Author: jasonrepko

In the morning Natural and I woke, packed our bags and headed from Shadowcliff hostel down to the Fat Cat Cafe for breakfast. At the bottom of the driveway we saw Situpchuck who’d stealth camped, albeit not too stealthily, just of the side of the road. We laughed at him and teased him that he wasn’t fooling anyone and he came down and joined us for breakfast. Afterwards we walked back up and grabbed our packs and hit the Tonahuto Trail, a four-mile alternate cutting off a 20 mile loop that the CDT does through Rocky Mountain National Park. Within the first four miles we spotted four moose grazing in broad, open marshes along the creek and past plenty of day and weekend hikers.

We rejoined the CDT and hiked another 24 miles which included a climb up and alpine basin and over a short snowfield at Bowen Pass and a traverse around a beautiful, quiet six mile creek. The problem I had with this last six mile section was that it was a popular motorcycle trail and the entire area was badly rutted out from their use. We made it to Willow Creek pass, crossed the road and made camp off of an old, flat, and closed road.

The next day was an immediate climb up a large, steep drainage and across small patchy snow towards Parkview Mountain. As we got higher, the winds increased dramatically until walking along the ridge toward the top we had our heads down and were getting hammered by the wind. Step after step over talus we approached a tiny building at the top which was an old weather or transmitter site. Natural reached the top before I did and when I got to the top I didn’t see him. It took me a few seconds to realize the structure had a small door and I opened it up to find Natural inside, along with XC and Philly who’d both made it up there a few minutes before we did.

We took a 30 minute break and all four of us left the shelter and I led us down a ridge line following rock cairns for about 1/4 mile before I realized it was the wrong one, so I turned us around and found the correct trail. We then traversed on high alpine tundra – still getting blasted by wind – before dropping down a drainage and circling around Haystack Mountain, lots of dead tree blowdown and climbing back up Troublesome Pass – which was no trouble at all. We traversed Poison Ridge and then climbed a saddle on Sheep Mountain. We dropped to Arapaho Creek and below Hyannic Peak in the Rabbit Ears range. The trail then joined a quiet forrest service road (104), and we followed that for 5 miles before making our camp for the night.

Day three followed more dirt roads and when we took a mid-morning break under some aspen trees we ran into England who I hadn’t seen since Chama, New Mexico! We chatted with him and a local hiker who met us, then continued. We cut off about two miles of a sharp turn in trail by following a fence line towards highway 14. We had to ford Grizzly Creek right by Frenchman’s Ranch, then readied ourselves for a full afternoon of walking pavement. Along the way we passed a semi that had gone off the road and was on it’s side being rescued by a large tow truck with a winch. I passed the recovery workers who were flagging down cars so they could pass by the partially obstructed road from the wreckage. I noticed a few Mountain Dews scattered along the road from the wreck, picked one up and took it with me!

After three hours on this road we hit Hwy 40 and headed north, hiking a few more miles past Muddy Pass lake and up toward Rabbit Ears pass. The CDT turns to trail again at a random dirt road off the highway and we stopped here as this would be our reentry point after resupplying in Steamboat. We hitched a ride rather quickly from a young 20-something woman who chatted us up. She abruptly pulled over and dropped us off about seven miles before Steamboat as she was headed towards Lake Catamount for a birthday party. We tried hitching this last seven miles for over an hour. Car after car after car passed us by. It was a Saturday and there was plenty of traffic, but not a single van, truck or car stopped. Dozens of outdoorsy young people with nice vehicles racked with boats, mountain bikes, and other toys simply looked at us and drove on. I checked my Lyft app (like Uber), and there was ONE driver in Steamboat so I ordered up a car and we were finally picked up and driven into town.

I got a text from Nimbles who was with Baskets and Nope at the McDonalds – of course… it’s their favorite, and default shitty, cheap hiker food stop. Natural and I ate a few burgers and had ice cream which all sucked. My tummy hurt, and this was the very last time I was going to patronize the Golden Arches! Those three got picked up a hour later and headed back to the pass. Natural and I took the free bus to the north end of town where we resupplied first at a lousy WalMart, then at a City Market,  where we gave a few Asian bikers doing the Great Divide bike route a few tips. We hopped on the bus again and stopped for a few beers at Storm Peak Brewing and on a recommendation from a local, Golden Leaf cannabis dispensary. Afterwards, we walked through a slight rain and lightening storm, grabbed the bus again (we were getting this thing down), south to Trafalgar Drive and walked into Emerald Park, which had three baseball fields and an absolutely perfect covered shelter with benches outside where we stealth camped for the night. This was a wise choice (and I highly recommend this as it saved us $$$ on a hotel), as it rained over night.

