Lake City, CO

It was a good town day full of the usual chores but with a small mountain town, laid back vibe.  Sailor, Alfredo, and Neighbor left in the morning to get back on trail.  The Ravens Rest hostel is full of hikers and it's been fun to meet new people and catch up with old ones.  My shoes were not in my resupply box like I hoped. They are in a box going to Twin Lakes 200 or so miles away.  My current shoes are falling apart.  So I had to order a pair to be sent to Silverton which is our next stop.  Because of shipping times we will stay here another day.

I'm really glad we stayed here!  All the chores were done so it was all about relaxing, exploring the town, and calling family.  I met a retired antiques dealer outside his daughter's shop and he shared a lot with me about the town and a historic building.  Back at the hostel Ursa Major was playing a guitar and Trouble was singing.  

She has a great voice.  The hostel had an African drum so I grabbed it and joined in.  It was fun and Trouble has written a hiking song in the desert so we played it and then my trail song.  It was open mic night at the coffee shop next door so we decided to participate.  It was outdoors, the air was cool, a slight breeze was rustling the leaves in the trees and blowing ash from the fire pit.  We all just listened to some talented musicians play enjoying the music.  There was even a fire going in the fire pit.  Our songs were well received and it was a ton of fun!

A Great Day

It's all about the food.  I go to bed thinking about breakfast.  After breakfast it's about lunch.  And after lunch it's what's for dinner?  

We've been seeing moose droppings the last couple of days but no moose.  Other hikers have seen them though.  The trail finished it's climb today back into the mountains and has stayed close to 12,000 feet.  I've been smiling all day.

We ran into more snow but it was just patches and not a big deal.  In the late afternoon we had to cross Snow Mesa, a 3.5 mile stretch of open and exposed ground.  

We didn't want to be caught in a thunderstorm on it.  There were dark clouds but they didn't look like they would do anything so we kept going.  In spite of our confidence we still felt vulnerable and kept checking behind us for any change.  Our goal was to make the 23 miles to Spring Creek Pass today but between reunions with northbound hikers and all of the pictures I had to stop and take I had my doubts.  But make it we did and even got a ride to Lake City where Sailor and the others had arrived earlier.  We are staying at the Ravens Rest Hostel owned by a thru hiker.  It's a great hostel. Lake City is a small mountain town at the edge of the San Juan range.  There seems to be a lot of fly fishing here and it depends heavily on the outdoor tourism industry.

Hills and Valleys

We've been walking through rolling hills, wide open meadows and forest groves.  

We are in the foothills and valleys between mountain ranges.  The trail has been following the Cochetopa river upstream.

 In the late afternoon the trail started climbing and the river began carving out more of a canyon.  It's been neat to see the slow transition back into the mountains.  We made it halfway up San Louis Pass before camping.  

Again we saw more north bound hikers and we enjoyed catching up with them.

Pounce is reading a trail book and she shared a quote from it that I really like.   "I'm not done with the trail and the trails not done with me."  It's spot on.  I hiked the PCT in the perfect year.  I didn't get rained on once in 5 months.  I knew the CDT would give me all the challenges that I didn't get on the PCT.  It has.  And then some.  I've asked myself more than once "why am I doing this?"  But I'm not done and neither is the trail.  And I'm glad to still be walking.  It's beautiful.

Team Leisure Double Trouble

Yesterday I said we were hiking in the Gunnison National Forest.  It was the Rio Grande.  Today we're in Gunnison.  This morning Sailor, Alfredo, and Friendly Neigbor decided they wanted to try for 27 miles as the trail looked more gentle.  Pounce and I thought that would be too much after the 27 we did yesterday but decided we'd "take it as it comes" and see how the miles would shake out.  We didn't want to push it.  The trail was more gentle.  There were a couple of long steep climbs the rest was downhill or level.  We were again mostly in forest but there were a lot more aspen.

