Day 42 – The Moose Ball Miss
Day miles: 21.3
Trip miles: 794.9
In Lake City I stayed at a place called Raven’s Rest Hostel. It had only been open for a few days this season, so I was lucky to have it as an option. Colorado is a bit pricey, so even though a bunk in the hostel was $40, it was less than half the cost of a hotel. It had a full kitchen, a big eating table, couch, books, games, and 3 showers and two bathrooms. It was pretty awesome.
The owner of the hostel, an Irish guy named Lucky from south Dublin, stopped by in the evening to see how we were doing and collect payment. We chatted with him for a while and learned the whole story of how he had met his wife hiking the CDT a long time ago, how they had gotten married after just a few days and stayed married for many years. They had three kids and later got divorced, but were now back together again. It was a fascinating story. That’s how Lucky ended up in Lake City. He now runs a great hostel in addition to his normal business.
It was fun talking with him. He had just the right personality to run a hostel well. When he left, I stayed up late posting my backlog of CDT journals. I got hungry again at 10:30PM, so I raided my food bag for a Zero bar. Lately, Zero candy bars have been a craving of mine. I have no idea why.
It was nice to sleep in the hostel bed. I slept well and woke up about 6:45AM. I had one mission (other than to hike out): to try Beggin’ for Bagels’ moose balls. Towelie had planted the seed in my mind that I had to try them, saying they were the best pastry on the divide. Google maps said Beggin’ for Bagels opened at 7AM, so so I got up, threw on my clothes, and walked over. The door has a sign that said open at 8AM. Hmmmm….
I walked back to the hostel and ate my oatmeal packets – boring! I had a cup of instant coffee and organized my gear. Sour Patch got up, and when 8AM finally came we both scurried over to the bagel place.
We arrived as they were opening up. At the counter, I asked for moose balls, but was then informed that they never have any until at least nine! Nooooooo! I wanted to get an earlier start on the day, so rather than continue waiting, I had a coffee and a bagel sandwich. The sandwich was actually pretty good.
We returned to the hostel after eating and said our “see you down the trails.” Sour Patch would wait behind for a new air mattress. But who knows – I hoped I would see him down the way.
I headed out to hitch to the pass, roughly 15 to 20 miles away. Road crews were replacing the asphalt, blocking one lane in town. I decided to walk to the outskirts of town and hitch there, figuring it might be easier to get a ride away from the construction. It wasn’t.
What I didn’t think about was the crew had a “pilot” car guiding strings of cars though since only one lane was open. Vehicles really couldn’t stop under those circumstances.
After about an hour, I walked back past the construction zone and stopped in front of the hostel. This was where cars were forced to stop and wait. Surely I could get a hitch here! But I didn’t. I finally texted the number of a trail angel from FarOut. She was in the neighboring town of Gunnison, but recommended I speak with a guy named Michael who ran an art gallery across the street.
Michael gave me a ride up to the pass for $15 bucks. He was a nice guy, but at the time was ticked off that the town council had vetoed a mural his friend was going to paint on the outside of his studio. I get it – that sucks!
We talked about this and that, and I learned that Michael was actually from North Carolina. Small world! If you’re ever in Lake City, check out his gallery – he had some really nice photos inside.
Michael dropped me off at Spring Creek Pass, and I picked up where I left off, marching north.
The climb out of the gap was about 1,000 feet. After that, though, I entered this high elevation, tundra-like terrain. It was just grass, no trees or shrubs, and if I turned around I had a nice view of the tops of the San Juans.
I walked across this “tableland” for a while, and the started climbing up again. I had a few peaks closer to 13,000 feet to climb. While I had started at the pass around 11:45AM, my goal today was to hike at least 20 miles. That would get me down below 12,000 feet in elevation. I knew stormy weather was supposed to move in over the next few days and I wanted to make sure I could find places to camp that had decent wind cover.
