A rugged hundred mile loop through the southern Sawatch. Four miles of road lead onto the Colorado Trail, then a five mile, 5,000 foot climb to the saddle between Mount White and Mount Antero and the high point of the race. After the drop into the Chalk Creek valley and St Elmo comes a six mile out and back over Laws Pass, then mining road up to the Continental Divide Trail, two expansive basins and the ghost town at Hancock. Chalk Creek Pass, Lost Wonder Hut and the long exposed ridge above Monarch fill the night. The last 20 miles run the Colorado Trail back to the start, hillier than the profile suggests.
The course averages a little over 10,400 feet, 15 percent of it is above tree line, and the high point is 13,100 feet on the saddle below Mount Antero. The race names three cruxes: the Laws Pass out and back in the heat of the day, the high traverse from Tin Cup to Hancock where most runners struggle, and the long alpine ridge from Lost Wonder Hut to Monarch, more than nine miles between aid stations, at night, notoriously windy and feeling uphill the whole way. In July a thunderstorm between noon and 3pm is close to certain, and the race tells runners to plan for snow and scorching heat on the same day.
The High Lonesome 100 is a hundred mile loop through the southern end of the Sawatch Range in the Colorado Rockies, starting and finishing in a meadow at the base of Mount Princeton. It crosses five alpine passes and two ghost towns, and takes in 27 miles of the Continental Divide Trail and 35 miles of the Colorado Trail, climbing 23,300 feet and topping out at 13,100. Runners have 37 hours. Every aid station is captained by someone who has run a hundred miles themselves.
Caleb Efta began piecing the course together from maps in the Sawatch in the summer of 2015, and the race was given the name High Lonesome in the autumn of 2016. The first running was in 2017. The 2020 edition was cancelled for the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2023 the overall cutoff moved from 36 hours to 37, after the race found that finishers between 2018 and 2022 were averaging about two hours for the final 7.3 mile segment where the old cutoff allowed 1.25. The Salida Ranger District approved a rise in the field to 250 runners, phased in 25 runners at a time and full in 2026, which was the ninth running.
| Mile | Station | Cutoff | Crew access | Bag | Pacer | Med | To next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 |
Start
8,500 ft · cell service
|
6:15am | ● | · | ? | ? | 7.30 |
| 7.30 |
Raspberry Gulch 1
8,904 ft · basic first aid
|
8:30am | · | · | ? | ● | 7.40 |
| 14.70 |
Skyline (Comms)
13,100 ft
|
– | · | · | ? | · | 2.20 |
| 16.90 |
Antero
11,790 ft
|
1:00pm | · | · | ? | ● | 4.20 |
| 21.10 |
Baldwin (Comms)
9,400 ft
|
– | · | · | ? | · | 4.00 |
| 25.10 |
St Elmo 1
10,100 ft
|
3:30pm | · | ● | ? | ● | 6.40 |
| 31.50 |
Cottonwood
10,250 ft
|
6:00pm | ● | ● | · | ● | 6.40 |
| 37.90 |
St Elmo 2
10,100 ft
|
8:30pm | · | ● | ? | ● | 3.80 |
| 41.70 |
Tin Cup
11,070 ft · basic first aid
|
– | · | · | ? | ● | 7.90 |
| 49.60 |
Hancock
11,050 ft · no cell service
|
1:30am | ● | ● | ● | ● | 6.40 |
| 56.00 |
Lost Wonder Hut
10,920 ft
|
4:00am | · | · | ? | ● | 8.30 |
| 64.30 |
Purgatory
11,645 ft
|
– | · | · | ? | ● | 3.90 |
| 68.20 |
Monarch Pass
11,300 ft · spotty cell service
|
9:00am | ● | ● | ● | ● | 6.90 |
| 75.10 |
Fooses Creek
9,100 ft
|
11:00am | · | ● | ? | ● | 6.40 |
| 81.50 |
Shavano
9,200 ft · basic first aid
|
– | · | · | ? | ● | 1.90 |
| 83.40 |
Blank's Cabin
9,800 ft
|
2:00pm | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9.30 |
| 92.70 |
Raspberry Gulch 2
8,900 ft
|
4:45pm | ● | · | ● | ● | 7.30 |
| 100.00 |
Finish
8,500 ft · cell service
|
7:00pm | ● | · | ? | ● | ? |
From the start, turn right and head north on CR321 until it intersects Cottonwood Pass RD/West Main Street/306. Turn left (west) and drive about 6 miles and turn left onto CR344. You will see signs for Cottonwood Lake at the junction. Drive for about 4.9 miles, passing the lake until you reach a very large field on your left. Follow the parking attendant's instructions exactly. You will take the shuttle (jeeps, trucks, and SUVs) from here up to the aid station.
