Congress draws a line along the backbone of the continent, then Denver decides whether November is for shorts or for questioning your life choices.
Carter signs the trail that runs the spine of Colorado and still isn’t quite finished
1978 · Colorado / Continental Divide
On November 10, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signs the National Parks and Recreation Act, designating the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail as the third National Scenic Trail. Roughly 750 miles of the 3,100-mile route run through Colorado, including the trail’s high point on Grays Peak.
November 10, 1978 is a quiet day in the White House and a loud one for anyone who has ever looked at a Colorado ridgeline and thought, “somebody should walk that."
Jimmy Carter signs the National Parks and Recreation Act (Public Law 95-625). Among a pile of new parks, wilderness acres, and historic trails, the bill formally designates the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. Benton MacKaye had floated the idea back in 1966. Congress studied it. In 1978 it became official, with the Forest Service in the lead and a corridor that was supposed to follow the Divide from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.
Colorado got the hard part. About 750 miles of the trail run through the state. The average elevation sits around 10,000 feet. The high point of the entire Continental Divide Trail—and of any National Scenic Trail in the country—is Grays Peak at roughly 14,278 feet, right on the Divide between Clear Creek and Summit counties. You can day-hike it from the Stevens Gulch trailhead and stand on the watershed of the continent while mountain goats judge your snack choices.
The trail was never finished on day one. Portions already existed. Gaps still exist. Thru-hikers still road-walk a few stretches and argue about which alternate is the “real" one. Colorado voted the toughest state on the CDT in more than one survey, which is the kind of honor that makes you check your ice axe and then check it again.
Forty-eight years later the trail is still a work in progress and still the spine of Colorado. If you are standing on Grays Peak today, you are standing on the highest point of a trail that Congress named on this date. The wind does not care about the anniversary. The view does.
Bring more layers than you think you need. Colorado has been saying that since before the trail had a name.
Sources: Wikipedia: Continental Divide Trail · Continental Divide Trail Coalition: History · Public Law 95-625 · Carter signing statement
November 10 in Denver: a 19-degree high, a 68-degree drop, and a cold front that flash-froze the trees
1985 · Denver
Denver’s record low maximum for the date is 19°F (1985). In 1911 the temperature fell 68 degrees in under 19 hours. In 2014 an Arctic front on the 10th started a stretch of sub-20 highs that killed tens of thousands of trees and cost the city more than $10 million.
November 10 has a talent for making Denver look at its closet and then look at its life choices.
In 1985 Indian summer ends hard. A winter storm drops 6 to 10 inches across the metro and 10 to 18 in the foothills. The high on the 8th is 66°F. By the 10th the high is only 19°F, a record low maximum for the date that still stands. Stapleton records 7.3 inches of snow, most of it on the 9th. Flights are delayed. Highway 93 between Boulder and Golden turns into a skating rink. The date record is not subtle.
In 1911 a cold front does the same job with more drama and less snow. The high reaches 66°F at 12:40 p.m. on the 10th. By 7:15 a.m. on the 11th it is 2 degrees below zero, a 68-degree drop in under 19 hours. The low at midnight on the 10th becomes the high for the next day. Northeast winds gust past 50 mph. Snowfall is a modest 2.5 inches. The temperature change is not.
In 2014 the Arctic front arrives on the 10th after a mild fall. Denver falls from the mid-60s into the 30s in a couple of hours, then into the teens. Highs stay below 20°F for three straight days—the first time that had happened in November since records began in 1872. The first measurable snow of the season falls on the 11th. Trees that had not finished hardening are flash-frozen. Tens of thousands die across Denver alone. The city later estimates more than $10 million in damage. Some of the damage does not show until the following spring, which is the trees’ version of sending a late invoice.
The all-time high for the date is 78°F (1973 and 1927). The all-time low is 1°F (1950). Most snow is 4.5 inches (1932). Average high is about 55°F. In other words: the historical record for November 10 includes both a day you can wear shorts and a day the high never clears 19. Colorado has been running this experiment since 1872 and has not published the results in a useful way.
Dress for the version that shows up. Check the trees if you are sentimental. The record low maximum is still 19°F, and the trees from 2014 are still gone.
Sources: Extreme Weather Watch: Denver November 10 · Thornton Weather: This Week in Denver Weather History · NWS Boulder climate records · Denver Post on 2014 freeze damage