It ended up being a beautiful day of hiking. I had some cloud cover, and despite a few brutally steep climbs, the views and scenery were spectacular. A few dark clouds showed up, but I didn’t see a drop of rain.
My mileage goal was almost complete when I crossed San Luis Pass. It is the saddle that leads up to Mt. San Luis summit. I did not climb San Luis, but Michael told me it is over 14,000 feet.
Once I dropped over the San Luis saddle, I just kept going down and down. I finally stopped hiking around 7:45PM. I found a nice quiet campsite in the valley. I saw a few mule deer hop away as I set up my tent. Earlier in the day, a curious marmot had stayed fairly close to me and stared while I took its picture. It was a good animal day!
I pitched my tent, marveling at how nice it was to have a day without rain. I am hoping the weather will at least hold for most of the day tomorrow. I have a long walk through this valley, so at least I have some cover from the wind. I was grateful for the weather and scenery I had today, and I’m hoping I might see more wildlife tomorrow – maybe even a moose!
Day 43 – The Long Valley Walk
Day miles: 28.6
Trip miles: 823.5
I didn’t think about my campsite before I went to bed last night. I camped in a valley, in a grassy meadow, in front of a stream…. That’s basically a recipe for mega condensation in a tent. I wasn’t going to walk farther, and even if I did, I probably would have ended up in a similar place. Nevertheless, I woke up to a very damp quilt and frozen condensation on the inside of my tent wall.
I stayed in my tent for a bit as the sun rose. Sunrise was a beautiful pink-orange (pictured above) this morning. I made myself a coffee, something I don’t often do in the morning, but have been wanting lately. It was my last one.
After breakfast, I swabbed down the inside of my tent with my handkerchief to try and get the ice out. It was cloudy outside, but not raining, so I strapped my wet tent to the back of my pack and headed down the trail.
After passing San Luis Peak yesterday, I had crossed over the saddle there and dropped down into this valley. I spent the majority of the day walking in the valley, and then on dirt Jeep roads.
I saw a few deer in the morning, as well as some curious chipmunks. It was nice to hear the sounds of birds and flowing water again. I was back in the 9K to 10K elevation range for the most part, so it felt like a different world than the San Juans. Speaking of, I guess I am out of the San Juans now. I am not sure where they actually end, but it is clear that I am out!
The valley slowly changed, transitioning from incredibly lush to a bit dryer towards the end. I ran into a hiker named Tinker. I believe he said he was 75! He is thru-hiking the CDT. I get really inspired when I see older people still so physically active, still pursuing big goals and dreams. I hope I will be like that when I am older.
The trail transitioned to dirt roads and I met another thru-hiker named Blast. I saw a few Colorado Trail hikers traveling southbound on their way to Durango. The CDT and CT share a footpath for quite a while in Colorado.
It was grey and overcast all day, but only sprinkled lightly here and there. It was kind of a nice change of pace with the weather. I stopped for lunch and laid out my tent and quilt to dry.
The day was relatively uneventful, but the hiking was fairly easy so I just enjoyed the valley and cruised on ahead. My hiker hunger has definitely kicked in. I think about food a lot. I packed some extra for this section and I am already negotiating with myself as to what I can have and when.
Hopefully the weather will be ok tomorrow, but I think it is supposed to rain. I was grateful (and surprised) that it didn’t rain more today, and happy to have a bit easier trail for a day. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!
Day 44 – The Lucys
Day miles: 28.3
Trip miles: 851.8
Last night I camped at the top of a hill in a Ponderosa pine forest. It rained softly for a short time before bed, but otherwise was clear. I was much happier with my choice of campsites yesterday, because when I woke up this morning I had very little condensation on my tent and sleeping bag. Yay!
I woke up hungry and ate 3 oatmeal packets and a honey bun for breakfast. I could have eaten my entire food bag. Self control is hard sometimes.
The morning hiking was nice. At first I headed down the mountain to cross a state highway. The sky was overcast, but not in a threatening way.