In the morning (day 4), we walked to Freshies, a great breakfast joint. As we were eating a woman approached our table, asked if we were hiking the CDT, and gave us a $30 gift card and said “Safe travels. Here’s some trail magic.” With that she turned and walked out the door. We shouted thank you but were so surprised we couldn’t say much more. As we paid at the counter the owner gave us four giant raspberry oat bars and asked us about the trail. Satiated, we headed south to the Exxon station where we hitched another ride, this time another 20-something young woman picked us up after about an hour and drove us back to the pass.

Day one: 28 miles

Day two: 28 miles

Day three: 24 miles then a hitch to Steamboat

 

In the morning after lousy sleep on the motel floor and now with a back strain flaring back up, I shot up quickly walked to the bus stop and went to Target. I shopped for some new headphones, charger cable, and some snacks then returned to the motel and dropped off my bags and walked over to REI, then to City Market to shop for food then back to the room again. Nimbles went to McDonalds and I planned to meet him there. There was a big storm front moving in and we expected heavy rain at some point but everything looked good in our general area so we planned to hike. Twisted had decided to stay in Silverthorne another two days since he had a knee hurting him, the German National football team was in the World Cup and he wanted to watch their game the next day, and he wanted to wait for a female hiker named Skeeter who’d Id not yet met and he was planning to hike with her. At the room, Larry Boy was there hanging with Twisted and repeatedly claimed that Nimbles and I wouldn’t actually leave that day, which frankly, annoyed the hell out of me to no end, and only served to solidify my departure. After sorting my food and packing up I said a bit of an awkward goodbye to Twisted and completely ignored Larry Boy as they left to go see a movie. I left the room and met Nimbles five minutes later and after a quick bite we were on our way back on the trail.

The trail… was mostly road for five miles, all uphill before turning to single track. We hiked ten miles and over Ptarmigan Pass and dropped to South Williams Fork Creek. Constantly looking back and checking on the storm front over the area behind us, we climbed back up to 12,000 feet then dropped to Bobtail Creek and stopped for the night after seven more miles where we saw Natural and his tent on the other side of the water. We crossed and camped by him for the night.
Nimbles and I woke and we’re back hiking at 6am, joined now by Natural.

After crossing Bobtail Creek again we climbed steep switchbacks up to 12,798 feet and rejoined the CDT regular route just before the Vasquez wilderness boundary. Today we wouldn’t be so fortunate with the weather, as we watched clouds swirl and build above and behind us we had a view down to McQuery Lakes before reaching Vasquez Peak where we knew we were about to get hammered by weather. Flying right by the peak at an increasingly fast pace we lost elevation but not fast enough as wind picked up and lightening cracked the sky nearby. We ran. Down the trail we flew before we all looked at each other as we simultaneously spotted trees about 500 more feet below and headed for them. Despite what your intuition might tell you, trees are not the best place to be during lightening. Down was our first instinct and trees were our second due to the shelter and sense of security they can offer. Rain fell and wind howled and we reached the stand of dense trees as one more lightening strike clapped down a little further away this time. We made coffee and gathered our soaking wet wits. After 25 minutes with the storm apex moving past us we hiked back to the ridge and towards Stanley Peak, but chose to drop off the CDT down a spur trail through Butler Gulch and to Woods Creek Road all the way past Urad mine to a rest area that was next to state route 40. We ate lunch and then saw Baskets and Nope coming down the dirt road to the rest area where they joined us. The five of us hiked the highway six more miles towards Berthoud Pass and as we climbed back up we saw the cloud level where we knew rain awaited us.

As it started to rain again Baskets spotted a can of Coke across the road, then another on our side of the road, and a third in a six pack holder that was cracked open and leaking. We figured someone must have driven by and tossed some drinks at us thinking we’d be thirsty and Baskets scooped up and opened the food can much to Nope’s disappointment since he claimed he “saw it” first!
The rain became heavy and we quickly got soaked. From traveling Berthoud Pass I knew there was a bathroom and warming hut at the top of the pass used by backcountry skiers and maintained by the Colorado Mountain Club and after mentioning this we hiked even faster! Being a sunday, hundreds of cars and trucks passed by us going down the pass as we ascended further, soaking us with spray as they went by at excessive speed – just like every Colorado driver. We reached the pass, crossed the road and headed for the warming hut at the end of the parking area. Once inside everyone was relieved to find it was actually a heated building with lots of bench space. We all hung out wet gear and after a short discussion we decided we were, despite the signage, going to sleep in the hut overnight. We all laid out sleeping bags and easily went to sleep. The fact a few drivers came into use the bathroom barely affected my ability to pass out and get a decent night’s rest, happy and thankful for our good fortune.

