Day 21 and 22 – Recovery
Not much to be said about Salida and my zero days. I made phone calls, did a fantasy football draft, and watched Lord of the Rings marathon on TnT. I have no pictures for either day.
Special shout out to Sam T. for being the best friend in the world!
Regularly scheduled Colorado Trail hiking starts with segment 15 on day 22 (a.k.a. September 1). I estimate my arrival to Durango in 14 to 17 days… maybe… Silverton should be my next/final resupply in 8 or 9 days.
Day 23 – Ready to Run
Zero mile days are amazing, healing, and was just what I needed. Sam T.s visit was great and he even drove me all the way to the trailhead to give me a head start on segment 15.
I felt slow, but I somehow hiked 16 miles. Don’t ask me how, the two days earlier was filled with Domino delivered food, 4 liters of Dr. Pepper, an extremely crappy big Mac, and a final chicken quesadilla.
It was exciting to get back on the trail, despite my stomach and muscles complaining a bit..
Day 24 – Overcasted
Marshall Pass… I can’t say I read anything on the sign, but the hike was overcast and rainy. It was slow going, but it kept going. I was a little overzealous listening to music on this segment. I just got spotify and they have this offline version where j can download other people’s playlists… So I downloaded about 3000 mp3s… For free… And ran my battery down to 48% by 3:45 pm. Normally I would use my solar charger and boost it back up, but between the trees and the clouds, I got only a trickle.
This segment wasn’t very exciting, lots of trees, but I can’t say anything else really. My tent went up and I slept like a rock.
Day 25 – Llamas?
A rainy night, a rainy day, oh and fog… Or clouds… Not sure…
Camping at altitude has been a variable of an experience. Some nights are cold, frosty, and others are warm and I have to lose a layer. The night before this segment was wet. The inside of my tent was dry, but packing up a wet tent while raining didn’t bode well for my motivation
.
It looked like my solar charger would be useless.
Yep, hours of
this…
A well worn trail helped a lot, otherwise I’d need to break out the compass!
By midday it started clearing out. The mud was wet, sticky, and just making things tougher, but at least my solar charger could snag some energy.
I had an issue though. Water. The mid-segment watersource was a puddle and not moving. I had a liter, I’d be alright…
19 miles into the day, I got water.
Surprisingly, this was a high mileage day for me. One of the waterspots was more of a puddle… So I pulled up my hiking pants and kept going. I went 19ish miles on 1 liter of water. I kept hydrated before this point so I was alright.
The absolute best part of this segment. Llamas!!!
I met a couple, Diane and Kerry, hiking the trail with the amazing strength support of llamas. They can carry 80 pounds each and can eat anything. Diane and Kerry were amazing to meet on the trail and have me wonderful goodies like dried mangos, freeze dried corn, and so on. What a great end to the segment! Sadly they were finishing their hike that day, but best of luck down the road Diane and Kerry!!!
Day 25 – Did I Double Post?
A rainy night, a rainy day, oh and fog… Or clouds… Not sure…
Camping at altitude has been a variable of an experience. Some nights are cold, frosty, and others are warm and I have to lose a layer. The night before this segment was wet. The inside of my tent was dry, but packing up a wet tent while raining didn’t bode well for my motivation
.
It looked like my solar charger would be useless.
Yep, hours of
this…
A well worn trail helped a lot, otherwise I’d need to break out the compass!
By midday it started clearing out. The mud was wet, sticky, and just making things tougher, but at least my solar charger could snag some energy.
I had an issue though. Water. The mid-segment water source was a puddle and not moving. I had a liter, I’d be alright…
19 miles into the day, I got water.
Surprisingly, this was a high mileage day for me. One of the water spots was more of a puddle… So I pulled up my hiking pants and kept going. I went 19ish miles on 1 liter of water. I kept hydrated before this point so I was alright.
Day 26 – Easy Day
Ah yes, an easy day. Segment 18 only had an elevation gain of 1,447 ft and a drop of 1,534 ft across 13.8 miles. So nice and fast paced, which was good, I didn’t get on the trail until about 10:30 am. I had a bit of trouble. I noticed my main water container had sprung a leak and on top of that I lost a glove. I considered hitching into Gunnison but after failing to get anyone to pull over, I decided to tape her up and keep hiking. Hence the late start.
