This article appears in the 2025 Spring Long Trail News and was written by thru-hiker, ultrarunner, and LGBTQ advocate Aubri Drake. Watch the recording of Aubri’s 2025 Outdoor Adventure Speaker Series presentation for more stories and information about their experience hiking the Triple Tiara.
Many hikers aspire to thru-hike the three “Triple Crown” long-distance trails: the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). But for those who can’t take months or years off from work, there is an alternative: “The Triple Tiara.”
The three trails of the Triple Tiara are accessible to more people, because each takes most hikers three to six weeks, compared with four to six months for the thousands of miles on the AT, CDT, and PCT. A handful of weeks away from home and work is more doable for many people, with no need to pack up a home or quit a job. And these trails are wonderful places to have an adventure!
The Triple Tiara, also known as the Mini Triple Crown, highlights sections of the Triple Crown’s trails: Vermont’s Long Trail; the Nüümü Poyo or John Muir Trail in California (Nüümü Poyo means roughly the People’s Trail, part of a centuries-old Sierra Nevada indigenous trade network); and the Colorado Trail.
While the LT, Nüümü Poyo, and CT are popular destinations on their own, the concept of the Triple Tiara as its own distinct challenge has become more widely known in the last five years. The Long Trail’s 272 miles partially overlap the AT for about 108 miles, while the Colorado Trail’s 475 miles overlap the CDT for about 310 miles. The Nüümü Poyo’s 210 miles overlap the PCT for about 158 miles. These trails also include some of the most iconic and scenic parts of their longer counterparts.
Long Trail
272 miles, no permits required
Biggest challenges: Semi-technical and rugged terrain; weather
Biggest rewards: Trail community at shelters and towns; Vermont’s high point (Mount Mansfield, 4,395 feet)
The Long Trail, the oldest long distance hiking trail in the country, is full of classic Northeastern terrain pushing the boundary of nontechnical steep, rocky, muddy, and rugged. I finished the AT in 2017, and the next year I completed the Long Trail during a heatwave and severe drought. Every one of the 4,000-foot summits was socked in; the water sources that still existed were muddy and low. The weather was hot and humid, with lots of sweating and chafing to go around. But Vermont weather is unpredictable — if you go, it could be cold and rainy, even in summer.
My trip’s highlights included sunrise at Puffer Shelter, sunset at Sterling Pond Shelter, and trail magic with my aunt and her partner. It was wonderful to stop for a zero day in Waterbury. I visited the Ben & Jerry’s factory, the Vermont Artisanal Coffee & Tea Company, the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Cabot Cheese, the Smugglers Notch Distillery, and of course the Green Mountain Club’s visitor center. I finished in three weeks, averaging 15 miles a day, which is about average.
Nüümü Poyo
210 miles plus 10 miles to exit; permit required
Biggest challenges: Permits; resupply and travel logistics; remote location; altitude
Biggest rewards: Beautiful backcountry lakes; epic mountain passes; summiting Mount Whitney, the highest peak (14,500 feet) in the lower 48 United States
The next year (2019), I traveled out West for my first time to hike the Nüümü Poyo. I was lucky, scoring a solo permit through Yosemite’s online permit lottery 24 weeks in advance to hike southbound from Happy Isles to Mount Whitney. The permitting process is complicated, and depends on factors including group size, intended start date, and route. Be prepared to spend time researching and entering the Recreation.gov lottery if you plan to pursue this trail.
I planned the complex travel and resupply logistics, and was ready to go. Unfortunately, because of travel problems I had been awake for more than 36 hours before starting an 18-mile day at 10 am. Nevertheless, I summited the intimidating, inimitable Half Dome that day as I hiked out of Yosemite Valley.
The combination of travel exhaustion, quick hiking pace, high elevation (much of the trail is above 10,000 feet) hit me very hard: my first five days were some of the darkest mental days I’ve ever struggled with on trail. I would have quit if it hadn’t been so hard to just leave the trail. After a high snow season I faced head-high snow on passes even in August, with terrible mosquitos in some places. Fortunately, none of the notorious water crossings were a problem.
Endless mountain views more than made up for the struggle. Each climb to a high pass took me past breathtakingly clear alpine lakes. The trail traverses three national parks, two national forests, and a national monument, all endlessly gorgeous. My mental health improved as my body and brain acclimated to the altitude, and the last three days flew by. Below snowline, the trail was sunny, dry, and hot, but with frequent access to cold water. I didn’t even get any summer afternoon thunderstorms!
I first heard about the Triple Tiara on this trip from a fellow hiker, and considered pursuing it. I finished in 10 days, averaging 22 miles a day. The average is three weeks, but as an experienced thru-hiker and a full-time employee, I wanted to maximize my time off.
Colorado Trail
475 miles, no permits required
Biggest challenges: altitude; weather; water carries
Biggest rewards: epic, expansive views; friendly mountain towns
After hiking other trails (including the PCT and the Arizona Trail), I headed for the Colorado Trail in 2024. Altitude was still a challenge, with most of the trail above 10,000 feet, and a high point of 13,271 feet, but I was more experienced than before.
After sleeping three hours at the airport, I started up Waterton Canyon. Within minutes I spotted a herd of mountain goats scrambling high on the canyon walls. I saw hundreds of other animals, including sheep, cows, marmots, pikas, deer, hummingbirds, owls, elk, a fox, a marten, a snowshoe hare, and a mama bear and cub.
The trail presented long stretches of alpine travel (up to 30 miles), long water carries (up to 20 miles), and threatening thunderstorms most afternoons and some evenings–it rained twice a day for my last seven days, perfect for my Northeastern weather skills. I slept in my tent at 12,500 feet in a lightning storm. But I also hitched a ride to town on a train to resupply, something I’ve never done on any other hike. And the trail often offered endless views, with hundreds of peaks on the horizon! I finished in 17 days, averaging 32 miles a day (15 hiking days, 2 rest days); the average is around four weeks.
Aubri Drake is a thru-hiker, ultrarunner, and LGBTQ advocate. He discovered long-distance backpacking in 2013 and has been running away to the woods ever since. He’s hiked the Appalachian Trail, Tour du Mont Blanc, Long Trail, John Muir Trail x2, Tahoe Rim Trail, New England Trail, Cohos Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Arizona Trail, and Colorado Trail. Aubri has also completed numerous Northeast routes and peakbagging lists in both winter and summer seasons. Their writing has appeared in the Long Trail News, Trail Runner Magazine, and Treeline Review. Follow his adventures on Instagram at @genderqueer_hiker or transcendingmountains.blog
Leave a Reply