Start: Leadville
Stop: 1209.8
Today’s Miles: 17.6
Total CDT miles: 938.3
I slept like crap, constantly feeling like I couldn’t catch my breath and like I was suffocating. It’s probably the elevation mixed with a little panic, but man I don’t like it. I had to keep telling myself to take slow, deep breaths, talking to myself like I talk to some of my patients struggling to catch their breath. Leadville is the highest elevation city in the US at over 10,000 feet-but still, I’ve been way higher than this before. It’s frustrating for sure.
I woke up a little after 7am, wishing I could drift back to sleep, since I seem to get my best sleep in the few hours before being required to wake up. Pebbles was up, too, and we quietly grabbed our gear and stripped our bunks. I used the bathroom and packed up my stuff, had some coffee and some toast. I weighed myself before eating, too. I’m down roughly 16 pounds since starting. That’s pretty exciting!
We started walking towards the grocery store to resupply by 8am. I didn’t get a whole lot, I still have a ton of food from the last stretch that I didn’t eat thanks to the awesome trail magic we got near Twin Lakes. I did get a pre made sandwich and a drink, and sat outside to eat it while Pebbles finished his shopping. He organized his food while I finished my sandwich, and then we started walking out of Leadville.
The road walk was scenic, and the clouds helped shield us from the worst of the sun.. which thank God because my face is already peeling from getting burnt the last few days. There were some gorgeous snow studded mountains in the distance and grassy hills with a river running through them up close. To be a highway, it sure was pretty.
We stopped and ate lunch on the side of the road with some slight shade and the river nearby. I was technically still full from my sandwich, but we weren’t doing many miles today, so sitting and stretching and just not walking felt great. I’m also struggling with a little bit of cramping, so the easier day was a blessing. We probably sat there for well over an hour, if not closer to two. I didn’t mind a bit.
We continued the road walk until it reconnected with the trail, well-a dirt road and then the trail. It was pretty in a wooded kind of way, nothing exceptionally jaw dropping, but pleasant all the same. Minus the guys on motorized dirt bikes whipping around playing loud music at one point. We finally got to where we planned to camp and there was already someone set up there. Then, as we passed them, there was someone else walking ahead of us. Just around the corner from the first spot, we saw more and that’s where we are now.
It’s wooded with shade and a pretty creek running down below. We’re kind of slanted, but who cares? These days we aren’t very picky. It’s early, barely 6pm and the sun won’t set for another two hours. There’s no point in going farther though, because of the trip home on July 1st.. if we go to fast, we’ll end up passing the spot we plan to get off trail at-which we already have set up: a trail angel to hold our packs and take us into Frisco, our bus tickets from Frisco to Denver, our hotel in Denver the night before our flight home to Atlanta- so I can run the Peachtree Roadrace on July 4th! It really won’t do us any good to push miles and hike past that pick up spot.
So. We’re sitting around, hanging out, a little bored. Who would have thought it was possible? Maybe I’ll go ahead and make my dinner, maybe it’ll help ease my cramps some. Until tomorrow, friends.