The following day we were handed an immediate long climb up and around Mt Flora which provided an amazing view of lake Ethel to the east and Winter Park below to the west.
Next came James Peak involving several thousand more feet of strenuous climbing and epic view that felt as if we were in the Pacific Northwest.

The rest of the day we passed through Indian Peaks Wilderness a beautiful and scenic area with abrupt peaks and still frozen alpine lakes.

Overall, we had a great day compared with the previous wet effort and the five of us hiked together before late afternoon thunderheads threatened us again.
Our fifth and final day involved traversing Granby Lake the. Grand Lake itself. The first was a long, beautiful area with lots of campgrounds and lots of people out for the weekend. I watched a young boy fly fish for a few minutes and thought about what I might be doing right now if I weren’t making my way through Colorado on the CDT.

Grand Lake involves some unexpected climbing up some steep hillsides and around burn areas. So much beetle kill scarred the landscape in this area, a reminder of the past 15-20 years of devastation. This lake borders, in fact, is in Rocky Mountain National Park and it was a bit of a sad site to see all the damage. I’d estimate 60-70% of the forrest was dead.
Tired and a bit grumpy in that what we thought our final day would be easy but turned out exhausting, we made it into Grand Lake and I headed right for the burger and ice cream joint where I was met by everyone else. Nimbles, Natural and I walked through town up to Stonecliff Hostel which was a fantastic old lodge overlooking town and the lake. We did laundry, bought beer and settled in for the night.

I didn’t expect or plan on taking a rest day but at this point I’d hiked nearly three weeks straight without taking a day off. Waking in the morning Nimbles looked at me and asked what my plan was and I admitted – I had to take a rest. I got up with him and he, Natural and I went out to breakfast before Nimbles headed out to the trail. I spent the day fixing gear and gene metal doing nothing as that was all I was in the mood to do. I windows shipped with Natural and we grabbed dinner before turning in again and getting ready for the next day which would take us on a short alternate past Rocky Mountain National Park.

Day 1: 10.5 miles
Day 2: 22 miles
Day 3: 28 miles
Day 4: 24 miles

After Baskets and I humped 3000 feet over Hope Pass and down, down, down, nearly the full way to Twin Lakes, we did a commando camp (quickly find whatever flat spot works and go to sleep). In the morning, we woke and walked two miles along the road and river – electing NOT to do the crossing which was swollen with spring runoff and quite dangerous looking. We reached the Twin Lakes Inn and sitting in front of the old building was Nope. Nope and Baskets hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2016, and Nope was now infamous for starting the CDT in March, reaching Colorado by April and then working his way through the snow – going incommunicado for two weeks and then his family started posing “have you seen Nope?” on Facebook. He was fine. Just out of cell service. And here he was in the flesh and I was meeting him for the first time. Baskets had called the Inn the night before when we were atop Hope Pass and although we weren’t staying there, the manager was cool enough to let us join the continental breakfast for paying guests and only charged us $8 apiece. You can bet your bottom dollar we got our money’s worth 😉 I resupplied at the general store which had JUST enough to get me to Silverthorn in three days, with a good supply of snacks, Knorr sides, ramen, and had some Mountain House freeze dried food selections, albeit absurdly expensive.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj-DANtFCy2/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1avhdm4yl5lt5

After doing what we do: eat, buy more food, charge electronics… we did what we do again as thru hikers: eat more. This time at a small BBQ trailer nearby. Other than what I’m describing, Twin Lakes offers nothing. Nothing other than easy access to Mt Elbert – the highest peak in Colorado – and to the Mount Massive Wilderness area, another Colorado 14’ers paradise.
Padding my belly with more food and after a phone call to check on my dad’s recovery progress, I walked two miles up road and rejoined the CDT. Very nice, maintained trail led the way through about 13 miles past several launching points for climbing 14,000 foot Mt Elbert and I passed several large groups and tents along the way. I caught up to a female solo hiker and chatted and hiked along with her for several miles before parting. Eventually I found a flat shelf above a small creek and pitched my tent. Within an hour of nightfall a rogue wind and short rainstorm hit, lasting maybe 30 minutes. After that I slept like a baby.
On day two I rose, did my coffee and granola routine and made my way down more superb trail. I had a text message from Twisted who mentioned how nice the trail conditions were here, and he was right. All this good 14’er access meant lots of trail use but fortunately, lots of great trail maintenance. I came to a creek after three miles and saw Baskets and Nope packing up their camp. Baskets shouted out to me to wait for them and in jest, I flipped them the bird and kept walking by them. Within a few miles and some morning duties… we converged and continued to hike along as a threesome.

