Endless P Summer

Wisdom, Montana

Day 106     8/13     0 miles

Big fat zero today in Leadore. I definitely needed it. For the most part my body has been holding up pretty well but after a couple thousand miles of walking I think it’s only natural to have a whole bunch of little aches and pains. A day off isn’t going to hurt any of that. Leadore didn’t have too much going on and that made it easy to really just relax. A bunch of us went out to breakfast this morning and the food was good but the service was lousy, that was no surprise though, a sign on the wall said that it would be. The grocery store and the restaurant are close walking distance to the inn so besides eating and resupplying I spent most of the day just chilling out on lawn furniture in the yard at the inn with the other hikers who were in town. The Leadore Inna general store QB demolishing a pizza 

Day 107     8/14     23 miles

I slept comfortably until about 8:30 this morning then packed up and got a quick breakfast and coffee before heading back to the trail. Whenever I take a day off from hiking it always feels like I’ve been away from it for a week. Sam, the owner of the inn, drove me, QB, Moaglee, Little Spoon and Diesel, a southbounder, up to the trail around 11am. The trail was quite pleasant today, I don’t know if it was the day off or the easy hiking but it just felt real nice all day. QB and I leap frogged with Moaglee and Little Spoon a few times and since those two have the same pack as me they showed me how to properly buckle it. I’m an idiot. I never knew I was doing it wrong, I just had all kinds of extra straps and buckles and didn’t know where they were supposed to connect. I’ve only been using it everyday for 3 months but now it all makes sense. After a while of walking through forests and over some open ridges, Queen B and I found a primo spot to camp in some pines over looking a huge valley and another incredible sunset. 

Day 108     8/15     29 miles

Today was another absolutely pleasant and peaceful day hiking the CDT. The weather was perfect for walking, probably in the 60’s and 70’s all day with zero precipitation and minimal wind. This morning we walked across Lemhi Pass which I learned has some serious historical significance as it was the Pass where the Lewis and Clark expedition crossed the Divide. It was also the border between the Louisiana Purchase and the Oregon Territory. You’ll have to google Lemhi Pass if you want a real history lesson, these are just a couple of little facts I picked up while reading the informational signs. After the pass most of the day was spent on nice soft trail through pine forest and then the last 8 or 9 miles we were up and down climbing little peaks and walking along ridges. I saw 3 black bears around 6:30, a mom and two cubs, sprinting across the trail from about 50 yards away. I saw more bears than people today. For the whole trail I’ve now seen 10 bears to QB’s 2. I guess I’m just better at seeing bears. At the end of the day we dropped way down off a ridge and found ourselves a nice little campsite in the woods.evidence of the Blair Witch QB eyeballing some big old Idaho mountains

Day 109     8/16     23 miles 

The trail today was pretty relaxing. Besides a climb up to a pass right away this morning, the miles were mostly uneventful. Around 4 this afternoon we got to Miner’s Lake Trailhead, where we had planned to meet my parents. This morning they flew from Boston to Bozeman, MT where they rented a car and drove as close to the trailhead as possible and when the road turned into a rocky jeep road they walked the remaining few miles to meet us. We all got there right on time, just good planning I guess. The 4 of us walked out the few miles to their rental and then they took us into the town of Wisdom, MT where they had rented a cabin. They took us to resupply then out to dinner and put us up for the night. My mother also brought me out a new shirt(the one I’ve been wearing has become a tattered rag so she brought me a Hawaiian shirt that I think was in my father’s current rotation), a fresh pair of sneakers, and my fleece sleeping bag liner for some colder nights that I expect. These two are the ultimate trail angels and I’ve missed eating meals on their dime. Of course it was great to see them too, I’ve definitely missed them and the rest of my family while I’ve been out here just walking all summer.a very nice family reunion with my parents in MontanaThis shirt served me well, but it’s literally falling apart. I’ll fondly remember the time we spent together and specifically when a hummingbird mistook the flowers for actual flowers. 