I have to say that this segment seemed much longer than the others.
I believe that seeing an entire mile of the trail at a time really makes the mile seem longer.
Views were worth it.
I even witnessed a mini cattle drive. Yep, good times. Storms rolled in so I decided to hit camp just barely past the start of segment 19. The site was beaten up and filled with cowpies… Oh well.
Day 27 – Walking Past the Pies
It is nice to get away from the cows, even if it means hiking on a road for a bit. No complaints, the mountains are just a forest walk away.
The trail narrowed and was a bit of a jungle hike for awhile. The land was flat still so it was still easy. This section, I finally got some wildlife photos.
So, there was supposed to be a log bridge, but sadly it fell into the river. I scoured up and downstream for a different crossing point, but failed. My legs/feet learned the definition of cold water fording this little river. Reminded me of the ice baths I had to do for track back in the day.
An accomplishment of the day, getting a chipmunk to pose for a photo shoot!
Mm wilderness. Love it.
Day 28 – A Great Day to have a Great Day
What a great day to have a great day! This segment had it all; sun, hail, wind, animals, mountains, and great hiking!
Early in the morning, at the crack of 9:11 am, I got to the trail and came across a Colorado drivers license on the trail… I stopped, picked it up, and set it in a spot easily noticeable thinking the owner would return for it after hiking in and out. Shortly after that, I saw…
And then, his friend!
I touristed it up, taking pictures, one after the other…
But wait, they decided to get closer…
And closer…
I literally think tourist goured by moose and let “oh shit” slip from my lips.
Oh man, to get that close… So cool, so much adrenaline!
Such a great day, and it was just a start!
The sun and mood was quite high!
The climb continued, and my camera was always ready.
Such a great day!
Even the birds cooperated.
But ya gotta sleep sometimes. What a great day!
Day 29 – Loving the Trail
A beautiful sunrise!
The trail is looking good as day 29 takes me past mile 350. Problem is, there is a gigantic, exposed, windy, sunny, high altitude tundra to cross!
This wilderness areas, La Garita, is gigantic and yet Snow Mesa doesn’t appear to be a part of it on the map… Strange…
I dressed up as a train robber, haha, yeah totally covered every inch of my exposed skin and huffed my way across the bitter open cold… The sun was warm, but I had to walk at an angle to follow the trail. Fun stuff.
What seemed like forever, I could see the peaks by my next resupply, Lake City. I was excited to get to the Raven’s Rest Hostel to take a zero and catch up with Paul O.
At the trailhead, I discovered just how lucky I am. While talking to a day hiker, a lady drove up in a truck pulling a little red car. She asked if this was where the trail ended for San Luis Pass. Which it was and while the three of us were talking, I mentioned needed a ride into Lake City. The lady with the truck almost instantly offered me a ride! I got a ride without needing to stick out my thumb! What a great day!
Day 30 and 31 – A Solid Rest
It is good to rest! Lake City is a great little mountain town of about 600 residents, 200 or so are Texans who only live there in the summer. Nonetheless, they have cute little cabins, a grumpy motel owner, a strong culture of punctuality… Don’t try and get food 6 minutes after the place closes, they’re spot in like that…
The best parts of the town that I liked was the hostel, and all the historical placards around town. It has some great history, I loved it. Sorry no pictures though.
One side story of note, my final night in the town involved going to the Packer Saloon (Alfred Packer was the only convicted cannibal and that happen in Lake City! Haha). I met a guy, Jaymie, who was unicycling the Colorado Trail! He needed a ride to the trailhead in the morning and a wonderful young lady lent us her Subaru! I got both Jaymie and ‘Spin Cycle’ another CT hiker to the trailhead. Best of luck to them both.
A big shout of thanks goes out to Paul O. from Redlands Mesa (Grand Junction ish). He provided me with additional warm goods, fuel, and the best food a backpacking guy can hope for!
Thank you so much Paul!!!