The trail descended below ten thousand feet for the first time.  We saw a lot of Pica.  They are cute little creatures.  We also saw a lot more northbound hikers for a total of 15 since we got back on trail.  The miles came slow today.  We were tired but also feeling like we wanted to be "day hikers" and just enjoy the trail.  So we did.  

Earlier in New Mexico Spatula christened us Team Double Trouble.  Today we changed it to Team Leisure Double Trouble.  In spite of that we still made our twenty miles which is our minimum goal. We also broke the one thousand mile mark!

Loving These Mountains

We've been hiking in the Gunnison National Forest.  While most of the day was in the trees we had some amazing views throughout.  

It was well signed trail that went up and down and around but nothing was too steep.  It was rocky in places but otherwise easy walking.  It's awesome!  There's no snow.  We hiked a lot more miles today then planned because of it.  Colorado likes it's afternoon thunderstorms.  Right after lunch the clouds darkened, there was a boom and a flash, and then .. snow pellets.  That was it for any electrical in the system.  The rest of the afternoon was just on and off drizzle.  It made it hard to figure out layering.  It was too warm to keep the rain jacket on very long.  

When the snow leaves, the mosquitos come.  So for the first time I wore my bugnet and sprayed myself.  In spite of the rain it really was an enjoyable day and I'm glad we get to experience these mountains.  I had my doubts .  

Back In Colorado

It feels good to be back in the Colorado mountains.  We've gotten good reports on trail conditions ahead so I'm hopeful.  At the same time I'm preparing myself for lots of snow difficulties.  We took our time in the morning packing up and getting breakfast then headed out of town.  It took two hitches to get from Salida up to Monarch pass.  I'm going to be an expert hitcher by the end of this trip!  After a nice snack at the Monarch Crest Store we hit the trail.  

We hadn't gone far when we ran into some friends hiking north who were going into town.  It was great to see them.  It was beautiful with great views of surrounding peaks but an afternoon storm was brewing so we didn't linger.  

We had perfect timing on this storm as we reached a log shelter seven miles in just as it started raining.  There's not much snow.  Yet.  After waiting an hour we hiked on and as luck would have it, reached a snowmobile cabin in the evening.  We are spending the night here and have cots and a fireplace.

It's pretty sweet.  I love the mountains and it's just great to be back here.

Adventures in Hitchhiking

I think we may have broken a hitchhiking record.  A 5 hour drive took us 6 rides and only 7.5 hours of actual hitching not counting the night in Frisco.  This morning our first two hitches told us about some great barbecue in Fairplay.  The second ride lived there so we went to the First Annual Barbecue competition.  It was lunchtime so perfect for sampling it .

 So it was good, but North Carolina's Q can't be beat.  We arrived in Salida about 1:30 and were walking to the hostel when we heard a shout.  Turning, we saw a girl waving at us.  "Are you CDT hikers?"  Yes. "My husband hiked the PCT last year.  Come to the house, you can camp in the backyard, do laundry, and shower."  Amazing.  So we did.  They are an awesome couple, recently married and moved here.  There's another hiker, Lorax, here as well.  Alfredo made us a delicious pasta dinner with salad.  It's great to be able to relax and unwind.  Traveling is tiring.

The Plan

Encampment is a tiny town that serves the outdoor community that is active here.  

The transcontinental bike route, continental divide bike route and CDT all pass through here.  There is also a lot of hunting and fishing.

The big puzzle has been putting together a plan.  Pounce had the presence of mind to message Jerry Brown of Bearcreek Survey for advice.  So here is The Plan:  hitch to Salida, hike south back to Pagosa Springs, hitch back to Salida, hike north to Encampment.  What a crazy adventure this has turned into!  We made it as far as Frisco last night.  

It took three hitches to get here.  Our rides were all great people.  It was pretty cool. Our group has been whittled down to 5.  It's Pounce and I, Friendly Neighbor, Sailor, and Alfredo.  The other three are road walking to Steamboat Springs.

