It's impossible to sum up the last couple of week's adventures in Colorado in a blog post. So I will just say that I believe I have met my "Colorado Adventure Threshold." The road walking begins now, and I will most likely stick to roads for the next 80 miles or so from South Fork, Colorado to Chama, New Mexico, and pick up the trail there. The reason is that snow and frigid temperatures on the Divide have made hiking down right dangerous in my opinion.
I'm flying solo once again. Relationships on long trails can be fleeting, and one has to simply be OK with how they take their course and try to hold no grudges. Everyone has their own hike to hike I guess, and that's just the way it is.
Last week felt like a climatic moment on the CDT for me. Captain and I experienced one of the most grueling and challenging days of hiking I can recall: An exposed, seven and a half mile trek just below, and then over the Divide to San Luis Pass through snow ranging in depth from 6 inches to probably 2 feet. It took all day to reach the pass, and snow fell throughout the day. I felt foolish at times wearing only my trail runners with gaping holes on the sides (from wear and tear), with zip lock bags over my socks to keep off the snow, and no ice axe. Breaks only lasted a few minutes as a frigid wind was persistent all day. I have never been so nervous about a day of hiking in my life. Captain and I divided up the day into seven phases. "To Creede!" was our mantra throughout the week and especially throughout the day, with an extra "To Creede with good decisions, somehow, someway," added to the end. When we reached San Luis Pass, we were both relieved and ecstatic. We had confronted and defeated our worst fears, and our continuous hike could move forward. It was an honor to hike with Captain. Walking into Creede and skipping the San Juans was a "no brainer" decision for me.
For now it's on to New Mexico. I will try my best to soak in this final month along the CDT. Thanks for reading and happy trails to all...
Friday, October 18, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
CDT Progress Update - 10/16
Flyboxer arrived yesterday in the small mountain town of Creede, CO. With cold fingers he texted that the last week has been snowy with some of the coldest camping he's ever done. The weather forecasts over the last week showed temps in the teens at night, and 30's during the day. Things should warm up a bit this week as he hikes with his small band of CDT diehards toward Pagosa Springs, CO.
View Mark's CDT Hike - 2013 in a larger map
View Mark's CDT Hike - 2013 in a larger map
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Buena Vista to Salida, CO: CDT 2013
Finally made it to Salida, CO after getting snowed off the Divide a few days ago. Captain, Manparty, Lush, and I decided to take a couple days off in Buena Vista to let the weather pass. Incredibly, a lot of the snow melted by the time we returned to the trail, and the passes we were worried about ended up being a piece of cake. We also met SLAM and Sparrow on the trail a couple days ago, so our hiking party grew to six.
Nights have been extremely cold as of late, but the last few days have been warm and pleasant. Captain went to the doctor today in Salida since he has not been feeling well the last couple of weeks. Turns out, he has giardia, and has been given a prescription to deal with the symptoms. There is also more snow in the forecast in the next couple of days. We will have to decide how we want to finish hiking Colorado. The San Juan's may be out of the question at this point, but we still have a few days to decide our route.
Nights have been extremely cold as of late, but the last few days have been warm and pleasant. Captain went to the doctor today in Salida since he has not been feeling well the last couple of weeks. Turns out, he has giardia, and has been given a prescription to deal with the symptoms. There is also more snow in the forecast in the next couple of days. We will have to decide how we want to finish hiking Colorado. The San Juan's may be out of the question at this point, but we still have a few days to decide our route.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Breckenridge CO to Buena Vista: CDT 2013
"Aren't you a little late?"
This is the number one question that followed Indie and I up the Pacific Crest Trail in 2010 and the number one question that seems to be following Manparty, Lush, Captain, and I down the CDT this year. It has been asked by fellow thru hikers, day hikers, mountain bikers, business owners, and curious passers by. Granted, we are the last southbound hikers on trail this year, in front of only one other solo southbounder named Columbus.
I'd say we are right where we want to be. The aspens and the recently fallen snow have made for a visual feast as of late. The snow has created challenges unthinkable a couple weeks ago. Every mountain has become a sort of "right of passage." I didn't understand the infatuation some people have with aspen trees until this week. The combination of blue sky, cool breeze, golden yellow leaves, mixed with orange and lime green, with snow covered peaks in the background has been almost too much to take in. For any nature lover, I'd recommend visiting a Colorado aspen grove in October on your bucket list.
This is the number one question that followed Indie and I up the Pacific Crest Trail in 2010 and the number one question that seems to be following Manparty, Lush, Captain, and I down the CDT this year. It has been asked by fellow thru hikers, day hikers, mountain bikers, business owners, and curious passers by. Granted, we are the last southbound hikers on trail this year, in front of only one other solo southbounder named Columbus.
