Runner: Coach TJ Harms-Synkiew
Name of “Event”: Gore Range Trail
Date(s) of event: 08/01/2026
Time to complete: 10 hours (note: we did not complete the route. Turned into a 10 mile out and back totaling 20 miles)
Location: Flat Tops Wilderness, near Meeker, Colorado
Gear – What did you bring?
Enough gear and nutrition to bring us over 45-miles. Most of it was standard ultrarunning gear, but we also carried a ton of food since it was unsupported.
Fuel – What did you consume and/or not consume?
Food was crucial, since we were going over 45 miles unsupported with nearly 11,000 feet of elevation gain. I carried some traditional ultra snacks such as high carb drink mix and gels. I also had a plethora of snacks, such as candy, pretzels, ham and cheese wraps, crackers and a few Taco Bell burritos.
Logistics – What kind of planning was involved for both prep and implementation?
Since this route was point to point, we left one car in the Copper Mountain Ski Resort Far East lot and camped with the other car at the other end of the trail. I heard about the trail from a friend, and I downloaded it on All Trails. It was easy to follow and had lots of water sources. The most crucial element was packing enough food in our running packs. We decided we’d be able to carry enough in our packs and did not use any caches.
Where to find the info on this
The Gore Range Trail is easy to find on the internet. Like I mentioned, we downloaded the route via All Trails.
What went “right” or at least how you expected it to go?
- Believe we did have enough food for this trip and carried an appropriate amount of water – not too much or little
- We ate plenty the day before
- The weather was nice, but we were prepared for thunderstorms
- Scenery was beautiful
What went “wrong” or completely unexpected that you had to deal with?
I did this trip with a friend, and we did not finish the route and decided to turn around about 10-miles in. We had just volunteered at the Summit 200 and were sleep-deprived and weren’t moving very fast and didn’t want to go through the entire night.
Another reason we turned around was neither of us were “up for it” and feeling good enough mentally for this adventure. Sometimes it’s not the right day
Lessons learned for either the next trip or another’s first trip?
I have a difficult time not “completing” things, but this was a good lesson in turning back if you are not feeling it before you get yourself into a pickle. We may have been able to complete this route but since we weren’t moving or feeling well, the risk/reward ratio didn’t feel worth it and it and sometimes, it’s better to call it a day.
Everything else!
From the miles we did do, this is a very cool route I would like to complete in the future and would recommend to anyone. There are a lot of opportunities to day hike in the Gore Range and would also be a great area to backpack.