Back in the Snow

It snowed during the night and left a dusting on the ground and on our tents.  Surprise!  But there was blue sky and sunshine and that was great.  The trail climbed most of the morning and we were in and out of trees.  

It was a beautiful day and we made good progress the first ten miles.  The last ten miles took a lot longer.  We were back in the snow.  Initially we has good trail with snow piles to cross over.  But soon it was all white, and we were back to hiking the topo map and not the trail.  It was 100% covered in snow.  

It wasn't too bad to walk on though.  The snow was consolidated and it was cold so post holes were minimal.  However the slushy top layer made it slippery.  We were slippin and slidin.  

It was slow and exhausting so we were excited to get to the road.  Highway 70 at the pass doesn't get a lot of traffic and is supposed to be a hard hitch.  I had just finished wishing for a ride when a fish and wildlife truck pulled up.  Yep, we got a ride within five minutes of being on the road.  We are camping at Lazy Acres RV park and campground.  It's a mile from Encampment where we all have boxes waiting for us.  The big question we face though is "now what?" Here's a picture of the gang at a water stop. 

Let it Rain

I slept surprisingly well and woke to sunshine.  Unfortunately it was not to last.  It got cold, dark, and windy.  I put all of my layers on.  There's been a lot of traffic on the road because they're doing construction.  So when a truck drove up I didn't think much but then it stopped and out jumped Sailor and Alfredo.  Sailor is feeling much better and we were happy to see them.  Shortly after it started raining.  It rained the rest of the morning and afternoon.  I was uncomfortable and miserable.  We all were.  But I took stock and realized I was warm, dry, and my layers were breathing well.  Walk on.  Pounce used to be in construction so she was explaining all the heavy equipment to us and what they were doing.  So the day passed and slowly the rain stopped.  A little later the sun came out and we could stop for a real break.  One of the work trucks stopped and gave us water and fruit.  Trail magic!  Finally the wind died down and it became a nice evening walk.  The landscape has changed dramatically.  We are in Medicine Bow National Forest in the hills.  There are trees, aspen and pine, and we are gaining elevation approaching a smaller mountain range.

Hotel Privy

The wind is howling and beating against the door of my cement block structure.  I'm hunkered down in the men's pit toilet while Pounce is sheltered in the women's.  It was really only a matter of time.  Every long distance hiker sleeps in a privy at least once.  We are at a recreational area reservoir 18 miles out of Rawlins.  We left late morning, stopped at an outdoor store and the post office.  We met a nice guy named Rocky who asked if he could buy us lunch and we accepted.  His family just suffered a tragedy.  His brother died and the family scattered his ashes yesterday in the mountains south of Rawlins.  I think he appreciated our company and we certainly enjoyed the lunch and talking with him.  While there, Trail Dog, Marmot, and another hiker came in.  The last time I saw them was Silver City. After reading me and Pounce's blog posts they decided to come to Wyoming also. It was after one pm when we finally started walking.  We road walked all afternoon to this reservoir and the wind was blowing strong all day.  By the time we got here though the temperature had dropped and the wind got even stronger.  It would be impossible to set up the tents and I'm not sure my tent would withstand it.  So, we are thankful for the four walls and roof.  I have my backpack and rain pants blocking the door vents that let in wind.  This is crazy!  The boys in our group took a different route.  Sailor was sick in the night and this morning so her and Alfredo are staying another night in Rawlins.  We will all rendezvous in Encampment.

Rawlins

This has been the best nero so far.  We arrived at 730 am and went straight to McDonalds for breakfast.  Then it was find a hotel and commence town chores.  I bought a kale, spinach, baby lettuce blend and several veges to make a salad.  I've been craving fresh veges so this really hit the spot.  We've had the entire day to rest and eat. It's been a great day.  Southbound continued tomorrow.  Growing up I always liked doing things opposite like walking counter clockwise on the track when everyone else was walking counter clockwise.  So, what is the point of this confession?  I love hiking south!!