As late morning approached, the hiking intensified. It started with getting up and over Lujan Pass. The climb had some switchbacks, but still was tiring. After that, the trail stayed up at elevation but proceeded to go up and down, up and down, with some of the climbs being quite steep. It reminded me of the section of the Benton MacKaye Trail near the halfway point, or the Roller Coaster section on the AT. It wore me out!
I took a lunch break by a stream around 12:30. There was a nice log to sit on. A curious chipmunk brazenly came over to check me out, then went about finding things to eat in the meadow. I had been seeing a lot of chipmunks, but it felt like today they were everywhere.
They poked their heads out of holes lining the trail, ran all over the place, and most of all, tried to avoid dropping whatever it is they were eating. They were always eating something.
I have a really soft spot for chipmunks. On my AT thru-hike I started calling them Lucys because they reminded me of our cat (named Lucy). While she has since passed, I spent the day talking to the chipmunks that came near me. “Hi Lucy!” I would say. I like to think that maybe Lucy’s spirit is in them somewhere; maybe it’s her way of saying hi to me.
There were so many Lucys running around that I almost stepped on a big fat one that was slow to get off the trail. I also saw a lot of very small prairie dogs. I wonder if they get along with the chipmunks…. Or maybe it’s a Capulets and Montagues situation. Maybe Romeo the Chipmunk and Juliet the Prairie Dog share a love doomed by the divide between species. “Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?! Deny thy father and refuse thy breed!”
“In the dirt hole yonder am I! ‘Tis the base of a ponderosa, and Juliet is the nut.” Or so I imagine it going.
I was dragging when I sat down to lunch. I ate more food than usual and felt a lot better. I have lost a lot of weight. I have not weighed myself, but I know I need to gorge on town food at my next stop.
I felt strong during the afternoon. I passed a hiker named Spurs (after the basketball team – he was wearing a jersey), and about 10 minutes later a thunderstorm kicked up. It rained for a few hours, but only lightly.
I just kept hiking along through the sprinkles. I didn’t have much for views all day, but at one point the trail opened up into a meadow with huge mountains in the background. It was beautiful; I wondered which mountain range I was looking at.
I kept hiking into the evening. The rain had stopped, so I just kept walking. I stopped at a stream to grab some water, then started up a climb that I knew I would continue in the morning.
When I got to a small plateau area, I picked a flat spot beneath some ponderosa pines and pitched my tent. Within 30 minutes, another storm blew over. The wind picked up and blew rain against the walls of my tent. I was happily inside, eating food and making dinner!
The storm passed after about 30 minutes and the evening calmed down. I was grateful that I didn’t get completely soaked today, and I had fun watching the Lucys and admiring the hardy aspen groves.
Tomorrow I should reach Monarch Pass. Most hikers hitch to Salida from there, but I mailed a resupply box from Chama to a lodge about another 10 miles north down the trail. I plan to stop at the store at Monarch Pass for some snacks, but then push to camp near the turn-off for the lodge. I want to roll in there early the next day for a big breakfast! On that note, it’s time for bed.
Day 45 – The Soaking and The Satiation
Day miles: 24.5
Trip miles: 876.3
My camp spot served me well. Despite the rain, I had little dampness left in my tent when I awoke. Last night I thought I heard a moose or something run by my tent. I saw the motion out of the corner of my eye through the tent flap. That mystery would later be revealed.
It was cold in the morning, so I snoozed my 5AM alarm and finally got up and moving at 5:25. I have to set an alarm, otherwise I would sleep in and never get my miles in. Honestly, I should be getting going earlier as the weather is almost always better in the morning. Afternoon storms are the norm in Colorado. But, this morning was like most. I usually get hiking around 6:30AM after the sun is already up.
