Truly One Foot In Front of the Other – CDT Edition
My journey hiking the long-distance Continental Divide Trail
The trail is getting higher. I’m typically over 10,000 feet above sea level. For someone from Austin TX which is near sea level I’m still not fully adjusted. I find it is especially difficult getting enough oxygen when climbing. There are times when I have to just stop and try to gulp in enough air.
Day 14 – Sunday 7/26/2020 – 1489.7 – partially cloudy, sunny, warm, no wind. I woke at 4:40 am and was on trail at 5:30 am. I wished farewell to my camp buddy, Justin. I took first climb very slowly and although I was sweating I wasn’t completely out of breathe. The trail was again easy to follow. I had been following several different shoe prints. I came to a marshy meadow. The grass was wet with dew and soaked my pants. The underlying marsh soaked my shoes. So much for keeping dry. I got lost crossing it which didn’t help either. On the other side of the meadow just as I found the trail I met a tent site of 7 hikers – a family. Thee women and four men. We chatted briefly, but soon I move on. On another climb I had to count 25s again. Ugh! I crossed into the great state of Colorado. At 10:30 am I met Mouse and Gangles, NOBO thru-hikers. They told me about camping in the saddle after the water stop. They also said there was a bridge out in 7-8 miles tomorrow. I got to my final climb and slowly got up to the stream that I was seeking. As I was eating lunch a dog ran up. It surprised me. A women came next and apologized about the dog. She said a 4×4 was coming up the rocky trail. So I moved my stuff from the center of the trail to the side. Here comes two more people driving up the stoney bumpy trail in a large vehicle. The noise kinda broke the natural peace and quiet along with the smell of engine exhaust. I finished up lunch after they passed. It was only a few minutes later that I was at the saddle and found a semi-level spot. I was done hiking for the day. I set up my tent. It’s on a slight slope but it’ll do. While setting up 6 trail motorcyclist passed by on the trail. This seems to be a busy section. I’ll meetup with Justin tomorrow – yay!
At the border from Wyoming to Colorado some one put white rocks across the trail to mark the border. When I saw them I looked up and saw that someone else nailed a Colorado license plate and a Wyoming license plate to a tree. I’m now in Colorado.
From no trees to trees, from sand and gravel to soil, from plains to mountains the scenery is changing as I get closer to Colorado.
I take pictures of things that catch my eye.
Hike Together: Meetup: Day 13 – Saturday 7/25/2920 – 1474.6 – started clear, overcast, after rain, clearing by late afternoon. Today I slept in, BECAUSE JUSTIN IS HIKING WITH ME! We left camp at about 6:10 am. Justin drove the Jeep to the trailhead which is 0.6 miles up the road. I hiked it because I want to have a continuous set of footsteps from Mexican border to the Canadian border – the entire trail. We left the trailhead together at 6:30 am. We immediately had to climb. I had to hike while counting 25 right-foot steps, then pause, catch breath, and repeat. Up and up we went. Finally it was flatter and I could breathe regularly. We hiked through wet marshy meadows getting our feet wet. It was a single track trail. I was in front of Justin who hiked behind me, because I hike slower. We passed many water sources. I learned that Justin’s vision is much better than mine. He could see the trail markers that are much farther ahead which kept us on trail. There was less need for relying on the Guthooks mapping app. The trail was marked very well. The next climb wasn’t so bad. Then we had a very steep long descent. At 11:30 am we stopped for lunch at the last water before our planned Tentsite stop. It started to rain so we rushed on. Then began another climb. I was getting tired and had to again count 25 steps and pause. We finally arrive at the site at about 2:15 pm. In the rain we rushed to put our tents up. Afterwards I climbed into my tent and Justin into his. I got off my wet shoes and socks and put on warm socks and camp shoes. I was exhausted, sweaty and chilled. So I laid down. Surprisingly I took a nap with my sleeping bag partially over me for additional warmth. I was asleep for for 2-3 hours. During that time Justin tried to talk to me, but I didn’t respond. He was also surprised that I had conked out. So he did things around camp. Finally around 5 pm I begin to wake up. He had made a wonderful fire. So I got out of my tent and stood in front of the fire, because I was still chilled. The fire felt so good. Next he made and we ate dinner. Finally he put the fire out. We got into our tents for the night. Wow! What a day. The tough climbs, the massive descent, the cold rain, and the long nap. All quite unusual. Tomorrow Justin will retrace his hike back northbound to the Jeep while I hike on southbound by myself. It was a lovely day and I’ll miss him.