Steady Plodding

We started the day with "it's only 25 miles".  What?  It's a full day but we are  29 miles from town and we plan on stopping four miles short to save money. We took our time, took a lot of breaks, and talked about food.  

Day 5 of hiking bigger miles and our bodies are letting us know they need more calories.  "Steady plodding Pounce", I said more than once.  We exited the basin and did quite a few miles along highway 287.  I'm tired and the writing is coming slowly so goodnight.  And, I want to check if I have cell service so close to town...

Miles From Nowhere

There were several large cries so loud it sounded right outside my tent.  It was coyotes, they were close but I couldn't see them.  The trail was a straight line to nowhere with miles stretching to the horizon both in front of us and behind.  

The basin is a vast ocean of endless land but look closer and you can appreciate it's miracles and uniqueness.  We came to a spring and there was a barrel beside it.  Opening the lid we found bocce balls and a notebook trail register.  

 It's been overcast and cool.  By mid summer it will be hot and dry.  I'm very thankful for the good water!  It is always windy except late evening and early morning, so we are getting tired and dreaming of food.

Tick Country

The map notes say there are ticks in the basin.  There are a lot of ticks!  They really give me the heebee geebees.  I'm constantly inspecting especially before bed which is when I usually find them.  It was really windy today which made it hard to walk but kept us cool.  My stride probably looked more like a drunken stumble than a walk.  We saw more horses and towards the end of the day trees.  There are also a lot of flowers adding color to the landscape.  

We are seeing more hills and rocks.  There has also been plenty of water today.  

In the evening we descended down to the valley floor.  I'm not sure if that means we are out of the basin or not though.

The Great Basin

Good morning Wyoming!  We got off to an early and wet start.  Everything had frost and condensation on it.  Initially we followed a river then crossed it and left it behind.  We are crossing the Great Basin and are beginning to see the occasional rocky outcropping.  

We hiked on the California trail, Semcoe cutoff and the Oregon trail for a good part of the day.  I tried to picture crossing by wagon train on this same path and concluded thru hiking is so much easier.  All of those animals and people polluting what little water sources there are out here would be rough.  We passed the Sweeteater river too, which I've read about in many a western book.  

A highlight of the day was coming upon a herd of wild horses.  There had to be at least a hundred.  We've camped on a rare flat sandy area above some water.  There have been several horses, mule deer, and antelope checking us out from a safe distance.  

They seem to be trying to decide if it's safe to come down to the water to drink. We did 27 miles today, our biggest day yet.

Back On the Trail

The owner of Sleeping Bear RV Park was great today.  She let us store our packs in her house while we went to the Post Office and did our resupply.  Then she had her maintenance man drive us to the trail. This park had great facilities too.  We got on trail three miles north of South Pass City where jagged mountains end and the plains begin.  I had a grin on my face.  There are rolling hills and miles of sagebrush.  We saw a lot of antelope.

 There was even a baby napping on the side of the trail.  When we reached South Pass City we stopped to play tourist.  

It is a state historic site and old mining town from the 1800's.  It has been preserved and is also a museum.  It was really interesting and the staff was very friendly.  They had a trail register there for us to sign.  After that we hiked on into the evening and it was easy walking.  We are back to cows and dirt roads and that's ok.

 It's windy and open but we found a place to camp in some small trees near a river.

Road Trip 2

We drove the rest of the way to Lander today and arrived late afternoon.  

It's been interesting to drive through landscape we will soon be walking.  The snow covered mountains gave way to smaller ones and then there was no snow at all.  It's rolling hills with mountains to the west, browns, and greens but no white.  Our friends who stayed in CO reported more crazy snow so we are all happy to be here.  We will be crossing the Great Basin also which will be more pleasant in June than July.  We stopped for lunch at a tiny pub/cafe in the middle of nothing.  The cook was in the back and there was no one else there.  One of the customers who is a regular there took our order and gave it to the cook.  He was a character.  He had everything but his toothbrush hanging from his neck.  "I lose stuff" he said.  He was also drunk and entertained us with off color jokes and commentary about the area.  Turns out he's an accomplished pottery maker.  So here we are in WY.  Tomorrow we will get organized, resupply, and hit the trail.