I had a lot of climbing to do in the morning, which was fine since I was cold. I wore my rain jacket and gloves to stay just warm enough. A puffy would have been nice…for about 15 minutes and then I would have had to take it off. After about a mile, I passed a green tent and wondered who it was. Could be a Colorado Trail hiker, could be a CDTer – who knows? I thought I saw one pair of fresh tracks in front of me towards the end of the day. I’m starting to run into more hikers who paused their hikes when they got to the San Juans due to snow, and have now come back.
I kept climbing in a largely forested scene. I would get up to about 12,000 feet today, and then undulate up and down until arriving at Monarch Pass. It was about 21 miles away, it I hoped to make it there by 3:30PM. There is a store there that sells hot food – I had my eye on the prize.
I was also fairly sure I sent my resupply box from Chama to the Monarch Mountain Lodge, another 10 miles north from the pass. However, I couldn’t remember and there was a small piece of me that thought I might have sent it to the Monarch Crest Store at the pass. Therefore, I also wanted to ask them about the package, just in case.
As I hiked along, I came upon a couple of mountain bikers on the CDT/CT (still merged with the Colorado Trail). I had forgotten about this. In Colorado the trails are mixed use in many places, so it is common to have mountain bikers whipping by. I told myself I needed to keep an eye out for them. Some people get frustrated by this, but I’m cool with it. They’re just enjoying the trail in their own way, and I’ve never had an instance where they mowed me down or anything. I honestly find it impressive that they can bike some of these sections! I’d just tip over and walk the bike.
I cruised along and it was a beautiful day. Plenty of sunshine was indeed headed my way, along with a healthy build up of cumulonimbus clusters. My oh my what a wonderful day! For now….
I’m getting better at reading the clouds in Colorado. I can see the buildup of rain clouds. It often happens while the sky is still blue and the sun is shining. I get lulled into zippity doo da’ing down the trail, and then at some point, I look around, and it’s like the Grinch is now present in the sky. He’s not ready to steal your roast beast just yet; he wants to sweat you out for a bit. So he hangs around in cloud form, building and building, becoming a nice dark shade of gray and extending himself down towards the tops of nearby mountains. And then, he just hangs there.
I saw one of these Grinch clouds forming. I couldn’t tell which way it was moving though. Anyway, what can I do? I need to make miles or I’ll never get to Canada. So, I kept hiking on.
Bikers zoomed about. At one point I was on a path that dirt bike riders were using as well. That was a little less pleasant than mountain bikes, just because they were loud and left a trail of smoke. It looked kind of hard, like it would be easy to have a bad crash if they hit a rock funny. But these guys had full body armor on, so I guess they were prepared.
I stopped for an early lunch at 11AM and ate my last steak roll with peanut butter. I packed out some random rolls from Lake City just to mix it up. After that, I had a bigger climb to get up to 12,000 feet, and ultimate take what is known as the Collegiate West route into Monarch Pass, about 9 miles from my lunch spot.
The Collegiate Peaks go up almost to Twin Lakes, I think (I could be wrong about that). The Colorado Trail splits off from the CDT and follows the Collegiate East route, which is lower elevation. The CDT follows the Collegiate West route, which is higher elevation. In 2019, in an attempt to avoid the snow, I picked up the Collegiate East Colorado Trail route out of Salida just east of Monarch Pass. It starts, however, south of Monarch Pass where the two trails split.
Let’s park that little tidbit for a minute. I was hiking along, climbing and casting stink eye glances at the Grinch floating in the sky. It is often quite pretty right before a storm. I pulled out my camera and took some photos and videos of the scene. As I was finishing up the shot, a hiker came up behind me. I could tell he was a CDT thru-hiker.
Unfortunately I forgot his trail name, but he started on May 24! He skipped the Cuba to Chama section of trail due to fire closure, but otherwise hiked all the way through. He must be doing some serious miles. Anyway, he was planning on getting to Monarch Pass in the afternoon as a friend from Boulder was picking him up for some time off trail. He was telling me that he was considering doing something called “Nolan’s Challenge,” which was basically a route that would take him up fourteen 14ers (mountains over 14,000 feet). I personally don’t have quite enough self loathing to attempt something like that! In all seriousness, I might be cool, but I’ve never been much of a peak bagger, and just the challenge of a thru-hike is enough for me. I applaud those who can layer in things like Nolan’s Challenge.