Hiking Together: Meetup: Day 12 – Friday 7/24/2029 – 1459.8 – rainy, cold, clearing, cool. I woke to the patter of rain on my tent. Then the rain stopped. I’ve begun to feel the days are getting shorter. I got on trail by 5:20 am. I headed to two creeks about two miles ahead. There I got water and sent Justin a message telling him when I left camp so he could estimate when I’d get to the summit and our meeting [“Left at 5:20. Stopping for water about 1.7 miles from camp.” Jul 24, 2020 7:03 AM]. The rain started slowly again. I put up my umbrella. It was cool and began to turn colder. Finally I stopped and put on my rain jacket and rain mittens. They helped keep me warmer. But I was wet underneath. At about 9 am here comes Justin towards me. We were only 15 minutes from the 10,900 foot summit. There was not much to see. It was foggy, cold and misting. The grass was wet and it soaked my feet. Since Justin knew the way I mindlessly followed him down. Every so often I has to stop and breathe. We made it back to the Jeep about 10:45 am. Immediately I was cold and switched my shirt to a dry one, put on my puffy jacket and hat, put on dry socks and my camp shoes. Soon I felt better. I’m glad we’re done for today. We had brats for lunch. Then chores began to prepare for the next day’s section. We’ll be hiking southbound together for 15 miles. Then I will continue on and Justin will turn around and return to the Jeep. The rain stopped, the sun came out, but it was cool so we needed a coat.
Past the 200 mile mark in Wyoming.
If each day I do my miles then over time they begin to add up.
Day 11 – Thursday 7/23/2020 – 1447.3 – clear, some clouds, sunny, rain clouds and some rainy, back to sunny and hot. I woke late at 4:50 am and got on trail at 5:40 am. It was a long road walk. I got to Justin at 9:45 am. I met a NOBO thru-hiker named Earlybird. I stayed with Justin 1 hour and then off I went to get 10 more miles. I am now a single track trail. There are many climbs. Also there are many blow downs. It has been a long exhausting day. This afternoon I fell backwards and ripped my backpack big side packet on a pointed branch of a blowdown. I’m lucky I didn’t hurt myself. I found a Tentsite waypoint on Guthooks. I hope it’s good, that is, it’s not windy. When I got there I found that there are trees here finally and some shade. I met NOBO thru-hikers Ken and Sam at my stopping point.
Day 10 – Wednesday 7/22/2020 – 1427.9 – partially overcast, 50% chance of rain after 1 pm. I woke at 4:25 am, packed up, ate breakfast and was on trail at 5:05 am. My day was all a long road walk. I met Bam, a NOBO thru-hiker at 10 am. I got to my original goal at 11:20 am, a beautiful spring. I had two bottles of water and lunch. I laid down for a short rest. Then at 1:30 pm I continued hiking. I met Creep another NOBO thru-hiker. I am listening to Outliers audio book which helps pass the time. At 3:30 pm I stopped and set up my tent in what I believed was the lee windward side of a hill. In the distance some rain clouds appeared. The wind picked up. One tent stake pulled out twice. I pounded it back in and put a large rock on it and its neighbor. The tent was buffeted by the wind over and over. Fine grains of dust filled the tent and covered everything. Some rain fell. Then over time the wind died down. I’ve got to learn how to set this tent up better. In two days Justin is planning to hike NOBO from Battle Pass up to me. That is, he will meet me at the summit. He’s even willing to carry some of my stuff down for me. So tomorrow I have about 10 miles to a quick stop & go meet-up with Justin and then 10 more to our actual meet-up campsite at mile 1447. This is to reduce my Battle Pass climb the following day. We shall see how I do.
Meetup: Day 9 – Tuesday 7/21/2020 – 1404.9 – clear, sunny, hot, windy afternoon. I woke at 4:20 am, packed up, had my pop tart and MIO water, and was on trail at about 5:05 am. Today was going to be my longest day yet – 22 miles. I was zipping along. First part was on a dirt road. I did a climb up to a hill top and on the far side was a very steep descent. I had to get out my hiking poles for the first time. I went by several evaporation ponds in a park. The country is changing. It is getting more hilly. But then after a while the road stopped and I had to navigate point to point. Now it was very slow going. It was very hard on me. After a few miles I was exhausted and finally came to a dirt road. Just down the road I saw Justin’s Jeep driving towards me. What? He was supposed to meet me two miles later but here he was early. Yippee! I’ll take it. I put my pack in the Jeep, had a short 30 minute break, drank a Coke, and prepared to slack pack the remaining miles. He left to do more errands. It was a slog even with no heavy pack but I completed all 22 miles by 2:30 pm. A NOBO thru-hiker named Moonshine stopped by for a free cold Coke. Justin and I had chicken quesadillas, chips, bean dip, and lots of water. The plains are ending and the hills are coming. I can feel it.
