My Night Alone in the Colorado Wilderness

For all my travels, including high-altitude treks in the Himalaya and camping in remote regions like the Okavango Delta, I’d never spent a night alone in the wilderness.

Yet, that was the challenge awaiting me halfway through my week in northern Colorado: to hike one mile with everything I needed for a night alone at the North Fork Canadian Yurt.

Situated at the edge of State Forest State Park, at an altitude of 8,800 feet (2,682m), this yurt is one of many owned and operated by Never Summer Nordic.

Yurts, for those not familiar, are traditional circular shelters used by the nomadic tribesman of Mongolia.

Supplies

To prepare for my midlife wilderness adventure, I picked up the following before leaving Steamboat:

• 5-6 liters of bottled water
• snacks (nuts and cookies)
• 2 delicious sandwiches from Backcountry Delicatessen
• cheap back-up flashlight should my Petzl headlamp stopped working
• demo sleeping bag and air mattress from Big Agnes (nightly temps were in low 30s Fahrenheit)

The…