Road Trip

Only a few days ago we were so excited to get to Colorado and now we are leaving.  We are headed to Wyoming.  I feel good about our decision.  It's like an adventure within an adventure and we are getting a change of pace and a chance to rest.  Team Wyoming is consists of Pounce and I, the group from the last section along with Bloodbank and IPod.  Pounce, Bloodbank and I are riding in the car with Nugio and the rest are in the RV with Sleeping Bare.  Our destination is Lander where we will get organized and finish putting a plan together.  We are hoping to get a trail report from some other hikers who flipped up to Lander.  Our plan is to hike South and then evaluate conditions in CO when we get to Encampment, WY.  Yes, we're winging it, but this is the CDT where anything goes to make things work.  We made it halfway and stopped in Kremmling, CO where we are staying at an RV park.  Dinner was at a local Mexican restaurant and was a great time joking about the last 5 days of trail.  All is well on the CDT.

We Made It

I was awakened in the night by thunder and lightening and realized how blessed we had been to have good weather.  We had seen storms build and break every day but they stayed far away.  We were all eager and in high spirits today knowing we were so close.  The first four miles went fairly quickly with mostly good trail.  However I had a feeling the mountain wasn't going to let us go easily without a fight.  Sure enough we got bogged down in deep snow, sometimes icy snow again.  It was rediculous.  Down below we saw a dirt road.  After consulting our maps we learned that it led to Wolf Creek ski area and the highway which went up to the pass.  So down the mountain we went, across a river and up to the road.  I'll never complain about road walks again.  So we walked up yo Wolf Creek pass where Nugio was waiting for us.  Between him and a nice couple who had stopped, we all got rides to Pagosa Springs.  In town hikers who came in both before and after us just hugged us.  We had been concerned for each other and were so happy that everyone was ok.  I had hoped to get a group photo but here are the names:  Sailor and Pasta Alfredo, One Nail and Opus, Friendly Neighbor, Pounce and I.

Elwood Pass, Getting it Done

Beautiful panoramic views are our reward after all of the hard work.  These mountains are breathtaking. We slept in this morning in hopes that the sun would make the next slope feasible.  It didn't.  So we hiked above the snow, climbed down a spine of boulders in the middle, and then glissaded the rest of the way down.  We followed the valley floor for a while and then regained the trail.  A good topo and the ability to read it has been essential.  We made it finally to Elwood Pass and after that it got a little easier.  The trail was on south facing slopes the rest of the day and descended to ten thousand feet, our lowest point since Cumbres Pass.  

We had real dirt trail to follow.  However, there was still a lot of postholing in snow patches between trees and new challenges.  We had to traverse some steep scree slopes on narrow trail.  When we got to dry ground with tree protection and flat spots we stopped.  It was the only possible place to camp we'd seen all day and not likely to find another.  We're gonna make it!  Only nine miles from Wolf Creek pass and the road to Pagosa Springs.

Expedition

My shoes froze overnight and it was hard getting my feet in them.  Morning is the best time to cross a river and we were hoping it would be friendlier.  It was and we crossed successfully but brrrr!  Ice water.  After that the route climbed up through a side canyon and rejoined the red route.  There was snow everywhere and the trail was buried beneath it.  However we've become good route finders.  We were again above 12,000 feet and we went over passes, along ridges, across icy slopes, and more glissading.  

It resembled a mountaineering expedition because we had to traverse a few steep slopes that required an ice axe and a traction device.  We were in trail runners. But I had my axe out and used it.  We had to find our way around un passable spots and do our best on others.  We saw evidence of an avalanche in one area.  By the end of the day we were all exhausted.  It's been by far the most challenging, scary, and technical hiking I've ever done.

