2026 Field Season Preview
Mt. Democrat
In 2023, CFI helped the Conservation Fund purchase about 300 acres of mining claims that provided access to Mt. Democrat and nearby Mt. Cameron, part of the popular Decalibron Loop near Alma. The area had frequently toggled between being open to the public and closed due to landowner liability concerns. That lack of clear access meant that funders did not want to invest in trail reconstruction and maintenance efforts. Bringing those lands into public ownership provided a major catalyst for Great Outdoors Colorado and the National Forest Foundation to make major investments in the area. In 2025, CFI began what will be at least a two-year project. Last field season, a fixed-site crew of four worked alongside Rocky Mountain Youth Core workers and a slew of volunteers to stabilize grades and reduce erosion by installing timber and rock structures. The team also closed off routes that needed to be restored. In 2026, CFI’s efforts will be much the same with the focus remaining on completing roughly 1.2 miles of deferred maintenance that will hopefully make this trail much more sustainable, a goal that will help protect the many imperiled plant species in the Kite Lake Basin. While CFI works on the mountain, other organizations will tackle needed improvements—road resurfacing, parking, camping, toilet facilities—at the Kite Lake trailhead. Be aware that these construction projects may limit access to the trailhead in 2026.
Thank you to the following groups for funding this project:
Mt. Shavano
CFI’s Sustainable Trails inventory in 2012 gave the Shavano summit trail an “F” grade and noted significant problems regarding overly steep grades, proximity to a creek that floods annually in early season, extensive erosion, and a proliferation of trail braids on the ill-defined approach to the summit. The trail deteriorated even further in subsequent years due to erosion from spring snowmelt and summer thunderstorms, the boots of roughly 7,000 to 10,000 annual hikers, and substantial blowdown of beetle-killed timber.
Work improving this trail could not occur previously despite its high priority because it crossed three private mining claims, including one parcel that contains the mountain’s summit. The USFS spent many years unsuccessfully trying to obtain these parcels through land exchanges before CFI stepped up in 2016 to raise $50,000 from private sources and purchase the parcels. In 2022, CFI kicked off the first season of new trail construction on the peak. As envisioned, the estimated six-year-long project would reconstruct two bypass sections of trail (one on the upper mountain, one on the lower mountain) totaling three miles, perform 1.5 miles of heavy reconstruction in three sections of the existing route (near the Colorado Trail, between the two reroutes, and on the ridge traverse from the summit to Tabeguache Peak), and close/stabilize/restore 2.5 miles of the original route.
In 2023, CFI opened the first lower trail bypass to the public. In 2024, CFI began Phase II, during which seasonal staffers completed the second lower bypass and continued to push the upper reroute closer to the summit. In 2025, one crew focused on full-bench construction below treeline to complete the final leg of the lower reroute (it opened to the public in mid-August) and then moved to trail restoration work higher up on the mountain. A second crew built new trail in the alpine, at an elevation of roughly 13,600 feet, with some full-bench construction and the completion of a variety of stone structures.
In 2026, CFI will return to Shavano for what will likely be the final season on this Sawatch Range fourteener. Although we had estimated the project would take six years, crews made enough progress in 2025 to wrap things up by the end of the 2026 field season. As in the past, two fixed-site squads will set up shop on Shavano this coming summer. The high crew will finish constructing roughly 600 linear feet of new trail, bringing the path all the way to the summit. The low crew will spend time stabilizing and restoring the old social trail as well as executing some deferred maintenance near treeline.
Thank you to the following groups for funding this project:
Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation
Nomad Crew
Fourteener enthusiasts, local businesses, youth summer camps, and college programs perform routine trail maintenance through CFI’s Nomad program to protect trail structures, control erosion, and restore denuded areas. About 25,000 volunteer days have been performed since 2001. Historically, about one-third of Nomad volunteers have been youths or young adults.
In 2025, CFI’s eight-person Nomad crew hosted 43 volunteer projects on 12 peaks across the state. These projects engaged 545 unique individuals who contributed 1,023 volunteer days. In 2026, CFI plans to host more than 40 volunteer projects with local businesses, youth camps, partner organizations, and individuals from around the nation. The Nomad crew hopes to complete more than 1,000 days of volunteer trail stewardship in 2026 and plans to spend time on Mount Democrat, Quandary Peak, Mount Massive, San Luis Peak, Mount Sneffels, Mount Elbert, Wetterhorn Peak, Mount Columbia, Capitol Peak, and Mount Princeton.
Want to help CFI reach our goal and give back to the fourteeners? Head to our project registration page to sign up for a project.
Thank you to the following groups for funding this program:
Kimberly Appelson Internship Endowment
Nicholas Feinstein Memorial Internship Endowment
City of Aspen
Pitkin County
Town of Breckenridge
