2019 - Fjällräven Classic USA

Tent: Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 2

Pack: Fjallraven Kajka 65L and a 20L Osprey Tempest daypack

Sleeping Bag: MEC Delphinus -9C Women’s Sleeping Bag

After defending my PhD in August, I was overdue for some rest and relaxation. Luckily, Fjällräven North America was ready to deliver with the Fjällräven Classic USA. With my Mum in tow (on her very first overnight hiking trip!), we headed down to Colorado for the 3 day, ~60km hike through the 10-mile range.

Having done the Swedish Classic the year before, I can say that this is the much cushier trip. What with the BBQ on night 1, the pancake station on day 2, and taco lunch at the finish line on day 3, we barely touched any of the Mountain House freeze-dried meals that were provided. Plus, Fjällräven even managed to bring beer and wine up to the campsites both nights!

Our biggest worry going into this trip was altitude. We were starting out at 9000ft of elevation and going up over 12,000ft, so we weren’t sure how our sea-level adjusted lungs were going to handle the change. But, as it turned out, there was nothing to fear! On days 1 and 3, when we actually had to climb up over the mountain, we had the opportunity to ditch our heavy packs. We threw snacks, water, and rain gear into our daypacks and happily let Fjällräven carry our camping gear to that day’s end point. It was also a nice reassurance to have medics hiking along with us and checking in with people about any signs of altitude sickness.

Unlike the Swedish Classic, we camped at designated campsites for the Classic USA which meant we were in a much bigger group most of the time. The need to camp all together largely had to do with permits although it also ensured that we didn’t have to carry a heavy, cumbersome bear canister with us all the time. Although I’m not usually fond of group camping, this time it came with some perks. We hiked pretty quickly and pulled into camp mid-afternoon on all three days. This left plenty of time for the aforementioned beer and BBQ, but also to have some demonstrations from the national forest service and Leave No Trace.

Day 1 – Get ready to climb!

As we headed up into the mountains, it was really neat to see the wreckage from some of last winter’s avalanches. Climbing over uprooted trees was a new experience for me! We didn’t have to scramble long before we were back on a nice dirt path through the trees. At the first river we came across the folks from Grayl - which was partly sponsoring the event. They had given us all a Grayl Ultralight Water Purifier/Filter Bottle at the start and were waiting at the first water stop to show us how to use them! I think this was actually the only time we used the Grayl bottles - we were able to refill bottles at the checkpoints for the rest of the hike.

It was a steep climb once we got up above the tree line – it was at this point we started averaging 100 before taking a 30s rest. It was a stunning view, but we hit the top of the pass just as the rain clouds started to gather on the horizon. We made the mad dash down the other side of the pass and managed to get the tent up just as the rain started to fall. 

The rain cleared up later in the evening, just in time for us to grab one of the burgers they were cooking up on a giant grill. The temperature dropped off pretty quickly as the sun set and we were very happy to climb into our sleeping bags for the evening.

Day 2 – A change of scenery

Day 2 started with more good luck - the BBQ grill had been replaced with big vats of boiling water! We had instant coffee from one of the other event partners and happily rehydrated the provided Mountain House breakfast foods without having to pull out the stove.

We spent a chunk of the day walking right across Breckenridge ski resort and giggling at the names of the ski hills. A bit of up and down, but overall, a much flatter day of hiking. We also came through some logging areas and it was really interesting to hear from the Forest Service about how they manage the forest as a whole. We hit the checkpoint at about 11 AM on Day 2 and were happy to find a team of volunteers cooking up pancakes for everyone! We ate a couple of pancakes loaded with Nutella, grabbed a few power gels and headed back out.

The campsite for Day 2 was in a big field near a logging area. At camp that evening we got demonstrations and a few freebies from Leave No Trace, the Forest Service, and a few of the other sponsors and partners. I even got a free pair of Hanwag socks!

Day 3 – My favourite day

We had to get a very early start on Day 3 — there was a risk of thunderstorms and anyone who wanted to go up over the top had to get out of camp very early. This meant packing up in the dark! A first in my camping career.

Anyone who didn’t make it to the checkpoint by a certain time was being re-routed down an alternative route and bused back to the finish line instead. We really wanted to see the view from the top of the mountain, so we left our packs with Fjallraven and headed out with just our daypacks. Getting up so early turned out to be well worth the effort — it was a beautiful day of hiking with incredible views out over the mountains. I would go back to Colorado just to keep doing that day hike over, and over, and over again…