The day would push us past one and to the edge of two more passes that would lead us close to Copper Mountain and the western “edge”’of Summit County: Copper, Frisco, Dillion, Silverthorn, Breckinridge. By 3pm and after about 20 miles we reached Tennessee Pass which some hikers used to hitch hike to Leadville, CO for resupply. We had cell service and got a few text messages here from other hikers about their plans around an incoming storm and this pushed a button for Baskets. He heard this news and immediately proclaimed that we needed to hike over all the passes to Copper, TODAY. And, that’s what we did. I was a bit annoyed at his pace as we hiked away from Tennessee Pass, but eventually softened and realized that Baskets had wanted to hike 40 mile day. He’d never done one. I’d done one last year on the AZT, and nearly killed myself, and I could tell Baskets had it in his sights that this might be his first. We descended to a valley and I saw a red head that I hadn’t seen since we left the Mexican border in April: Larry Boy. I startled the hell out of him when I shouted out his name and he jumped at the sound of my voice and he spilled water down the front of his shirt!
The four of us hiked together for a while, passing an old military explosives bunker and testing site as well as a training facility for the 10th Mountain Division of WWI.

We took a dinner break at 6pm, then flew up another 3000 feet past North Sheep Mountain to Kokymo Pass. I turned around, having left everyone behind on the climb but Baskets was approaching and I waited until he joined me. We gained Elk Ridge at 12300 feet as the sun was setting. Rounding a large alpine tundra, we dropped a bit and slogged through wet trail, snow and mud as it got dark and we got closer to Searle Pass. Hiking now by headlamp, and close to the pass Baskets turned and thought he saw another headlamp behind us in the distance and thought it might be Nope a mile or so behind us. We kept slogging and made it to the pass where we encountered numerous snowfields. Luckily, they were low angle and we slowly picked our way over the other side and eventually to more clear trail. At this point we’d done over 35 miles and the next two hours were a haze to me. Baskets and I kept each other awake with chat and after an hour of descending towards the Copper Mountain resort we both were checking for that 40 mile mark with the plan being to immediately find a flat spot to camp. We knew it would be very close to the actual ski area and passed by a few tents near a stream just a mile before the resort. Finally, we hit 40 miles, over 42 for me since I’d started the day slightly behind these two. Unfortunately, the terrain was still steep – it’s a ski area after all – but we found a flatish spot within view of the resort lights. It was good enough for us and we each sloppily pitched our shelters, climbed in and fell immediately to sleep a bit after midnight.

In the morning I texted Twisted and Nimbles who we found out we’d passed (that was the plan 😉 the night before, and decided to need at Toast and Co., a breakfast joint on the mountain. Baskets and I broke camp and heard Twisted and Nimbles pass us and we made our way down the last mile, cut through the summer construction of the ski area and walked into Toast where we joined the others for a spirited conversation and an enormous breakfast.

Afterwards, we walked towards Frisco and the I-70 bike path and walked the six miles where we found a barbecue and beer festival taking place in the town center. Not one to pass up good food, we all separated a bit here, Nimbles and I heading for meal #2 with brisket and a local beer. I’m not sure how it fit in my stomach after the big breakfast but I managed to lug myself through the crowd and devour the foods.

 

After relaxing a bit we walked through the crowd where we saw an ice cream shop and, you guessed it, ate some more! Once again we hit the I-70 bike path where a weekend bike race was taking place and we walked another six miles or so around a massive reservoir and to Silverthorn where Twisted, Nimbles, McGyver and I got a room at the Super 8. Baskets and Nope showed up later.
I still had an errand to do: go to Brekenridge to pick up a new backpack that I’d sent to Bivvy, an awesome hostel located in a beautiful new lodge type building. I took two busses and a trolley – Summit County having an excellent, free bus system funded by the ski areas that can get you between Breck, Copper, Frisco, Dillon, and Silverthorn. Returning to Silverthorn around 8 pm, I walked over to a little brewpub and hid dinner the back to the motel room to get some sleep which, unfortunately, was on the damn floor. The room Twisted rented only had two twin beds, and he and McGyver had staked claim on each with Nimbles and I doing the floor. In the morning, after horrible sleep in a cramped room with no ventilation I decided that’s the last time I’m sleeping on a motel floor during this CDT trip. The backstrain I had at the beginning of the trail that faded during our New Mexico hiking, was back in full force and I was in considerable pain and discomfort all night long.