As we chatted, we walked. We didn’t make it far though before the Grinch blinked and the rain droplets started coming down. Once again I had managed to put myself in the position of climbing up to the highest, most exposed section of trail for the day just as a storm was deciding to bless the mountain with its bounty.
We both stopped to prepare for shelling. I put my camera away, donned my rain jacket, and slipped on my garbage bag rain skirt. Cause yeah, a garbage bag will really do the job…. It’s actually quite effective for what it is, but the Grinch clouds have a trick up their sleeve that cuts right to the bone no matter what you’re wearing (unless it’s a heavy rain parka): wind.
The hiker who shall remain nameless unless and until I remember his name peeled off and I never saw him again. I assume he may pass me at some point down the road after his zeroes. The rain died down quickly, and I felt silly for putting all my gear on. Perhaps the Grinch would allow Christmas after all.
Nope. I started to climb up past tree line, and all light fell away from the sky. I noticed the breeze pick up, as well as the rain again. At that point, I knew it was coming. I went through this in the San Juans before Lake City, so I knew I needed to move as fast as possible to both stay warm and make my way over the exposed ridge swiftly. I heard a few thunder claps, but saw no lightning. Then the wind picked up and the rain fell harder. I was officially getting soaked.
I passed a group of backpackers with enormous packs. I guessed they were out for a long weekend. I bet they wished they stopped or started early! Like a pro, I cut off the switchback they were hiking on and beelined cross country to meet the trail after its bend. No need for any extra distance in these conditions!
I saw a couple up in front of me start to run. I was near a parking area, so I assumed this was a popular spot to hike and backpack. They ducked off the trail and were huddled under a tree. I passed them like some superhero gone wrong – a real Hancock. I was just a blur of wet hiker and garbage bag flailing down the trail as fast as I could without running. There was no glory, only survival.
I reached the junction where the CDT and CT split off on the two different aforementioned Collegiate routes. I took the CDT because I was not sure if the Collegiate East crossed over Monarch Pass. I suspected it crossed the road farther east because I knew I picked up the CT east of the pass on 2019 to head north. I have the Colorado Trail FarOut map on my phone, but my hands were too wet and cold to get my phone to respond, and it being in a ziplock bag didn’t help. I knew it was going to be brutal since the storm was blowing in from the west, but I bit the bullet and headed down the CDT.
As expected, it was brutal. The wind was merciless, and my rain jacket soaked through in minutes. I just had to move as fast as possible to stay warm enough to prevent hypothermia. I hiked like a monster, tucking my freezing hands inside my rain jacket and moving forward with the full force of my little Irish legs. My knees were pink from the wind, though ironically being in shorts didn’t bother me. It’s always my core I have to watch. I was cold, but I knew I wasn’t too cold yet.
Every ridge I went around dashed my hopes of tree cover from the wind. Fortunately the thunder had stopped, but the Grinch was smiling down and blowing his gusty wind on me. “Why can’t this just all go to New Mexico?” I wondered. They definitely need the rain. But the great Colorado Grinch of the sky doesn’t share. Oh no – he hordes.
I became situationally religious, trying my best to suggest to some god in the sky that if only he could take the wind out of the equation, I would really appreciate it. But we all know how that goes. I just kept going.
I reasoned that from the time the first drops started falling, I probably had about 6 miles to the pass. I could do 6 miles in this. And I did.
Eventually I got to where there was intermittent tree cover. Then, when I was 1.5 miles from the pass, it stopped and the sun came out. I was utterly soaked. I knew I needed that sun, but I also knew it was going to take me a while to shed the deep chill that had set in.
