it). The trail also covers a decent stretch of the famous Continental Divide Trail, that runs along the continental divide from Mexico to Canada and gives walkers a very real sensation of being ‘on top of the world’.

Anyway, my goal was to do the whole loop in one day, which is quite a challenge. A basic fourteen miles does not seem like a lot if you are talking about a flat trail, but in the mountains, fourteen miles can seem like a hundred. Generally speaking, this patch of the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forests is pretty safe and reasonably well travelled, but it always pays to be careful. I was sure to carry my compressed air horn to scare away any bears or mountain lions I might come across and to ensure that my Camelbak H.A.W.G. 3 litre hydration pack was full and ready to go. Though you can drink some of the spring water found in this region, along the loop itself drinkable water can be a challenge, so it is better to bring it with you.

One of the great things about the established trails set up by the National Park Service is that most of them are very accessible if you take the time to find out where to go. For this particular loop, the starting point is the Hessie Trailhead, not far past the town (and ski resort) of Eldora, all of which is well signed. The Devil’s Thumb Trailhead is a bit further, bit both trails intersect and get you to the same place. The real key to making sure that everything goes well is bringing a good map, which I had this time. With a good map, an air horn, some decent food and a hydration pack full of nice cold water, you should be set to go.

Although I had lived in Colorado almost nine years before doing this hike, it still amazes me that it took that long to go see the Devil’s Thumb. It really is a breath taking example of natural beauty and something that is utterly unique. I have done a lot of hiking and can honestly say that I have never come across anything like it before or since. If you are looking for a decent hike in Colorado, look up this trail.