Author: Courtney

Start: 1423.2

Stop: 1439.8

Today’s Miles: 16.6

Total CDT miles: 1111.6

I tossed and turned a lot during the night, and my face kept getting swarmed by a single mosquito that I couldn’t manage to kill. I’d bury myself in my quilt, then get too hot and pop out.. and wouldn’t you know, a second later that damn mosquito would be buzzing right by my ear. Damn bugs. 

I will say, I got to see a spectacular sunset and an even better sunrise. The orange glow of the morning sun behind the black of the mountains and the night sky-out of this world gorgeous.

I packed and was on trail by 6:40am, and was actually getting up that 0.5 miles to the hut at the top of the climb without too much issue. I saw cute marmots at the top, known for being too friendly and stealing folks food and eating their trekking poles.. I decided not to try to pet these. Haha. 

I walked past the hut and saw a perfectly maintained trail heading downhill, so off I went. About half a mile or so later, I realize I’m standing in the middle of a rock scramble and have no idea which way to go.. I pull out my phone, and realize I’ve gone down the wrong side of this mountain top! And it’s not like you can just walk across to the correct side-there’s nothing but sheer drop offs all around. So, I start hiking BACK up to that damn hut. 

At the top, I check my map, and start following the trail. After several very steep switchbacks, I see a spot way below that looks like the spot I slept in. Hmmm. I pull back out my map. SON OF A BISCUIT EATING BULLDOG! I went down the way I had originally came UP! So I had to climb back up to that hut for a 3rd time!! Oh my god! I was ready to sit down and push my SOS button and tell search and rescue to come get me because I’ve clearly lost my damn mind!

Angry as all get out, I stomp back up there, and go off the side of the mountain with zero trail visible but the correct way according to my map. No wonder I missed it! I was fuming the whole way down. It was very steep, which is tricky in my sandals, but I never fell. Surprisingly. The “trail” or lack there of, went down and then across a mountain top, and then in the distance you could see actual trail again.. I still kept pulling out my phone to double check myself. I am NOT backtracking again.

The rest of the day felt like going from exposed ridges-up and down and across them-into deep woods, with all the fallen trees to clamber over-back straight up and across more ridges. It happened so many times, I’ve lost count! The views on the exposed mountain tops were stunning, the work to get to those exposed mountain tops made me want to scream. 

I ate lunch with Mountain Goat, who passed me sometime mid morning, after my meltdown. We sat in the sun in a burn zone because there was absolutely no shade anywhere to be seen when we were hungry and had access to water. She’s fun to talk with, and just eating beside her really boosted my mood tremendously. 

Out of the burn zone, the next several miles were filled with blowdowns of all sizes, and the trail mostly went uphill. It wasn’t as bad as parts of Washington and Oregon on the PCT, but it was probably the worst blowdown situation I’ve dealt with on the CDT so far. Mainly because Colorado seems to really be on top of their trail maintenance.. they truly do a phenomenal job. 

Sometime during that millionth uphill climb, going over fallen trees, Mountain Goat passed again (I left lunch before her), then a little bit later a guy comes flying by-Redline-he’s hiking with Wolf and Pika! I go to ask him how far behind they are, but he’s so quick he was gone before I can ask him anything. Then, after I wandered off to dig a cat hole and make my way back to trail, I get passed by a girl I later learn is named “Harmless.” Well. I appear to be the only one absolutely dying out here today. Good to know.

I keep pushing, and at the last ascent before the few mile descent to where I planned to camp, a storm starts to roll through. Huge black clouds off in the distance are getting only closer and closer. The thunder is rolling, almost constantly. The sun disappears. I just know I’m about to get pummeled. I’m walking as fast as I can downhill when I hear a howl. I stop and look over at the switchback above me, and it’s Wolf! I wave back to her and yell, “storms coming!!” And we both keep pushing to the bottom of the mountain.

I get to where I want to camp and immediately start putting my tent up. I want all my stuff inside before the sky drops. Wolf rolls up with her other friend, Firefly, and they look for Redline at first before setting up their tents. I told them he passed me some time around 2 or 3pm.. they guessed he was feeling good and just kept pushing. They set up their stuff, and then the three of us start making dinner in front of Firefly’s tent. Not long after, Pika appears! 

We all eat together, talk and laugh and share trail stories. I really enjoy the hell out of them. They have the same plan as I do, to hike tomorrow, then get up Tuesday to hike a few miles and hitch into Steamboat Springs, instead of pushing hard tomorrow and hitching in tomorrow night.. that way town isn’t so rushed. They even booked the same hotel that I was planning to book myself! Wahoo! 

The only tricky part is tomorrow has the last bit of hiking as a road walk, so finding a good spot to camp might be difficult. I have a list of things to get done in town, and it’s nice to know I won’t have to hurry the whole time. There’s our last climb of Colorado (I think) tomorrow morning, and then the trail looks much more gentle. God I hope that’s true. Today was brutal! 

I think that’s all I got. I’m tucked in and hiding from the mosquitos.. so far-not one drop of rain has come through here, which is insane considering the way the sky looked. We must have gotten lucky. I’ll take it! Goodnight everyone. 

Start: 1405

Stop: 1423.2

Today’s Miles: 18.2

Total CDT miles: 1095

I slept in until 7am.. I slept great thanks to the off and on rain all night. Everything was damp and glistening this morning.. making for pretty, woodsy views. 