I'd say we are right where we want to be. The aspens and the recently fallen snow have made for a visual feast as of late. The snow has created challenges unthinkable a couple weeks ago. Every mountain has become a sort of "right of passage." I didn't understand the infatuation some people have with aspen trees until this week. The combination of blue sky, cool breeze, golden yellow leaves, mixed with orange and lime green, with snow covered peaks in the background has been almost too much to take in. For any nature lover, I'd recommend visiting a Colorado aspen grove in October on your bucket list.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
CDT Progress Update - 9/30
Flyboxer texted from Leadville, CO, home of the famous Leadville 100 ultramarathon. He expects to be in Salida in 5-6 days.
View Mark's CDT Hike - 2013 in a larger map
View Mark's CDT Hike - 2013 in a larger map
Friday, September 27, 2013
Grand Lake Colorado to Breckenridge: CDT 2013
I was hiking with Manparty, Lush, and Captain. We had tentatively adopted the name of "Team Mountain Turtle," due to our habit of literally crawling up mountainsides from time to time. We had just passed the highway that leads into the town of Winter Park Colorado. It was probably one of the brightest, cloud free days of the entire hike. The countryside shimmered under the bright light and warm air. This was the Colorado that I remembered and loved. We had a goal to reach Herman Gulch along highway 70 by 10:00 the following morning. Lush had invited Captain and I to join her and Manparty at her friend's house in Glenwood Springs for the weekend. We had many more miles to hike to reach our destination. Most of those miles would also be above tree line along the Divide. It was an ambitious goal, one that would require a long night hike, but definitely doable. We all accepted the challenge.
Just as the sun was setting, we decided a route that would cut several miles off the official CDT, but would be a steep alternate just before a mountain called Vasquez Peak. The first peak of the "short cut" looked particularly daunting, jutting straight up in the air for the last 50 feet or so. We wanted to get up and over it before dark. We took a short break just below the peak on a saddle, snacked up, and were ready to go.
Team Mountain Turtle began crawling up the mountain side in typical slow motion like fashion. After a few minutes, a beautiful full moon rose over the horizon behind us. We tried our best to follow the cairns to the top, although there only seemed to be a few. It appeared that we would have to ultimately pick the best route on our own. Everything went smoothly until the last 50 feet.
Manparty led the way and found a route over some huge boulders on the left side of the mountain.
"I wouldn't advise this route," Manparty yelled from above. "It's really sketchy!"
Captain took a route along the right side of the mountain. Not hearing Manparty's advice from above, Captain chimed in,
"This route is really sketchy! You might be able to make it if you take your packs off. My feet are dangling over the abyss at the moment!"
It was dark and a feeling of fear shot through my body. It was extremely steep where Lush and I were standing and from the sounds of it, none of the routes were ideal. I attempted to take a route straight up and over. As I climbed over a few huge boulders, there were several other boulders sticking out towards me at an angle which gave me the sensation that they were trying to push me backwards off the mountain. Since it was so steep, it made me really nervous.
"Lush, I don't think this is an option either," I yelled down. "The rocks seem to want to push me backwards!"
I climbed down and could tell Lush was now also nervous. We decided to head to left and do our best to take Manparty's route. Dangling my legs over the abyss did not sound at all appealing.
Once we reached the left side of the mountain, it did not look so bad. Manparty yelled down to us,
"Try to stay as far left as you can, and don't take the path that has all the loose rocks and scree!"
For me, it was too late, I had already committed to the route Manparty had just warned us against. Lush followed the directions and was soon on the summit in no time. I quickly found myself stuck. The mountain seemed so steep, and in the dark, it appeared that if I lost my footing, I would fall backwards into the dark. I couldn't move and noticed that all the rocks that I grabbed quickly broke off in my hands. A shiver of terror soon took hold.
"Throw up your hiking sticks as far as you can and climb towards them!" Manparty yelled form above.
I followed his instructions and literally had one more box sized rock to grab a hold of. I said a quick prayer and held my breath as I put all of my weight on the only rock available. Thankfully, the rock held, and I quickly scrambled up to the top where Manparty, Captain, and Lush were waiting. We made it back to the Divide!
The rest of the night felt pretty surreal. We had several peaks to climb and descend throughout the night, thankfully none as challenging as the first. We turned our headlamps off and walked in the soft light of the moon. Pieces of quarts rock sparkled like glitter in several places along the trail in the dark. We walked along the Divide in quiet contemplation.
By 2:00 am, we reached Jones Pass, about 10 miles from highway 70. We would have to be hiking by 6:00 am in order to make it in time to meet Lush's friend at Herman Gulch. It was extremely windy and cold. I barely slept as my sleep was interrupted by wind gusts smashing into my loose tarp, and dreams of taking erroneous steps on steep boulder fields and falling.
