Day 54-56 Deeper Into Colorado

Day 54 June 23rd Twin Lakes is Pretty Cool

As far as trail towns go, I really just want to get some good grub, get a little resupply, find a shower, and do some laundry. Twin lakes didn’t offer the last two, at least not without a hotel room, but the others were well covered for a town of 33 people.

• It’s a very picturesque town with two mountain lakes surrounded by beautiful mountains. I got into town about 11:00 after 12 or so miles of hiking. I bought a four pack of cider, the alcoholic kind, ordered a pizza and met a guy named Tom from the UK. He’s also thru hiking, but somehow I hasn’t found a trail name that sticks. Pizza was above average, the cider was almost cold, but tasted great.  The pizza was washed down with a large order of potatoes sliced really thin covered in nacho cheese and pulled pork. I have to remind myself to order vegetables when I’m in town.

I hung out for a few hours to charge my devices, drink the rest of my cider, talk to the wife, and get to know some of the other hikers. Many told stories of the red line, which is the real CDT, covered in snow, very sketchy and sounded dangerous. Some had pretty nasty looking battle scars. Some said they we’re glad they did it but it was sort of like talking to somebody who had been through ranger school. Sure you’re glad you did it but you wonder how close to death you were.

Either way it looks like the path ahead is pretty clear at least for a while. I should be able to make Breckenridge Colorado by Monday. Hopefully I’ll get a spot in one of the hostels, get cleaned up, and do some laundry.

It was really good to be back on the CDT. It wasn’t a huge mileage day but it was still around 18 even with the long stop in town.

Day 55 June 24th We’re still Talking About Snow

I tried to push it a little bit today and went 26 mi. I know I’ve done a couple of thirties but with the ups and downs of Colorado the tougher terrain and yes still snow, I feel pretty good about getting in 26. My legs on the other hand are feeling it.

I’m going to aim for a few less miles tomorrow and it looks like the ups and downs will be a little bit less but, there is supposed to be a bigger stretch of snow. We’ll see how it looks given that the information I have is a week old and the last week has been fairly warm.

Lots of hikers on the trail today. I started near a couple of trails that led to the top of 14,000 ft peaks. I guess that’s the thing you do in Colorado is hike up to the top of them. Because I’ve never seen so many hikers at 6:30 in the morning all asking if I’ve already come from the top. I just mumbled in response and kept moving. Those peaks are not the trail.

More good news is that it is now mosquito season. They seem to scram away once the sun goes down and it cools off a little bit but they’re definitely out. I’m glad I sprayed down all my gear with permethrin and I have a little bit of DEET I carry with me. I can handle mosquitoes. Biting flies on the other hand.

I hope to be in Breckenridge on Monday. I have a nice hostile booked downtown and I’m looking forward to grabbing some good food and most of all taking a shower and washing my dirty stinky clothes. If I was more than one week removed from a week off I’d strongly consider a zero. Breckenridge has a lot to do, but I guess I’ll have to save that for some other time.

New tent

The new tent is working out well. It hasn’t been rained on yet but the condensation or lack of condensation is a significant upgrade. It is a bit cooler than my last tent but I’m okay with that since I usually sleep pretty warm and actually wearing pajamas is easier way to keep my pad and sleeping bag clean.

Day 56 June 25th Lots of Snow but Still Fun

I made my way from just south of Tennessee pass up to Kokomo pass and then down towards the town of Copper Mountain. I’ll be in Copper Mountain early in the morning, hopefully the first one in line at Starbucks.

Today was what I hope everyday in Colorado is like. The weather was perfect the sun was shining, there were tough climbs, but there was incredible views all over the place.

There was one small patch of somewhat sketchy snow but I put on my micro spikes and use my hiking poles and felt really safe. There was still plenty of other snow that I just sort of walked around or walked through. Some post-holing but I was able to avoid most of it.

Significantly less tourists and hikers today, but still quite a bit. It’s funny because in New Mexico I think I saw maybe 20 people who were hiking. Colorado I’ve seen hundreds already.

After walking through copper Mountain tomorrow I’ll head into Breckenridge. There’s one very good climb before getting into town and hopefully I can pull ito off and arrive at the hostel by 4.

Successes

• 7 days without a shower or laundry
• New tent works well and it goes up and down pretty quickly
• I’m back on the red line (primary CDT route)