I eventually got to a gorgeous open meadow. The flowers were out of this world! I think my new favorite is definitely the columbine. So so pretty! From the meadow, the trail climbed up steep switchbacks and I was rewarded with some stunning views at the top of the climb. I’ll always love a switchback over just trudging straight up! 

The downhill was gentle and rolling. When I got back into the tree line, I ended up eating lunch and finding a sunny spot to dry out my tent. It was the only thing damp from the rain overnight.. my socks dried out while I walked. The sandals are working nicely, too. No complaints here! My feet are loving the reprieve from the heel blisters and my toes getting some breathing room. 

I took a much longer break than intended, and as always, I was slower than expected. I was texting Pebbles throughout the afternoon, and he told me not to aim for the shelter at the top of my current climb, because it’s gross inside.. covered in rodent poo.. which was exactly where I was heading! No thanks!

Once I read that, I started scouting out places to camp. I swear I took longer looking for flat spots than I should have. I got his text when I was already half way up the mountain and of course everything was slanted. I ended up stopping less than a half mile from the top at this small grassy bald before the next set of steep switchbacks. 

My spot is simply beautiful. It’s chilly, and very windy.. so cowboy camping it is. I don’t feel like fighting my tent in this wind. There’s views for days up here and I can’t wait for the sun to set and get to watch all the colors glow. It’s going to be magical.. I can feel it. I’ve already eaten my dinner and I’m just relaxing on my sleeping pad, curled up in my quilt. It’s a bit of an early stop, but I didn’t want to have to hunt a spot on the downhill after this climb and risk it getting dark on me. 

This is just perfect. I’m content. I’m on my own doing what I want, when I want. I haven’t felt stressed about time or distance at all today. Just kept moving forward, however long and far I could manage. And it seems I managed just fine. I do miss Pebbles, though. Dinner time talks are always more fun with a friend. But this is quite ok too. Goodnight yall. 

Start: 1373

Stop: 1405

Today’s Miles: 11.4

Total CDT miles: 1076.8

I finally fell asleep after 1am, and didn’t move until after 8:30! It was GLORIOUS! I packed up my stuff, except for my food bag, and then quickly walked down to the other grocery store to resupply. Check out would either be 10 or 11, half the stuff said one and the other half said the other-so I had to get my food and repack everything by 10, just in case. 

I was walking out of the motel, keys returned, by 9:45. I waited for the gear shop to open at 10 and was their first patron harassing them about shoes! During all of this, Pika-who Pebbles and I met on the PCT, messaged me about just getting to town! Wolf would be in soon, too! We decided to meet at the gear store and then go get lunch together, saving room for Wolf and the rest of their trail family! 

I must have tried on every single shoe in that store. The girl helping me, Rae, was wonderful and so patient. She’s thruhiked before so she understood my frustration. We tried every brand they carried, we tried new insoles in my shoes, we tried new insoles in new shoes-none were working! They either hurt my toes or were too wide at my heels-which I already have the flipping blisters on, so that didn’t help. 

She joked about sandals, and then it hit me. It’s 4 days to Steam Boat Springs. I can get some sandals to try out during this stretch, and if I hate them, I can try to find new shoes in the next town. Rae did say the store in Steam Boat had several other brands that they don’t carry, too. So, yall, I walked out in a pair of Tevas with my socks. Lord help me.

They graciously held my pack and my old shoes to mail home (so mom can return them to REI for me, they still look great, they just hurt my damn feet). They even gave me a box that my shoes would fit in since the Tevas box is too small. I thanked them profusely, and Pika and I headed off to get lunch. I had just missed breakfast, but that’s ok. I got Mozzarella sticks and a burger with fries. Delicious. Pika got a veggie burger and a milkshake. Also fantastic.

Wolf got there about half way through our meal, and immediately had me laughing. She ordered some food, too, and we all three ate and caught up and laughed. It was so much fun and those two almost had me thinking I’d stay in town again and hike out tomorrow. I didn’t-but damn I wanted to. I have a feeling they’ll end up catching back up to me, so, maybe I’ll get to hike with them in the near future anyway. 

After we ate, I said my goodbyes, got my pack and stuff to mail home from the gear store, and walked down to the post office. I mailed my shoes home, I talked to a sweet man about my hike for about 10 minutes, then headed down the road that would eventually reconnect with the trail, in about 6 miles and through Rocky Mountain National Park. I could have taken a trail to do the same thing.. but it was through a burn zone and I’d have to backtrack through town again. No way. 

As I walked, it started to rain.. it waited until I was technically far enough out of town for it to be inconvenient to turn back. If it had started sooner, I’d probably be writing this from the Big Horn Lodge instead of by a stream alone in the woods.  Oh well. The trail once I reconnected with it was gentle with lots of water around. It made for pretty pictures with the stormy skies. The rain only lasted an hour or two, off and on, and now laying in my tent, everything is dry. My socks may be an issue with the sandals-getting wet constantly, but whatever.. it’s worked so far-11 miles wasn’t short in new shoes! Although, the terrain being so easy might be giving me false hope. 

I’m praying the next few days go well in the sandals and I’m able to hike 20+ miles each day. Steam Boat Springs will be a town I have to hitch into, so, timing needs to be good for that last day, otherwise it’ll be like today, a late town leave time making for a shorter day of hiking out. Tricky business. I’m setting my watch alarm, we’ll see what time I get up and moving tomorrow! Sweet dreams!