Parking. Park at the Cottonwood shuttle parking area, several miles below the aid station, then ride the shuttle up. The drive from the Start/Finish is 30 to 40 minutes, the wait for a shuttle is 10 to 30 minutes and the shuttle ride is roughly 15 minutes. Crews in past years have averaged 75 to 90 minutes from the Start/Finish. There is no cell service at the parking area and shuttles stop running at 6pm. Foot and bike access are not allowed, and no dogs are allowed at Cottonwood.
highlonesome100.comFrom the Start/Finish area, turn left/south and drive down the large switchback (aka Swear Hill). At the bottom T intersection, turn right onto CR162. Stay on 162 for 11 miles. Around 10.9 you will pass the Last Chance restroom on your left. It is a large gravel lot with a restroom. Slow down here and look for a small gravel road up and to your left. It is just about 0.1 miles after the restrooms. If you go into St. Elmo, you missed the turn. After turning onto CR295, continue for roughly 5.4 miles until you reach the parking zone. You will pass some odd driveways, but just stay on 295 until you reach the parking attendant. Please note, CR 295 is full of large potholes. You can, with careful driving, get to the aid station in a 2WD vehicle, but it's slow going. Parallel park on the west side of the road.
Parking. The drive from the Start/Finish is about 60 minutes, and the parking area is a 5 to 20 minute walk, 0.25 to 0.5 miles, from the aid station. Parallel park on the west side of the road. There is no cell service at Hancock, and foot and bike traffic are not allowed.
highlonesome100.comTurn around and drive back down CR295 towards St. Elmo. Turn right/East onto CR162 and drive all the way back to Highway 50/285. Turn right and drive 15.5 miles to a large “T” in the road in Poncha Springs. Turn right to stay on HW50 towards Monarch Pass. Drive 17.5 miles up to the crest of the pass, where a large parking lot is on your left. Turn into the lot and park on the west side.
Parking. Park on the west side of the large parking lot at the crest of the pass. Please leave the spots around the gift store for its customers.
highlonesome100.comFrom Monarch Pass, go East on HW 50 towards Salida. Around 15.8 miles from the pass, turn left/North onto CR250. There is signage showing mileage to the Shavano trailhead. Stay on CR250 for almost 5 miles until you hit a large “Y” in the road. Stay left onto CR252. Drive roughly 3 miles to a hard-left bend and a large parking lot. The parking lot has a restroom if you need it, but do not park there. Take the bend to the left and go 0.2 miles to a large field and the parking zone. Please note, the last 4-5 miles of this route is on rough roads, but with care can be driven in a 2WD vehicle.
Parking. Take the hard-left bend past the parking lot with the restroom and go 0.2 miles to a large field and the parking zone.
highlonesome100.comReturn the way you came on CR252 and back onto CR250. 7.3 miles from the parking zone, turn left/East onto CR140. Take CR140 until you reach HW 50/285. Turn left/North and drive 11.2 miles where you turn left on CR270. Stay on CR270 as it turns into CR272. Drive 2 miles on CR272 before reaching the junction for Browns Creek TH. Stay straight on 274 and go another 0.3 miles before turning left onto CR273. CR273 turns into a rougher road and is difficult to drive in a low clearance vehicle. Continue until you reach the parking zone.
Parking. Parking is on either side of the road, perpendicular to the road. You cannot be more than the length of your vehicle from the road.
highlonesome100.comTurn around and go back down CR273 and CR272. At the intersection of CR270, turn left and take it all the way to CR162. Turn left onto CR162, then right onto CR231. Turn right into the start area and look out for runners.
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