|
Nothing on the Colorado Trail went as expected this year. I didn't stick to the timeline I had hoped for, I got injured fairly early on in my first go at it but as always I learned a lot.  I'd gone out in mid-June to try and thru-hike around 250 miles of the Colorado Trail and developed achilles bursitis about 116 miles into it. It was frustrating and something that I still feel now and then if I don't focus on taking care of my legs while I'm still recovering. After our time on the TMB in August I felt strong enough to give it another go and try to check off some more of the Colorado Trail, so I returned to Copper Mountain and started my journey south again. My second go at the Colorado Trail was as quiet as my first, I didn't see a single other thru or section hiker while on the trail. Leaving Copper on September 28th was pleasant, it was still warm out but you could feel the bite of cold in the air, winter was pushing its way in. As I continued higher, the brush finally turned the beautiful yellow that Colorado is known for and I settled in for the next 60 miles of my walk. As I wandered up next to Guller Creek, heading to camp below Searle Pass, I silently hoped to see a moose or elk lounging off in the meadow. I unfortunately didn't have the luck to see one but settling into camp I did see two hunters searching the higher terrain for them. Searle Pass was a nice treat on day two. The day started with a short climb to tree line and then a nice 5 mile ridge walk to Kokomo Pass, it would be my little treat of alpine before finding my way to a very boring forest section. Far down below you could see the ant like cars zooming by on the highway between Leadville and Copper Mountain and somewhere in the distance you could hear the bugling of Elk, calling for some company at the end of the season.
As I headed down Kokomo Pass, the trail runners and the day hikers headed up past me. My short bit of company for the day, a hello and how are you as we'd hurry on our ways for our various adventures in the mountains. Luckily the terrain would have another treat for me hiding in Tennessee Pass. I'd thought I might be behind the timing for the aspens, a little too late but instead I was right on time and the trees were on fire.
The second day ended cold, bundled in my tent near Tennessee Creek, tired but happy I was walking. In the morning I awoke the the crunching of deer outside my tent, wandering for water and heading to the lower elevations. My third day would be my favorite. Although I didn't see another person my entire day of hiking, it was very fitting as I traversed the entirety of the Holy Cross Wilderness in a day. The wilderness area was beautiful, several creeks starting their life to eventually turn into the Arkansas River further below me along with small alpine lakes and beautiful vistas of far off peaks. The variety was awesome and the day was revitalizing.
On morning four I was excited, I'd have company that night and the next day as Kat was planning to meet me on trail to do Mt. Massive and closeout my season on trail with me. The day was a tunnel of green, traversing the eastern slopes of Mt. Massive but I was at peace and enjoying every moment. For the first time this summer a big plan was going according to plan, just how it had been set out. As much as I've learned to go with the flow, I also relish when things go according to plan. As I neared our meetup spot and made myself comfortable I couldn't help but feel there was still something ahead of me (besides going up a 14er). In a few hours Kat would call and tell me the bridge to get to the trailhead (and me) was out and there was no way around. We'd go back and forth on the phone for about 30 minutes before she figured out the way around and just before sunset we linked up for dinner in the tent and a cold night above 11,000', trying to stay bundled in our sleeping bags. That final day we woke up with the sun and started our climb up Mt. Massive, it was both enjoyable and tiring. The wind didn't know what it wanted to do and we went back and forth between too hot and too cold. Mt. Massive is also known for its multiple false summits and they did not disappoint, every time we felt like we were getting closer, we'd turn a corner or go over a ridge and there was still more ahead.  Eventually, after chatting with a mountain goat and saying some choice words to the trail we found the summit. Somehow it was wind free, the sun was warm and we were happy. It was a great way to top off this section, bringing me one step closer to checking off all of the 14ers in one of Colorado's many mountain ranges. Going back down the trail was quick once we got off the summit ridge. Kat sang songs and we chatted about our relaxing long weekend planning ahead, soaking in hot springs in Steamboat and playing around in the mountains at our friend's family cabin. We were happy to have had a very successful day right out of the vacation gate.
