On the trail: Cathedral Lake

Located in Ashcroft, CO, just a short drive from Aspen, the Cathedral Lake trail lives up to its “strenuous” categorization at 5.6 miles roundtrip and 2,000 ft net elevation gain, almost all of which occurs in the first half of the trail.  

I hiked this recently on a beautiful July afternoon, which was sunny and in the upper 70's - thankfully not too hot. The entire trek spanned 3 hours - 2 on the first half/uphill portion, and 1 hour back down to the trailhead. 

Now that I’ve conquered the trail once, I know I’ll do a few thing differently on future visits, including: 

1. Carry lots of water. I only had my 24 oz Nalgene, and could have realistically used at least twice that amount given the continuous climb and hot sun beating down. Cathedral Lake offers a beautiful vista as reward for your work, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a recommended source of drinking water without some filtration. 
2. Pack a few high carb snacks such as dried fruit or an electrolyte beverage. The trail is rugged. The hill climbs are steep. The final switchbacks are described as “an assault”. Calories are necessary.
3. Start early in the morning. Cooler weather would only improve efficiency and comfort on this hike - and with more time, I would have been inclined to pace myself a bit slower and take on the Electric Pass Trail as well, which is an optional extension beyond Cathedral Lake which would almost double the ascent and offer - what I can only imagine to be - spectacular views.

Cathedral Lake was one of the more challenging trails I’ve hiked without a doubt - rivaling even the Mirador las Torres trail in Patagonian Chile (which is twice as long and equally as harrowing) - but the sheer majesty and grandeur of the scenery with every step was well worth it. And seriously, if I lived anywhere close to this trail,  it would be a regular part of my ultra-training routine. This trail is an endurance athlete’s dream.

For more detail on Cathedral Lake, including driving directions and terrain breakdown, click here.