Day 1: mile 1162-1175
Day 2: 1175-1217
Day 3: 1217 to 1229, Walking I-70/US 6 to Silverthorn

After a restless nights sleep on the floor in the crowded  Ghost Ranch room, I woke and took my gear quietly out the door so as not to wake anyone. Twisted heard me and joined me outside where we walked to the visitor center, got water made coffee and ate some food. A few other hikers joined us to use the wi-fi . We said our goodbyes and were hiking by 7 am.

We walked the road north out of the ranch through some established trails past a few more buildings and up a hill where we saw some old sweat lodges (probably from the O’Keefe property), preserved for posterity. We hiked through and over a small steam and ascended a beautiful canyon with steep rock walls surrounding us. If I didn’t know any better I’d have again thought we were in Utah. After four miles we began to top out on the mesa and follow dirt roads. At six miles we stopped for a short break at Yeso Tank, another earthen cattle tank.

After Yeso Tank another two miles of uphill grade followed. To our left appeared a cairn marking a short and steep x-country section that led to a broad ridge and a view of the Sangre De Cristos. Following this we ate lunch then continued for miles to Harris Bear Spring and took another break at 15 miles down.

The trail and terrain were beautiful at this point: massive stands of aspen among high, rolling terrain. Perfect elk habitat and we saw several small groups of elk over the corse of the day. The trail followed primaries road and single track over the next few miles and we slowly made it way toward Canjilon lakes which turned out to be a long abandoned lake with a lone concrete picnic table. Before reaching the lake however, the trail woke up and down through more alpine plains and aspen the climbed up and through a long section of trees dead from beetle kill and dozens of downed trees. Our pace was slower and the hiking was beer physical. Nearing the lake we saw England a hike from… England. Reach the lake we set up camp and watched two migrating waterfowl doing aerial fly bus. England joined is at the lake for dinner and we all cooked while watching small trout feed on the lake surface. Another spectacular sunset followed and I made hot chocolate mixed with Crown Royal (thanks Julie!) and we all headed off to sleep.

After a 22 degree temperature overnight we lazily woke ad look our time with our morning routine. Still, we managed to start hiking by 7:30 am. The trail went behind upper Canjilon lake, through a dense wooded area and past many small spring runoff streams. We followed Canjilon creek for a several miles through the cool morning with a constant cool breeze. I can tell already the Colorado weather is upon us and was very pleased that I added a Patagonia Nano Air Light vest to my clothing system (and subtracted the Patagonia R1 pullover now that I also have my Feathered Friends down hooded jacket). Hiking gets you sweating but the constant wind keeps your core chilled so tactful layering is a must.

After hiking over a small ridge we had a brief view of the Sangre De Cristos to the east and a hazy view of the San Juans to the north, then dropped into thick forrest again: Douglas Fir and Western Hemlocks primarily. This would continue through most of the day. After 10 miles we took a break at Canjada Jarosita and grabbed water. After a few more trail miles and primitive road connections through some nice small valleys we dropped to Rio Vallecitos where we had to cross over a large downed tree and then took lunch.
I was feeling rather sluggish up to this point but was energized when we hit the trail again at 2pm. Channeling my inner Righteous/Kirby/Per – the three hikers I spent a week or so with on the Arizona Trail last fall, I set off on a fairly strong pace and hiked straight through for the next three hours with no breaks. Climbing a hillside after Rock Creek, I passed Twisted at a cattle pond and continued up a long winding hill for a mile which then turned into steep switchbacks up and past Burned Mountain. Through intimate meadows I hiked and I was looking for Elk in this ideal ground, purposefully without music or and distraction so I could spot some but I never did. After two hours of ridge walking I came upon a something that sounded like music and approached an enormous group of 5-6 big trucks, 5th wheels and ATV trailers. I waved and walked right passed. At 5 Instopped at a junction to wait for Twisted but after 15 minutes it began to shower and I picked up and moved on. One and a half miles later I made it to Hopewell Lake and waited for Twisted at a camp spot but he never showed. I tried several water spigots but they were all still off for the season and decided to defend to the lake where I got water and wires out another shower while watching locals manhandle the stocked trout they fished for in the lake. I climbed back to the campground and still no Twisted. I approach some car campers who said he’d been looking for me so I tried another direction. Finally, a good hour and a half after each of us arrived, we ran into each other, laughed at ourselves for looking for each other walking in circles then made our dinners and camped.