0 Comments
Whenever you start a thru-hike, there’s always a bit of fear in your mind of the unknown. It’s this palpable mix of excitement and anxiety all bundled together. For me, the Colorado Trail seemed far off for all of this year, way out in the wings. As June came around, it was all of a sudden here. I had prepared, planned and was ready to go. The first section of the trail winds it’s way up along the Platte River into the Front Range. It’s this oddly green section of trail, that for me, was unlike anything else I’d hiked in Colorado. Wet, lush and humid once you got into the forest. That first day, there were more Mountain Goats than hikers on trail, it was an interesting sign of the quietness to come. Over the next few days I slowly moved into the Colorado I know, dry, piney and rocky. As I chatted with the other hikers I passed, they all seemed to be section hikers, weekend warriors and a mix of other things, with very few thru-hikers those first days. I was getting curious if I’d started too early.
As I progressed out of the Buffalo Creek area and into the Lost Creek Wilderness, I felt myself settling into the trail. The trail progressed into the Terryall and Kenosha mountains, smaller ranges with little traffic. They were beautiful and cozy places I hadn't spent much time, overflowing with spring water and ready to be explored. I had some soreness in my legs but all in all, I felt good at the end of each day. I felt like I was making good time and I felt like I was starting to enjoy the nature of this trail, less of a highway like the PCT and more of a slow country road. I started to take more time and breaks in my days, soaking my feet in frigid creeks and splashing water on my hot head in the late afternoon. The Lost Creek Wilderness was a treat, big open grassy meadows with cruisy climbs and gradual descents. Deer would stare at me through the trees as we passed each other and marmots and groundhogs would scurry through the meadow. I kept my eyes out for Moose and Elk with no such luck. The section went by quickly, but in a good way.
 By my fourth day on trail, I was closing in on Kenosha Pass, an easy hitch into the small towns of Jefferson or Fairplay. A part of me wanted to just keep going, a part of me wanted a short rest in town before I continued on my way. I met another thru-hiker named Frank, who I wouldn’t see agin due to the short days he was doing, but after a good conversation, he convinced me to go into town for a bite to eat and a little bit of civilization . Going into town was a good call, I got charged batteries, a belly full of real food with buckets of salt and some more good conversations with the townies. Jefferson had 3 businesses and they all seemed to cater directly to weary travelers and hungry outdoors folk. By early afternoon I was back on trail and heading for Georgia Pass, my first run-in with snowy conditions. I climbed along the trail to just below the pass and spent the night with the fourth CT thru-hiker I had met, a girl whose trail name was Cheesit. We sat and talked about the miles ahead, what got us to be out here and what we hoped to do in the coming days. We talked about how we were in the first dozen or so hikers to head southbound on the CT, I had wondered why the trail was so quiet compared to the PCT and now I knew! I just enjoyed the company after camping alone the previous few nights. On my fifth day I was up at 4am, the sun had barely started to illuminate the forest. I wanted to get up and over the pass early to be able to stay on top of the frozen snowfields instead of running into midday slushy slop. I quickly found my way up the mellow and beautiful alpine pass, easily dodging most of the snow on the way up, only to get to the backside on the way down and spend an hour struggling over large drifts quickly starting to melt again. It was tough going but I knew a night in a bed in Breckinridge was on the other side. I pushed along and met my second CDT hiker heading up the pass who seemed as excited to see me as I was to see him. The CDT had been quiet and he seemed happy to see another hiker and share what he knew about the trail ahead of me, I tried to be as helpful for him as I could but was definitely less so. We chatted for a bit after realizing we both hiked the PCT in 2021 and then headed on our separate ways. As I got down to Breckenridge, a sharp pain started to radiate along the back of my left heel. It felt like a popping blister and a tight muscle at the same time. By the time I got to the bus station I was limping from the pain, not a great sign. I got sandals on, which felt slightly better on my achilles but the tenseness was still there. I spent the rest of the day, elevating and icing, took a soak in the hotel hot tub and hoped that it just needed a short rest and the brace I bought in town would help.
