Day 65: June 27, 2019
Destination: Cow Creek South Campground, Green Mountain Reservoir
Today’s Miles: 25.7
Start Location: Frisco
Trip Miles: 1044.1
I took my time in the morning, having some coffee in my hotel room. I didn’t hike out until 9:30, which is a late start for me.
My destination was Steamboat Springs, but it would take me a few days to get there. Lucky for me I could take bike and walking paths from Frisco to Silverthorne, and then partway out of Silverthorne before hitting the highway.
The rec paths that connect Frisco and Silverthorne (and the nearby town of Dillon) are really well done and go through some beautiful scenery. I walked past the Dillon reservoir and learned that it supplies 20% of Denver’s drinking water. Dillon is near Frisco and Silverthorne, so they are all interconnected. Apparently Dillon has moved a handful of times: twice when railroads were routed nearby and again when the reservoir was built. Anyway, I loved walking along on the pathway off of the road!
I walked into Silverthorne and grabbed an early lunch at Cafe Sunshine. It was fast and delicious. I sat at the counter – I just love diners! Afterward I hiked on and the bike path passed some outlet malls. Normally I can’t stand the strip mall look of shopping centers, but somehow Silverthorne even managed to make these look ok with architecture that complimented the natural surroundings.
The Silverthorne trail picked up once the rec path hit Silverthorne central and it followed the beautiful Blue River for a while. I stopped at a neighborhood park to use their bathroom and reapply sunscreen. Then I had to walk the busy highway 9, which meant it was podcast time.
The highway shoulder started out really wide, but gradually got narrower and narrower. In some places it was almost non-existent, so I had to be really careful as cars whizzed by. The carcasses of various unlucky fauna grinned at me with their contorted faces. “Hi Hungry Cat! Nice day to bloat in the sun isn’t it?” Their frozen gazes sometimes took me by surprise and I would jump back a little bit.
When I reached Green Mountain reservoir I walked along it for a while, looking for a place to stealth camp. Eventually I came upon an actual campground. It was almost 8 and the mosquitos were chewing me up, so I walked the quarter mile down a dirt road and set up camp in one of the empty slots.
Tomorrow I Pass through Kremmling. It’ll be interesting to see another small town before I get back to the CDT. I’m glad I had good weather today. Time for lights out!
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