Most hikers have heard of the Triple Crown, which consists of the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. But there is another hiking Triple Crown, it’s known as the Mini Triple Crown (I’ve also heard it called the Tiara Crown). The Mini Triple Crown consists of the Long Trail,  John Muir Trail, and Colorado Trail.

The Mini Triple Crown (MTC) is 966 miles in total, compared to it’s big brother which is around 8000 miles! I learned about the MTC while doing research for my first thru-hike, the Appalachian Trail in 2001. The MTC has been on my radar since. I thru-hiked the Long Trail in 2003, in 2019 I completed the John Muir Trail (JMT), and just this past summer I completed the Colorado Trail (CT).

The Long Trail (LT) is 272 miles long and goes from the Massachusetts/Vermont state line to the Canadian border. The LT is the oldest of all the long distance trails in the country. It was completed in 1930 and was the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT and LT share the same trail for the first 100 miles. They split at what’s called the Maine Junction, just north of Rt. 4 near the Long Trail Inn.

The LT and Vermont is where I truly fell in love with hiking. While in college I did many weekend hikes on the LT. I have now been up Killington Peak 7 times.

The LT is the classic New England trail, it’s covered with rocks and roots. When wet the trail is a real challenge. The first 100 miles of the trail are easy compared to its northern 172. The elevation of its peaks are not high compare to the other trails of the MTC but the number and steepness of them wear one down as you go north. The LT is open to hikers and equestrians only.

The John Muir Trail (JMT) traverses through the high Sierra mountains in California 211 miles from Mount Whitney to Happy Isle Trailhead in Yosemite National Park. The JMT is the crown jewel of the hiking world. As a result of its amazing beauty, the JMT is extremely popular and IMO overcrowded despite there being a lottery system for access. (I saw 1840 people in two weeks during my thru-hike in 2019). The trail is open to hikers and equestrians only.

Like the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail, the JMT shares its route with the Pacific Crest Trail for most of its 211 miles. The beginning and end are just the JMT and one section between Red Meadow and Thousand Island Lake. This is also part of the reason it’s so busy.

The JMT has nine major passes, with eight of them over 11,000’. Most people think it’s easier to hike southbound but personally I think you’d be crazy to thru-hike any direction but northbound on the JMT. You do start at a higher elevation going northbound but the approaches to the passes are shorter, where as going southbound you have longer approaches and the trail gets harder as it goes.

If one was to thru-hike the entire JMT, they’d hike through Kings Canyon NP, Sequoia NP, Yosemite NP, and both the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wildernesses. The JMT is by far my favorite trail I’ve hiked.

The Colorado Trail (CT) winds its way 486 miles from Waterton Canyon just southwest of Denver to the Junction Creek Trailhead, which is just outside Durango. The average elevation of the CT is over 10,000’, making it an extremely hard hike. The CT is open to hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikes (excluding wilderness areas).

Just like with the John Muir Trail weather is a major factor on the CT. Afternoon thunder and lightening storms are almost a daily occurrence and snow storms can happen any month of year. Another factor that makes the CT so tough is the amount of above tree line hiking. Exposure to the sun, wind, as well as said lightening add an extra layer to thru-hiking the CT.

Just like with its two companion trails the CT shares part of it’s tread with the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). The two trails double up from Georgia Pass to the CDT/CT spilt near Elk Pass. You also have the option of hiking either the Collegiate East or West routes.

Since the trail is open to mountain bikes, it makes it one of the most unique trails of US’s trail system. In 2017 I raced the Colorado Trail Race as part of my Bikepacking Triple Crown. The are went West or Northbound from Durango to Waterton Canyon avoiding wilderness areas. It took me 7 days 12 hours ?? Minutes. So technically I’ve almost done the CT twice already!

My goal was to do the CT in 21 days (the average time for a thru-hike is about a month). Despite the fact the CT is quite hard, I actually finished under my goal.

The CT travels through many wilderness areas: Lost Creek Wilderness, Holy Cross Wilderness, Mt. Massive Wilderness, Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, La Garita Wilderness, and the Weminuche Wilderness.

Despite their shorter individual length, the three trails of the MTC still offer so much incredible beauty. They also offer up the same level of difficulty that their longer big brothers offer. The trails of the MTC are great in that why offer those who don’t have the time to hike one of the longer trails a chance to experience a thru-hike. They require less time to complete but still give one the same level of experience in the backcountry.

I truly enjoyed the Mini Triple Crown and would recommend any of the three trails to anyone looking for a shorter thru-hike or section hike. Get out there and experience the Mini Triple Crown for yourself!

Read my trail journals for each trail here.