CDT Day 72: July 16, 2025

CDT Day 72: July 16, 2025

Start: 1468.1

Stop: 1482.5

Today’s Miles: 14.4

Total CDT miles: 1154.3

I wish I was still snuggled up in that king sized bed at the Quality Inn. Or, better yet-my own king sized bed, since the Quality Inn has decided to charge my credit card 3 times for my one night stay. How fun! 

Anywho. I eventually got out of the comfy bed and made my way down to the free breakfast. Waffles and bagels were alright.. not my favorite options but beggars can’t be choosers and I didn’t have to pay for it (unless you count them continuously charging my card like crazy people). I sat with Pika and Firefly, and Wolf and Redline were a few tables down. Everyone else in the breakfast room had at least 30 years on us. Wolf and I both seemed to be people watching. Quality Inn is quality entertainment.

I ended up showering again, the water pressure being incredible, and then finally dressed and packed for the day. I made a sign on the back of a cardboard box from my food: “CDT HIKER TO TRAIL” and headed out. I handed off the last bit of my old bottle of bug lotion to Firefly, saying my byes, and made my way outside to the intersection across from the motel. 

I wasn’t out there 10 minutes before a nice guy maybe in his late 30s or early 40s turned around and came back for me! He was quite handsome, lives in Steamboat Springs, but also spends half his time in Tasmania. My kinda guy! We talked the whole way out to the junction I had gotten picked up from the other day.. it was so easy! Travel and hiking and adventure. I enjoyed it so much, I forgot his name.. something with a W.. I know Waylon probably isn’t right, but oh well. Now he’s just a memory. 

He let me out at the intersection and another hiker was there hitching.. so, “Waylon” ended up picking him up and taking him back with him to Steamboat! Nice when things work out that way! I left my pack at a sign pole and trodded down Colorado 14 to the spot Greg picked me up from the day before yesterday. I’ve been so determined to keep my continuous footpath, I’m honestly a little surprised I’ve been able to! So, I walked half a mile down and then turned around and walked back to my pack.

From there, it was 2 miles of highway road walking to get to the turnoff for the trail. It started off as a dirt road with a weird paved section in the middle for a bit.. weird, but made for easy walking. I passed the parking lot for the Rabbit Ears trailhead, and then got to walk around some gorgeous lakes. 

I think I was more stunned with the beauty of all of the wildflowers than anything, but the different lakes made stunning backdrops. I took picture after picture of so many different varieties of wildflowers. They were truly spectacular. And then the big fields surrounded by trees made leaving the lakes worth it. 

The only downside has been the bugs: mosquitos, flies, gnats.. they are absolutely everywhere and non stop. The lotion helps tremendously, but my God that swarming around my ears makes me a lunatic. It started raining after 1pm and I was actually glad because it knocked the bugs down-but when it stopped-they came out in full force. At 4:15 when it started to rain again, I decided to call it quits and put up my tent. Mainly to have time to write out these last few posts and call and deal with the Quality Inn overcharging me before I lose service and they get away with it. 

So, it’s hardly 5 something, the rain has stopped again, and the bugs are absolutely diabolical. I’ve seen 3 other hikers walk through, but not Pika and Wolf and their crew. I wonder if they’ll get passed me today with me calling it so early. I’d be happy to keep the same pace with them, I find them all so fun. I guess we’ll see! It’s nowhere near bedtime, but I think that’s all I got for today. Gotta eat dinner and write out a few posts from the last few days! Until next time, friends! Goodnight! 

CDT Day 71: July 15, 2025

I ended up sleeping in until 9:30am!! It was the best sleep, once I finally fell asleep. I think sometimes heartache does that for you, lets you drift into that deep sleep to try and heal your broken heart. I was only awake seconds before I remembered that Max was gone, and my melancholy kicked in. 

I showered, brushed my teeth, ate my left over pizza from last night, then dressed and packed up my stuff. I decided I would go to the new motel, see if they’d let me check or hold my pack for me while I went to do my chores for the day. 

I rode the free bus to the Quality Inn, a 30 minute situation by bus instead of only 6 minutes by car. They didn’t have a room ready yet, so the lady held my pack in her office and let me go ahead and buy quarters from her for laundry when I got back. Then, I walked to the Mexican restaurant about a mile and a half away. Instead of updating my blog, I looked through pictures of Max and Molly while waiting on my enchiladas to come out. Man that goofy boy was the best. 

I really enjoyed my meal, eating every bite, including all of the free chips I could manage, too. After paying, I walked over to the gear shop in town, and made Butch earn his keep in the shoe department. We went through every pair and every brand just like I did over in Grand Lake. This place had more brands to choose from.. the problem being they didn’t have my size in the Topos I’ve worn earlier-that are comfortable just not very durable.. they didn’t have my size in the men’s either. After 30+ minutes of trying on everything under the sun, I ended up getting a pair made by a French company that were very comfortable. The only problem: I wouldn’t be able to get a second pair.

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I got the one pair and fingers crossed they last a long time! I wore them as I did the rest of my chores: resupplying at the Safeway grocery store, going to the post office to send ahead a box to a place in Wyoming, going to Walmart to pick up more bug lotion. The shoes seem great so far. 

I got back to the Quality Inn around 4pm. The lady checking me in had an issue with my reservation, claiming booking.com didn’t pay them-which I showed her the payment on my credit card app. There was back and forth and she said it would be refunded, but she had to charge my card for now regardless. Knowing this isn’t right, I let her anyway just so I can get into my room. I’ll have to dispute the extra charge with booking or with my credit card tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll work itself out by then.

I sprawled out in the bed and watched SVU while snacking on cheese and crackers and drinking some wine. At dinner time, I hung out with Pika, Wolf, Firefly, and Redline outside under some trees on the property while they ate dinner. I had already demolished the crackers and cheese by then and wasn’t hungry anymore.  Later, we swam in the pool and hung out in the hot tub, talking, swapping stories, and laughing. Being around them really helped shove my sadness aside. I’m forever grateful to them for their friendship and welcomed distraction. They’ve just accepted me into their friend group, being around them all feels so natural. Hopefully I can hike with them more this next stretch before I catch Pebbles, if I ever do. 

A little about them.. I know Pika and Wolf from the PCT. Pika is as cool and outdoorsy as they come: worked trail maintenance positions all over for the government, has an endless knowledge of plants, animals, and insects. They most recently lived in Arizona but have ties to Northern California and Chicago. They are also very artistic (I know this from IG stalking them over the last 2 years lol). 

Wolf has her own Physical Therapy practice in one of the Carolina’s.. in Asheville maybe? And she just gives off this outgoing and big energy-her laugh (and her giddy howls) are the most contagious sound I’ve ever heard-if you don’t laugh when she’s laughing-I’m pretty sure you’re a sociopath. 

Firefly is a paramedic/firefighter from Massachusetts. Funny enough, his mom lives in Georgia, so he’s been to Atlanta a lot. He’s funny and I bet we’d have a lot in common with the healthcare stuff. 

And then there’s Redline-also very funny and tells good stories. He lives in Idaho and does something in construction I think. He got his trail name because he stuck to the redline on Farout and missed the Gila in New Mexico.. and had zero water for a long stretch-very sketchy situation and it was only because this is his first long trail so he was unfamiliar with the different routing options. Poor dude! Him telling the story will have you crying laughing though! 

Now, I’m back sprawled in bed and debating on if I want to be up super early and pay $5 for the once a day bus back out to Muddy Pass tomorrow, or if I want to sleep in and hitch it.  Hmmmm.. I think we all know which way this will go! Goodnight yall. 

CDT Day 70: July 14, 2025

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.