We were hiking by 6:00 am. The miles clicked by like clockwork. Before we knew it, we were standing in the parking area at Herman Gulch along highway 70 at 10:00 am on the dot. Mission accomplished. It was sunny and warm, and the four of us soaked in the sun while we awaited Lush's friend to arrive. We spent a fantastic weekend relaxing in Glenwood Springs. On Sunday, a storm arrived. Local news was reporting snow in the mountains. One reporter was standing along the highway in Herman Gulch and we watched as snowflakes fell all around the reporter. Monday morning, we received a ride back to the Divide with Lush's friend's boyfriend. There was snow all over the peaks above 9,000 feet. As I looked out the car window at all of the snow I received a text from Raffle, who was several days ahead in Leadville. It read:
The hour of reckoning is upon us!
Just as the sun was setting, we decided a route that would cut several miles off the official CDT, but would be a steep alternate just before a mountain called Vasquez Peak. The first peak of the "short cut" looked particularly daunting, jutting straight up in the air for the last 50 feet or so. We wanted to get up and over it before dark. We took a short break just below the peak on a saddle, snacked up, and were ready to go.
Team Mountain Turtle began crawling up the mountain side in typical slow motion like fashion. After a few minutes, a beautiful full moon rose over the horizon behind us. We tried our best to follow the cairns to the top, although there only seemed to be a few. It appeared that we would have to ultimately pick the best route on our own. Everything went smoothly until the last 50 feet.
Manparty led the way and found a route over some huge boulders on the left side of the mountain.
"I wouldn't advise this route," Manparty yelled from above. "It's really sketchy!"
Captain took a route along the right side of the mountain. Not hearing Manparty's advice from above, Captain chimed in,
"This route is really sketchy! You might be able to make it if you take your packs off. My feet are dangling over the abyss at the moment!"
It was dark and a feeling of fear shot through my body. It was extremely steep where Lush and I were standing and from the sounds of it, none of the routes were ideal. I attempted to take a route straight up and over. As I climbed over a few huge boulders, there were several other boulders sticking out towards me at an angle which gave me the sensation that they were trying to push me backwards off the mountain. Since it was so steep, it made me really nervous.
"Lush, I don't think this is an option either," I yelled down. "The rocks seem to want to push me backwards!"
I climbed down and could tell Lush was now also nervous. We decided to head to left and do our best to take Manparty's route. Dangling my legs over the abyss did not sound at all appealing.
Once we reached the left side of the mountain, it did not look so bad. Manparty yelled down to us,
"Try to stay as far left as you can, and don't take the path that has all the loose rocks and scree!"
For me, it was too late, I had already committed to the route Manparty had just warned us against. Lush followed the directions and was soon on the summit in no time. I quickly found myself stuck. The mountain seemed so steep, and in the dark, it appeared that if I lost my footing, I would fall backwards into the dark. I couldn't move and noticed that all the rocks that I grabbed quickly broke off in my hands. A shiver of terror soon took hold.
"Throw up your hiking sticks as far as you can and climb towards them!" Manparty yelled form above.
I followed his instructions and literally had one more box sized rock to grab a hold of. I said a quick prayer and held my breath as I put all of my weight on the only rock available. Thankfully, the rock held, and I quickly scrambled up to the top where Manparty, Captain, and Lush were waiting. We made it back to the Divide!
The rest of the night felt pretty surreal. We had several peaks to climb and descend throughout the night, thankfully none as challenging as the first. We turned our headlamps off and walked in the soft light of the moon. Pieces of quarts rock sparkled like glitter in several places along the trail in the dark. We walked along the Divide in quiet contemplation.
By 2:00 am, we reached Jones Pass, about 10 miles from highway 70. We would have to be hiking by 6:00 am in order to make it in time to meet Lush's friend at Herman Gulch. It was extremely windy and cold. I barely slept as my sleep was interrupted by wind gusts smashing into my loose tarp, and dreams of taking erroneous steps on steep boulder fields and falling.
We were hiking by 6:00 am. The miles clicked by like clockwork. Before we knew it, we were standing in the parking area at Herman Gulch along highway 70 at 10:00 am on the dot. Mission accomplished. It was sunny and warm, and the four of us soaked in the sun while we awaited Lush's friend to arrive. We spent a fantastic weekend relaxing in Glenwood Springs. On Sunday, a storm arrived. Local news was reporting snow in the mountains. One reporter was standing along the highway in Herman Gulch and we watched as snowflakes fell all around the reporter. Monday morning, we received a ride back to the Divide with Lush's friend's boyfriend. There was snow all over the peaks above 9,000 feet. As I looked out the car window at all of the snow I received a text from Raffle, who was several days ahead in Leadville. It read:
The hour of reckoning is upon us!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
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