In the morning the rising sun in the east touched our camp spot early and we were up and hiking at 6:30 am. Twisted needed water so he headed to the lake. I exited the campground onto NM highway 64 for a half a mile then rejoined the CDT headed northwest and waited for him to catch up. I watched a coyote walking across the headwaters of the lake, cross under a fence, cross the highway and head up in the direction of the trail. I watched two fisherman in a canoe glide across the lake with the early morning sun.

The first part of the trail ascended up to a nice open valley and we could see small rock outcroppings near the top of where we were heading. Walking a 4×4 road the trail skirted past these high points of Jawbone Mountain but climbed higher to join a higher valley via another toad closed to motorized use. We walked over muddy sections and chatted as a few snow patches began to show and we jiggled closer to 10,000 feet. After a few miles the trail descend to a small earthen cattle tank filled with snowmelt but it also drained out the bottom end and the water was. good for filtering. We took a lunch break and headed on down another small drainage and another cattle tank and past an intermittent creek just below 10,000 feet.

We the. dropped elevation down toward Rio San Antonio with Olguin Mesa above us. We missed a turn gazing at this gorgeous terrain but quickly found trail again and started a long climb with a breathtaking view of all the uppermost headwaters of Rio San Antionio. We walked two miles on the edge of cliffs with a hard cold wind blasting us all the way but the view was worth the price!

Gaining the top the trail headed north and the wind died as we entered thick wooded area. I stopped to look at an old shoe insert someone had discarded on the trail. When I looked up again a mid sized elk started right back, then bounded away into the woods. We dropped to another small drainage and took a water and snack break then started climbing again.

After a while we reached a road and walked this to lower Lagunitas then upper Lagunitas campground surrounded by several small lakes. The campground toad was closed so it was just Twisted and I the. suddenly at the uppermost lake we ran into Isabella, a young student from Bavaria who we’d originally met in Pie Town and tried to talk with several times when encountering her on the trail. We all sort of just sat in silence while filtering water and when I was finished I said, “Isabella, you’re a very good hiker.” At this she smiled and nodded. Twisted then asked he a few questions and she responded this time as they had a short chat.

After this we ascended above the campground and climbed over four more miles up over 10,000’feet and through a dense forest with lots of dead downed trees to navigate. We crossed an old dirt road and took it instead for a mile into a high alpine flat near 11,000 feet where we had our dirt clear views of the south San Juan mountains we were heading toward in the next stretch. Opting to duck into a small stand of pines to get out of the wind we made camp, cooked while sitting in the remaining sun and then hit the sack.

The morning of day four started at our usual time: up at 5-ish and on the trail by 6:30 am. The overnight temperature had not been nearly as bad as we’d expected at only 38 degrees and this was due to taking cover in the dense tree stand that we encountered. I took a few beautiful shots of the sunrise as we finally had our first clear view towards the South San Juan’s and Colorado!

The trail took us over Brazos Ridge right at 11,000 feet and a view east into the Brazos Wilderness area. With only about 14 miles to go at this point, we dropped down into another gorgeous valley where we crossed a stream and gathered water. We passed another earthen cattle tank  and then a long, slow climb up a broad basin and past Yonderland ranch and through a gate past the top. We stopped at another small stream where England passed us by, then proceeded down to the headwaters of the Brazos river and (you guessed it), back up again.

We entered another large wooded area over 10,000 feet heavily damaged by beetle kill with a lot of downed trees and patches of snow. We carefully, and slowly wound up and down this section as we’d lose the trail, find it again, follow the wrong footsteps and find our own way all in the course of the late morning. Finally, we reached a logging road and walked that for two miles to avoid another dense wooded section. We reached a rusted, fallen barbed wire gate and saw the sign to Rio Grande National Forest. This was the border between Colorado where the Carson National Forest ended in New Mexico and the Rio Grand began in Colorado! We took a photo and signed the “register:” a Kraft Parmesean Cheese can with notebook paper stuffed inside. It was sweet to reach Colorado on my 47th birthday!