 The next morning, I sleepily packed my things in the hotel to get out and do the climb over Breck Peak 6 before the heat of the day kicked in. I made it maybe 2 miles before I bailed down to Frisco. Every step felt like fire on the back of my ankle, I had hoped it would work itself out, but it seemed to be staying persistent. I was stuck, there was no way I could hike further without more rest. I didn’t know how much rest that would be… As I felt my ability to complete the first half of the Colorado Trail how I had planned slipping away, I was sad, frustrated and confused. Only 3 years earlier I had hiked the entire PCT in similar shoes, with more pack weight and bigger miles. How was only 100 some miles on the Colorado Trail enough to put me in this much pain, almost unable to walk? I accepted what my body was saying, I needed rest. When I got to Frisco, I hatched a plan. After much messaging back and forth with several hiking friends and Googling different shin and ankle issues, I decided I could probably bike without doing more damage. I hobbled into Rebel Sports in Frisco, they were kind enough to stash my pack for a few hours and set me up with a rental bike so I could check-off the last 10 miles to Copper Mountain (where I had intended to hitch up to Leadville). As I road along the Ten Mile Rec Path to Copper, I was happy I had found a way to go a little further, I was happy that I had the opportunity to be out doing what I was doing and enjoying the simpleness of just focusing on getting from point A to B. My leg still felt tight, but wasn’t in pain from pounding. The air was crisp and cool, the bike trail was full of wildlife and I came to peace with the fact that this portion of my journey was over. I’d spend the next few days hobbling around Leadville, enjoying chit chatting with ultra runners at the hostel, catching up with a co-worker who was on her way to Vail for a wedding and being a thru-hiking bum around town while I still looked the part. Kat eventually came up for a preplanned trail visit and we continued to wander around Leadville for the weekend. Without much improvement in my left leg and some healing tightness settling into my left calf muscle, I went back to Colorado Springs to rest. Every little journey teaches us some kind of lesson. After the PCT, it took me a long time to see the lessons. So far on the CT, they’ve been very obvious. As much as I love being out in nature and moving through landscapes, I love the people you meet along the way just as much. Elliott and Cameron, the young guys from Boulder hiking the old fashioned way with a paper map and no phones, Frank, the only other person I saw on day 3, enjoying his retirement, and Cheesit, the last CT hiker I saw on my way over Georgia Pass, thank you all for your company! The harder lesson, I’m getting old…. The body can’t take the beatings it used to without giving it enough back. In the future, I hope to listen to it better and hopefully work with the body I have with more success. The next month will be dedicated to some self prescribed physical therapy and muscle rehab. The mind truly is stronger than the body sometimes and I'm glad I didn't walk myself into the dirt. I’ll be taking a few weeks off to recover and hopefully returning to trail July 20th from where I left off. Stay tuned and happy trails!
Lately I feel restless. After completing the PCT in 2021, it took me a long time to figure out what that journey taught me both about myself and about what I wanted in life. I’ve spent a lot of my life with a feeling I’ve just been floating along with my goal or ambition clear in my mind but the ability to reach it just over the horizon. Like I’m fighting to get there, but with the sensation I’m dragging along.  Hiking the PCT is a prime example of this. I cannot count how many times I almost decided to dropout of college but used hiking the PCT as my carrot on a stick to get myself there, hanging on to finish what I was doing, gather the money and complete my actual goal. My current aspiration is owning a home.
I came away from the PCT with a want to have a true space of my own. After moving for 5 months and seeing these little pockets of serenity along the way in people’s lives, the beautiful places I was lucky enough to traverse, I wanted my own piece of beauty that I would love being in everyday. I’ve spent almost a decade renting homes that I would try to make mine but they weren’t truly mine. Over the past few years I’ve found my way to Colorado, and I think it’s a place I’d like to stay but I’m not quite there on the whole home buying part yet. Whether it be impatience, a need for a bit of gratification or personal habit, I’m going to go for a walk. A little distraction, something to bide my time until I reach my true goal. This summer I’ll be thru-hiking the 567 mile long Colorado Trail from Waterton Canyon near my home, following the backbone of the Rocky Mountains to Durango on the other side of the state. As with the PCT I’ll be documenting my experience here on my blog along the way both for myself and for others to follow along if you’re interested. I hope you enjoy my journey as much as I hope to. Time to start walking, June 14th, 2024. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed