The Unpolished Princess

Start: 1439.8

Stop: 1468.1

Today’s Miles: 28.3

Total CDT miles: 1139.9

I was the first of the four of us to wake up-quite shocking. I tried packing up as quietly as I could, but before I left I heard someone else let the air out of their sleeping pad-so-someone else was awake, hopefully not because of me! Sorry! It was 6:55 when I left, which felt like sleeping in. Ha.

The first couple miles went uphill, and the mosquitos, gnats, and black flies were already out in hoards! I stopped to put on bug lotion pretty early on, all but screaming because of the instant attack when I quit moving. Bastards.

At the top of the climb, the trail connected to a dirt road, and then it was easy cruising for the rest of the day! I never saw anyone, except a cute old man, Bill maybe? That offered to fill up my water bottles for me from his RV, and he gave me some chocolate chip cookies! Because the trail is on a dirt road surrounded by private land, and the creeks cross through cow pastures and looks like chocolate milk, I was grateful for his water!

Before I knew it, I had already hiked 18 miles. I started looking for the places I wanted to potentially camp, but all of the water nearby was gross, the grass was very high, and it just didn’t feel that safe.. you know, being on a road and all. So, I decided since it was still early enough, I’d push to the junction and hitch into town tonight.

I talked with Pebbles on the phone while I was walking, and he was literally getting back on trail where I was about to be in several miles. I thought he’d be super far ahead, but now he’s almost within reach! I called the Quality Inn I booked for tomorrow night to see if they could switch the reservation to tonight instead: after 12 minutes on hold-no. They’re sold out tonight and tomorrow is non-refundable. Welp. Looks like I’ll get to zero tomorrow!

I text Pebbles and let him know-so now he’s promptly back in the “never gonna catch up to” category. Dammit. Then I looked online and booked a hotel for tonight, called the Nordic. It was cheaper than Quality Inn, too! Dang, I wish I had booked 2 nights at this place! Haha

While I walked, the dirt road turned onto a 2 lane paved highway. Cars were flying by! I sat on a little turn out for about 20-30 minutes at some point to let my feet rest.. they were starting to ache in the sandals-but to be fair, they’d have hurt in any footwear after 20 something miles at that point. 

When I started to put my pack back on I felt a raindrop, so I put my pack cover on and kept moving. A little later, the sky fell out and the wind and rain was coming at me sideways, sometimes blowing so hard I almost fell off the road! It was intense.. and the cars flying by never slowed down, windshield wipers on high the whole time! 

Close to 5:15, the sun popped out and the clouds seemed to be right overhead and behind me-it was still raining on me, but I had to put my sunglasses on. I was within sight of the road junction I would hitch hike at, half a mile away, when a man slowed down next to me in a pickup truck and yelled, “get in girl, I’ll take you to Steam Boat Springs!” Knowing other people waited hours to get a hitch into town, I happily jumped in the front seat!

I was greeted by a cute black dog giving me all the kisses! My driver’s name is Greg, and he and his wife retired and have a cabin back the way I came. Any time they go into Steam Boat, they look for hikers to pick up! He was so nice and we chatted the whole 30 minutes to the Nordic Lodge. I sang his praises as I got out, and kissed his doggie bye. He even came around and gave me a hug, giving me his number in case I needed anything while in town. Such an absolute gem!

I checked into the motel and immediately went to shower. I was starving, but I didn’t want to sit in a restaurant smelling like hiker trash. So, shower first, then I walked to a brewery that serves food! I got a mushroom and pepperoni pizza with some beer cheese and bread to dip and a glass of wine. I was in heaven! The man next to me and the bartender both chatted me up about my hike and I had a blast talking with them, eating, and listening to live music playing on the patio. What a cool place.

I talked to mom as I walked back to my motel, fully planning on crashing the second I laid down. She dropped the bomb that her dog, Max, passed away suddenly on Saturday. It was just so unexpected, because Molly is the one with the tumor and the one we expect to leave us in the near future-not Max! I was so heartbroken, even more so for my mom, I hate to hear her cry. She’s such a strong woman, but even the strongest break sometimes.. and that Max was her big goofy baby. He absolutely adored my mom, had to be touching her always, no matter what. 

So, now I’m just sad. Thinking about being so far away from home, missing my mom and Molly and my family and friends. When these things happen it’s so hard to remember why I’m hiking this trail in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy my hikes and my time out here-the nature, the new friends, the whole struggle of it all.. but I really wish I was at home right now. Say a prayer for my mom, if you’re the praying type. I’m off to bed, I think, if I’m able to let myself fall asleep. So much on my mind. Goodnight, yall. Sweet dreams. 

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.