This energized us and with three miles to highway 17 we picked up the pace hiking over some muddy sections of trail damaged by elk, some snow patches and along a rocky ridge where the wind blew hard: 50 miles an hour hard! I leaned in and at times it blew me off step as we watched the highway get closer and the pass and station where the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad stops. Once out of the wind we dropped down switchbacks to the highway and walked up 1/8 of a mile to the pass and began to hitchhike with no luck on the first 5-6 cars passing by.

After 30 minutes England and Isabella showed up and stood directly beside us. After 50 minutes we were picked up by a couple in a big truck with a child up front and a dog in a crate in the rear. The three boys piled in the back with the packs and Isabella rode in the crew cab. We were dropped off at the Chama post office, gathered packages and went straight to Fosters for a burger.

As we walked south towards the Y Motel we ran into another bubble of hikers who’d arrived either that day or the day before and introduced ourselves. They were getting drinks and beer but we wanted showers, food, and a bed. After an entertaining conversation with the motel owner I learned it was also her husband’s birthday. We paid for two nights and headed to our room.

Life Happens. A Break From the CDT.

This is a public blog and Iv’e purposefully held back on some personal thoughts and opinions as I’ve been writing up to this point. However, I’m going to share a bit of the things that simply happen in life with all who may be reading…

The next day in Chama, our first of two rest days, I caught up with a family member and learned that their health had taken a turn for the worse. They’ve been recovering from cancer surgery and recently recovering from a double pneumonia. They’ve made a really encouraging recovery, but I’ve decided to hike the next section from Cumbres Pass to Wolf Creek Pass and then make my way to Denver to visit family from 5/24 and get back to Denver on 5/29. Then I’ll make my way back to Wolf Creek Pass and continue my thru hike of the CDT.

In terms of the trail and the people I’ve been hiking with and around for the past 36 days… it’s going to be hard to step away and into an airport so suddenly. It will also be hard to say goodbye. But, life happens, and while I’ve spent my entire adult life a bit nomadically – rarely going back home to visit friends and family – it’s important to do. I also credit and thank my wife Julia for she is very close with her family and extended family. I’ve learned from her and reprioritized to spend time with what little bit of family I do have. While these awesome folks I’ve met on the trail will be moving forward, the trail isn’t going anywhere and I will be back on it very soon. In fact, I’ll probably hike like hell to catch back up with them once I do return!

I’ll keep adding blog posts during this part of my trip as I feel that this travel is just as much part of my journey on my CDT thru-hike as the actual miles on the trail.

As I type this, I’m a few minutes away from a ride back up to Cumbres Pass to hike the next stretch!

We’ll talk again soon.

~Steel

 

I rose early at the Cuba motel – 5:30 am – which has become par for the course for me so far on the trail, or any day really. I grabbed the items I needed for errands and snuck quietly out of the door at 6 am and headed back to the Cuban Cafe for a Breakfast Pig Out, Round Two. I checked in with calls to mom and had a long conversation with my wife Julie. I picked up some mother’s day cards from Mickey’s Save Way and filled them out while at the diner, then went to the Post Office and the Family Dollar after breakfast.

Back at the hotel Twisted and I packed up and then hung out one last time with Shadow and Country Mouse while they worked on some gear repair. Before leaving, we stuffed our faces again, this time at Subway, and then Twisted walked back to McDonalds to pick up some cheeseburgers (thru-hikers tend to love this, but… gross)!

We walked out of town then east four miles up a county road  to the San Pedro Parks  trail head and stopped at water at a creek. From the creek the trail was a sustained climb through dense woods of Doug Fir and higher up some aspen stands to a ridge. Reading the terrain and seeing how the snow runoff was affecting the small water runs off the mountain I took a calculated risk that there would be water at the top of the climb at the top elevation of 10,500 feet or so. After gaining the top and heading north at an intersection I stopped in one of the beautiful open “parks” or broad flat spots that elk, deer and other animals tend to gather. There I spotted four elk and watched them before they picked up my scent and thundered away into the woods. We hiked another two miles and camped over 10,000 feet after getting water at a snowmelt stream near the top of San Pedro Parks Wilderness.

