Continental Divide Trail Mt. Zirkel Section

The Continental Divide Trail runs through Mt Zirkel from Rabbit Ears Pass above Steamboat Springs all the way to the Wyoming border. The spectacular Mt. Zirkel Wilderness encompasses about 160,000 acres in the Routt National Forests in Colorado. The wilderness is located within the Sawtooth Range north of Steamboat Springs. Elevations within the Wilderness range from 7,000 feet to 12,180 feet atop Mt. Zirkel. . This rugged area is characterized by beautiful broad valleys and numerous alpine lakes and cirques. The Zirkel encompasses 160,650 acres of some of the most beautiful terrain in Colorado. To be sure, the Zirkel is in transition from the 1997 blowdown, pine and spruce beetle infestation, and the summer fires in 2002 and 2003... Sounds great doesn't it? Well, these are naturally occuring events that have happened numerous times before we got here and will occur again long after we are gone. Even in early July you will find a lot of snow along this section of trail. It is well marked with rock cairns and tread. You will find it to be one of the most spectacular areas in Colorado and if you are headed north you have already experienced a lot of spectacular trail. When I did the CDT in '99 I was welcomed into Wyoming with one of the biggest CDT signs I have ever seen. It took me two days of hiking from Rabbit Ears to the Wyoming border. The images of the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness are still fresh in my memory of this trek.
(An excerpt from "Crossing the Divide") When I reached Wyoming I thought the CDT would fizzle out. To my surprise, it was the best I had seen so far. It looked as though the hundreds of new CDT poles from the border to Battle Pass had just been put in. Hauled by mule, I am told. The trail was very well marked through an incredibly welcoming piece of Wyoming.

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