July 16, 2017
We all had a great night of rest camped at the Hutchinson & Burnett Cabin. I opted out of sleeping in the cabin and staying in a tent instead, but we all woke up early ready to take on a 20+ mile day.
Today, we were going to ride all of Segment 16 and part of Segment 17 up to camp at Baldy Lake.
Colorado Trail: Segment 16
Segment 16 of the Colorado Trail is 15.2 miles long. Water on trail starts to get more limited in this segment, which is important to factor in when choosing a place to camp with the horses. Motorized vehicles are allowed on some of the sections of this trail. All of the dirt bikers we crossed paths with were all very friendly and considerate of our horses.
Colorado Trail: Segment 17
Segment 17 is a 20.4 mile segment. Again, water is a bit scarce. Our end goal for the day was at Baldy Lake – .5 mile detour off the Colorado Trail. The trail passes the Baldy Lake Trail intersection at mile 6.9, where you follow the trail down to the lake. This is the only reliable water source in this segment, which is the reason we chose to camp there.
Our total mileage for the day was 22.6 miles to get to Baldy Lake. This lake was absolutely beautiful! It is definitely one of my favorite spots we places that we have camped at on trail. I spent a lot of time that afternoon taking photographs while the horses grazed.