After a 38 degree overnight we headed out on day two and descended quickly through a dense north facing stand of trees damaged heavily by beetle kill. Windfallen trees were everywhere and we were glad to be hiking downhill as we climbed over one after another. We made it 8+ miles down to a small seasonal creek and grabbed water and a break. After this I ascended fairly rapidly up a short climb and cruised through a long stand of lodgepole pine and douglas fir for six miles over relatively easy terrain. I crossed NM hwy 93 where a 3 mile climb began up Chaco canyon. Layers of different sandstone strata revealed itself as the climbing gained in steepness. It was mid afternoon and hot sun was burning down on me. I stopped every 20 minutes or so to drink and stand in shade for about a minute or two at a time. Near the top the climb was even steeper requiring me to pump my arms to keep in sync with my climbing legs – each step I thought, like a quad squat from some trendy new workout.

After topping out at Mesa del Camino, I headed toward Fuertes Spring and passed Isabella who seemed to be checking her water situation on the side of the trail. I waved as I passed and walked two miles to a beautiful spring trough where I ran into England, a hiker I’d met back in Pie Town who was taking a break. Sitting down for lunch I watched dozens of different birds come to drink water at the spring. As if reading my mind, England said, “If I knew anything about birds this would be a fantastic spot to watch them.” Small creatures of orange, yellow, green and blue stripes fluttered from the surrounding oak trees and dipped into or bathed their tiny heads in the trough and the puddles formed on the ground. About 25 minutes later Twisted arrived and joined our shady spot.

I started hiking again and after a short, steep climb up to Mesa Coral the trail followed some old dirt roads through an area that had fire damage. A fairly steep decent down multiple switchbacks led to a beautiful small stream in a sandy-bottomed wash. At a nice camp spot I saw Isabella once again, filtering water and I passed by her and England as I wound down hill towards the Chama river and alongside – but not actually in – the Chama Canyon Wilderness Area. This took the rest of the afternoon and I reached the river about 6pm. We’d thought there was a campground nearby but after checking further it was two miles west – the opposite direction. I gathered water and hung out at the other side of a bridge to wait for Twisted. Isabella passed and found camp, then England did the same. Once Twisted arrived we found a small flat spot near the river and after making our dinners it was getting dark. About the time we were ready to turn in, I heard Twisted say, “Nimbles,” and a bit caught off guard I saw the outline of his funny sun hat and his slender frame approach. He camped with us and said the rest of his group was likely hanging back a bit, camping earlier.

In the morning of day three, with about 12 miles to reach Ghost Town we headed off on the dirt and gravel road. More great views of the canyon led about 4-5 miles down the road when I decided to look at my map and found I’d missed a cut off. Twisted took the cut off which led him cross-country with no trail over a small hill and through some brushy terrain. I decided to stay on the dirt road which then led to a two mile highway walk. We were both headed towards the same spot and his shortcut brought him to the same spot I stopped at the exact same time… not much of a short cut! This alternate route we were taking then led us to go over a barrier of a closed USA Conservation Service Range Management Demonstration area. I’d never seen or heard of such a facility and it looked like the funding was pulled and the area abandoned. We clumsily found trail along a fence line which led to an old cable and wood slatted bridge which we crossed – and terrified Twisted a bit. I laughed as I took a short video with my phone of him crossing.

Nimbles caught up and we walked cross country again then to a road which led us to Ghost Ranch. Settled in the late 1700’s by the Archuletta brothers who smuggled cattle through streams, they liked the isolation in the deep, remote canyon. As the story goes, the land was then won in a poker game and the wife of the winner named the area Ghost Ranch and established more structures there around 1928 and the ranch was sold to Arthur Pack in 1935. Aging, he reached out to conservation groups, education centers, etc and the land was established for that purpose. Artist Georgia Okeefe was intrigued by this outreach as well and a portion of the land was sold to her, inspiring some of her artwork. The ranch is now a retreat and educational center run by a Presbyterian group. It’s a beautiful place to visit and rich with history. I’d recommend a visit!

We arrived at 10:30 am and had lunch in the cafeteria, [picked up our resupply boxes which we’d sent there, and hung out near the visitor center where we saw the rest of Nimble’s hiker group – they’d hitchhiked the dirt and highway roads to Ghost Ranch and beaten us there, obviously 😉 I worked on my blogs and planned on hiking out that day, but time ticked by. Eventually, Twisted and I wound up getting dinner in the cafeteria (beef stew with an awesome Hatch chile!), sharing a room with Nimble’s, 50, DB, and Constantine. Six hikers packed in a dorm style room… I didn’t sleep well and neither did Twisted. We would wind up skipping breakfast and hiking out the next day early…