Through all of this I worked at staying calm and focused to cross these areas safely, so when we finally stopped to set up camp it was like a safety valve had been opened to release the pressure.  I burst into tears.  Then I was fine.  I'm proud of us for our team work and getting the job done. 

We set up camp at 7:30.  It was windy and exposed but we had no choice.  We could go no further.  But what a great view we had to go to sleep on and wake up to.

Too Much Adventure

I woke up in a better frame of mind and ready to take on the snow.  It was a good thing too as a challenging day and too much adventure followed.  In the morning the snow was solid from the cold night and we were able to walk on top of it most of the day.  There were some large snow fields to cross.  

We saw a lot of Ptarmigan, they really blend in and seem to wander aimlessly.  As the day warmed up the post holing began.  Post holing is like doing one legged squats - with a heavy pack.  So when we came to a steep hill we decided to glissade down it.  Out came the ice axes to control our descent and down we went.  Whee, so much fun!

We decided to take a lower purple route and another group of four hikers decided to join us.  

It was a good thing they did.  The alternate started out well but we came to a river that was deep and fast from snow melt.  By ourselves Pounce and I would not have been able to cross it.  It was a team effort.  And yes I was scared.  There was a lot of bushwacking and postholing in the snow through trees but in spite of the difficulties, was still the better route.  Late in the day the trail recrossed the river and this time it wasn't possible to cross.  So we bushwhacked downriver to an area where the canyon widened and there would be flat spots to camp.  

On the way I lost my balance on a log and fell backwards into some mud.  Somehow I managed to stab the front of my leg in the process.  Hard day.  At some point you have to just start laughing.  Well this group we are with rocks!   Everyone is looking out for each other and they are solid hikers.  Good people.

Postholing

Everyone has off days and today was mine.  It started off good.  We had a big climb to 12,100 feet and I felt fine.  It's so beautiful I had to keep stopping to get a picture.  

But after our mid morning break I began having sharp stomach cramps.  Even after they went away I couldn't quite bring back the good.  It was slow going and it felt like we were fighting for every mile.  First there were a couple challenging stream crossings, then a lot of blown down trees, and finally the snow.

 When we weren't post holing we were walking through a swamp of snow melt.  We finally got to a long enough stretch of snow we could strap on the snowshoes.

 That was fun but still hard work.  We saw a lot of beautiful lakes and ponds and could hear pica in the rocks.

 As hard of a day as it's been, it's still pretty awesome up here.  Our mileage dropped down to 18 which is better than expected.  We had planned 15 mile days knowing it was going to be slow.  I'm getting more comfortable with being off trail.  We've been off trail most of the day because of the snow.  Wow.  Happy to be cozy in my tent with my tummy full from my hot dinner.  I'm also very happy for my fleece pants that I finally got in the mail.  They are nice and warm! 

Nero in Chama

The lady at the front desk of our hotel told us Fosters had the best breakfast in town so that was our first stop of the day.  It's a hotel with attached restaurant in an old historic building.  It was across the street from the train depot.  Chama has a steam engine locomotive that you can ride up to Cumbres Pass.  We met a nice gentleman named Jim who told us that there is a group that dresses up in period old western clothing and stage a train robbery.  It would have been fun to ride.  We had a lot of sorting and organizing to do at the post office.  Seven boxes between the two of us!  We had to make gear choices, decide what to carry and what to send ahead.  After reading reports on trail conditions this next leg we decided to carry snow shoes and ice axe and bounce the micro spikes.  We are going to be above 12,000 feet!  As we were walking through Chama a car pulled up and a nice lady offered us a ride.  We didn't have to hitch.  

She was a gem.  

Finally, back on trail from Cumbres Pass I couldn't stop smiling.  Our packs are heavy with the extra gear but carrying less water balances it out some.  It was such a beautiful evening though I didn't care.

 We only did three miles, stopping to camp at six at the foot of a big climb.  The sun is turning the sky pink and purple.