Perhaps the sun was the universe’s way of answering my feeble, completely self-serving prayers. “Ok dude, cut the BS. I know what you want and why. There’s no altruism there, but hey, I’m also not gonna let you freeze on a mountain so here’s some sun. Jackass.” I’ll take it. My IOU to the universe is so deep now that I’ll have to chain gang it if there’s an afterlife, but kick the can right?
I had to pee suddenly as I warmed up a little. I was about half a mile from the pass, but I could wait. The challenge of peeing with a rain skirt is, how does one best “exit.” The skirt ticks into the waist bad of my shorts, which is under my jacket and under my hip belt, and all soaking wet. So, what I do, since I wear shorts with a liner, is just hike up the rain skirt and one leg and owe out the leg of the shorts. Other than a little dancing around, it works great.
This time, however, I couldn’t feel my fingers. Let’s just say that the stars were not aligned, so instead of a clean downstream exit, I peed all over myself. First my pants, and then my leg as I tried desperately to get my fingers to work and take hold of the situation. You’d think I would be disgusted with myself, but my first thought was, “Wow, that was pleasantly warm.”
I hiked my multiple fluid-soaked self to the pass, set my stuff down outside and got organized to go in. I put my puffy jacket on over my wet shirt for warmth. The store employees were really nice and directed me to a place where I could set my pack down. I did so, then inquired about my resupply box. They did not have it, so I knew I had sent it to the Lodge down the trail.
I washed my hands in the bathroom, the. Immediately went to the concession and ordered a hot coffee, a sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich, and a soft pretzel with cheese. I sat and ate and got warm, allowing life to slowly make its way back into my synapses. I then doubled down and ordered another sandwich, refilled my coffee, ate an ice cream bar, drank a spicy V8, and bought a variety of snacks for the next leg of my hike, just in case my resupply box wasn’t quite enough to keep up with my hunger.
Meanwhile, customers came and went low busy bees. This was clearly a heavily-traveled road trip corridor. People were buying all kinds of Colorado souvenirs. I sat and watched like a stinky, dirty, zombie.
The store was really a godsend. I was able to get warm and dry out. I filled my belly and met a thru-hiker from Slovenia, who was headed into Salida. It was so nice to be able to relax there.
I waited around until about 5:30PM, watching the clouds outside and trying to see what they would do. I went to the bathroom to slip on a base layer under my hiking shirt and noticed a huge tear down the back of my shirt along the arm. Jeez – I really looked like a bum now! I will have to see if I can sew my shirt together at the Lodge tomorrow. I may need to just get a new one.
I finally headed out, ready for more rain, but it held off. I climbed up into a ski area, complete with lifts and weird, intimidating names for the ski runs. Looking at the mapX I still had 7 miles to get to a place where I could camp 1.6 miles from the Lodge. It was already almost 7PM. I knew everything in front of me would be fairly exposed, and I could see a Grinch cloud in the distance, being coy about which way it was blowing. No way – it wasn’t worth pushing on. I found a spot with some wind cover in the trees and made camp.
For the first time ever, I didn’t cook my dinner! I had had enough to eat, planning to hike farther than I did. Instead, I ate some birthday cake flavor Hostess Cupcakes. They were surprisingly satisfying, but not as good as the original.
Tomorrow I’ll get up early and walk the ridge, then hike a road 1.6 miles to the lodge to get my box. They have a deal where hikers can pay $20 and use the hot tub and other facilities. This includes access to coin laundry, but doesn’t cover the cost, so I’ll see how I feel when I’m there. I may just dirt bag it another week and change until I get to Breckinridge (likely stop) and do all my cleaning up there.
I was grateful to survive the soaking today and for the Monarch Crest Store where I could warm up and satiate my hunger. Hopefully the weather will be a tad better tomorrow, but it will be what it will be and I’ll deal with it. I’m looking forward to breakfast at the Lodge’s restaurant!
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