I completed the Denver Orbital Trail, starting right at 5:00 AM on Sat 8/9/25 and finishing the loop at the same spot at Vanover Park in Golden, CO on Tue 8/12/25 when the time on my phone showed as 8:43 PM. I walked the entire way (no running) and used both Strava and AllTrails to track the journey, but I am using links to the 4 Strava activities here for verification purposes. I uploaded 42 photos with metadata for verification purposes as well, but I have hundreds more if need be for further verification.
I was supported by friends and family along the way. My friend Owen drove me to the starting point of the trail in Golden on the first morning and then again on the second morning to Chatfield State Park where I had stopped on Day 1. Besides this, my wife drove me to the previous night's stopping point each morning, met me midday along the trail for lunch and resupply, and then again at the end of the day to pick me up and either drive me home or to a hotel. I stayed at my own house in Monument, CO on Nights 1 and 2 and stayed in a hotel near my stopping point at King Ranch Park in Thornton, CO on Night 3. I carried all water and food I needed in between the initial drop-off and the midday meet-up with my wife (usually about 1-1.5 gallons of water and a good-sized pack of trail snacks) and then did the same thing from the midday meet-up to the end of the day stopping points. I ate a lunch and drank extra water with electrolytes during these midday breaks. My kids were sometimes with my wife at the midday and end of day points, but my wife was really my one-person support crew besides my friend Owen that helped the first two mornings as our kids are still a bit young to be able to help on a support crew team.
Overall it was a very challenging experience for me to do this many miles a day, but I was able to persevere and gut it out. I've completed the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Colorado Trails before as self-supported hikes, so doing a supported hike was a new experience for me. There were two sections of the trail on the final day of my trek that were closed, so I did have to detour around those closures (which added extra mileage to the route in both cases), but other than that you should find that my tracked route matches the route as officially mapped out. If you need any more information for verification purposes, please reach out to me at TheHikingAgent@gmail.com. Thank you!