CDT + GDT: Pagosa Springs to Lake City – Illness While Isolated in the San Juans

Resupply 8 | Pagosa Springs to Lake City

Day 30, 14.8 miles.

After we had breakfast at the hotel, we packed six days of food into our packs. Trace drove us back to trail. It was slow going with heavy packs, and now I’m using and carrying Slide’s old snowshoes which adds an extra four pounds. I didn’t weigh my pack but it must be close to 35 pounds. Since I weigh under 120 lbs, that’s pretty much my max carrying capacity. And I don’t have a hip belt so it’s all on my shoulders. Trudging in snowshoes uses similar muscle groups as ski touring and I was glad I did a little of that this winter. We were grateful for a day with less wind and more blue sky, but the melting creating a lot of mixed terrain and slush that took time to transition traction for, from snowshoes to microspikes and back. It’s stunning out here. I feel like I’ve walked across every kind of snow texture there is. We feel lucky to be the first people out here making tracks. It’s a huge privilege to be out here and to be so isolated in the wilderness. And I feel particularly lucky that the timing worked out where Slide and I can tackle this terrain together. I really expected to have to do this alone.

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Day 31, 14.7 miles.

Slide has started carrying my snowshoes because the shock cord I was using to attach the snowshoes to my pack wasn’t very secure. Even with that extra weight he still climbs faster than I do. But we both contribute something. He’s a stronger hiker and better navigator; I have more snow experience and am more comfortable finding a way up steep scrambles. We take turns leading and setting track. Together we hike faster than either of us could alone. Today we did a long walk on the ridgeline that marks the actual continental divide to avoid trying to kick steps into slush on exposed traverses. Sometimes it was very loose. I’m glad neither of us have a fear of heights. Repeatedly transitioning traction devices today in mixed terrain made progress slow. Towards the end of the day we put on and took off snowshoes maybe 8 times within a mile. Even with them on, we are postholing. We fight for each tenth mile in the snow. We both hike over 30 miles a day normally, with Slide averaging close to 40. But in snow we have to be content with 15 or 20 a day. The endless instability and constant decision-making around micro terrain takes a toll but the burden is better when shared. 

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Day 32, 8.6 miles.

We thought we’d try more of an alpine start today, but Slide woke up with some stomach issues so we slept in until 5:30. We were putting snowshoes on by 7am. We had a choice on the ridgewalk: bushwhack a steep traverse on the snow-free south side, or navigate between the edge of the cornice and an equally steep snowfield on the north side. Since the snow was holding we chose the north side. When the trail took a very exposed traverse, we went up to the ridge but the issue with off trail ridge walks is that looking at the topo, you never know if it’ll be easy walking or lots of sketchy class 3 scrambles. We had the latter today. They’re really fun to solve. Then we cut down the valley and took a break. Slide’s condition worsened and he was feverish, so we stopped for a 3 hr nap break while I caught up on editing work. I’m behind because every day is so exhausting. Once Slide’s fever broke, we climbed back to the ridge. It was my turn to lighten his load. I took back my snowshoes and carried his ice axe and water. We camped early, at 6pm, to give him a good chance of recovery overnight.

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Day 33, 23.4 miles.

Unfortunately Slide did not improve overnight. He was feverish again. Nothing is staying in his body and he has no energy. We think it’s norovirus. At this rate we’ll run out of food trying to get through this terrain. So I mapped out a low route that traded 40 miles in the snow on the CDT for alternate trails in the valleys and along dirt roads before crossing the CDT again at Stony Pass and bailing out to Silverton. We hadn’t planned to stop in Silverton but it seemed Slide needed a night in town. But at lower altitude hiking on dry trails, Slide improved and was keeping pace with me on the road. And a local driving by on a fishing trip gave Slide some ginger ale. It was really nice to hike on dry ground without having to think about each step and actually be able to dry out shoes and socks. And we were so excited for these outhouses! We’re hopeful Slide is through the worst of it. We are camping along the Rio Grande. We’ll decide tomorrow at Stony Pass if we continue on the CDT in snow to Lake City, or drop down to Silverton and take an easier route north on dirt roads. 

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Day 34, 19.5 miles.

Slide is back! He has an appetite again so we are continuing along the CDT in the snowy San Juans to Lake City. We did twelve miles on dirt climbing back up to the CDT. I set a pretty hard pace averaging over 3 mph on the 2500 foot climb and Slide wasn’t far behind me, which I was glad to see. It’s depressing seeing how our pace immediately drops in the snow. We try to connect patches of dirt wherever possible. Even when there are stretches of dirt, I walk slowly because I’m tired from the high energy expenditure in the snow. When I check my watch, we’ve gone one twentieth of a mile since the last time I checked. Sometimes just getting a short distance to the next stretch of dirt takes forever because of the constant postholing. Getting out of a hole that deep is like trying to get up from a single leg squat but with 25 pounds on your back. Imagine you’re trying to cross a street but you fall through several times at random and have to do a weighted single leg squat each time. It’s killer. We take turns setting track. When I’m leading I try to posthole deliberately so Slide doesn’t have to. Sometimes the whole slope seems to collapse with a big “whumpf” indicating major instability. We think we are the first two to try the CDT in the snow this year. We saw a day hiker or weekend hiker’s snowshoe tracks today and that was the first sign we saw of anyone else out here.

 

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Day 35, 21.7 miles into Lake City.

I cried on trail for the first time today. I’m surprised it took 35 days. I joked to Slide that he’s really my hiking partner now because all my past hiking partners have seen me cry at least once out of either frustration or joy. Today it was frustration. We had an earlier start today to try to make it into town for dinner. When it got slushy around noon, we did a descent where I picked a steeper line down than Slide did. I got my snowshoe very stuck and had to pull my foot free from my shoe and dig it out. Slide was too far below to realize how stuck I was, and it wasn’t worth asking him to come back up to help me, so I sat in the snow for twenty minutes digging myself out first with an ice axe, then with my tiny cathole trowel. When I finally got it out and put my foot back in my shoe, the snow had made it so cold it was painful. I limped down and finally collapsed into a ball on dry land and cried. Slide came to get me and put me in his sleeping bag to warm up while we had lunch. Sometimes you need a moment like that. We were finally able to make more than 20 miles on trail in Colorado today. We got a ride into Lake City with a member of the local church that supports hikers, had dinner, and cleaned our things. My body is pretty beat up. I’m so glad to be in a warm bed. We’ll be back in the snow tomorrow. 

xx

sticthes