Day 110     8/17     29 miles

First thing this morning Cat and Den (my folks) whipped up an excellent breakfast of French toast, bacon and fried eggs before getting us back out to the trail. They parked at the campground and then the 4 of us walked the 3 miles of jeep road back to the Miner’s Lake Trailhead. The plan is for me and QB to do a 55 mile section and then tomorrow night my parents will park at Chief Joseph Pass and hike south along the Divide until we meet up. Queen B and I will get off trail for a day on Saturday and chill out with them or go on a little adventure or whatever. So shortly after we got going, about 5 miles from the trailhead we reached the top of a Pass and it was awesome! I felt pretty bad that I didn’t get my parents to walk up there with us but I didn’t know how spectacular it would be. There were big huge granite peaks in every direction and when I let out a nice loud blood curdling scream I could here my echo like 6 or 7 times over. The rest of today was lots of big mountains, wild flowers and alpine lakes. We swam in the afternoon in Slag-o-melt lake and even saw a mountain goat appropriately climbing up a mountain. In the evening we followed the trail as it contoured around the sides of mountains and eventually descended into forest where we found a place to camp. B crushing trail through the wildflowersNew shirt, new me

Day 111     8/18     27 miles

Today was no picnic. We started by dropping way down to about 5700 feet, this is the lowest the trail has been since before Silver City, NM. Then we climbed way up a long steep jeep road and the rest of the day was a series of steep climbs and then steep descents through pine forests. For the most part the views were obscured by trees except for a few times when we walked through burn areas up high on ridges. In the evening, after not seeing anybody all day, we ran into a trail crew eating supper. The Idaho Conservation Corps had been building switchbacks into the sides of mountains out here for weeks and when we walked by they fed us spaghetti, just good timing. The trail turned onto a dirt road and after a little while we met my parents and walked out a few miles with them to Chief Joseph Pass. They brought us back to the cabin and had a home cooked meal ready to eat. Things are good.a scary haunted gold mining cabin in the middle of the woodsmy parents getting a taste of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail

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 Posted on August 19, 2017 by

 Hiking, Thru hiking, travel

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Leadore, Idaho

Day 99      8/6      30 miles

Yesterday after eating burritos at Mack’s Inn in Island Park we walked a couple miles on the highway before getting to the Sawtell Resort campground. Included with a cheap tent site was full use of their hot tub, pool and showers. Along with a couple southbounders, Magpie and Schweppes, and a pair of section hikers, Margo and Jasper, we soaked in the hot tub for a couple hours. I really hope they change the water in that thing after they let 6 stinky hikers stew in there for hours. After our soak I got a plate of Lo Mein at the Chinese food place across the street and called it a night. This morning we ate breakfast sandwiches then ice cream sandwiches at the little grocery store and began walking. The first ten miles were a dirt road walk that climbed up towards Sawtell Peak. Then we followed what wasn’t much of a trail at all for about 5 miles, more of a bushwhack, through tons of wildflowers next to a creek. At some point during this bushwhack we crossed into Montana for the first time and then walked along the Idaho/Montana border for the rest of the day. Once we got away from the creek the trail climbed through a forest and up on a ridge. We walked into an awesome sunset along the ridge but there was no place to camp up there. Luckily the moon was full and we are so far west that it stays light out until 9:30. Eventually we dropped down but the only decent spot to camp was right on trail. Oh yeah I saw a coyote puppy or maybe even a wolf puppy this afternoon jumping around and stuff, it was at the top of a hill probably about 50 yards away and I really wish I got a better look at this little rascal.Bushwhacking through buku wildflowersas you can tell from these pictures, I walked into an awesome sunset tonight

Day 100     8/7     25 miles

Today was rather uneventful. We got a later start than usual since we hiked late last night. The trail went up on a ridge this morning and then through forest for about a dozen miles before we stopped at Arduous Lake for lunch, not really fit for swimming though. After lunch we walked through a burn for hours and then had a nice climb up to a pass right before Rock Spring where we broke for supper this evening. I don’t want to say it was boring, I enjoyed myself and everything but it might have been the most uneventful day of the whole trail. We did see a couple of big sheep dogs barking at us shortly before we found a spot to camp but other than that didn’t see much wildlife and no other hikers. It has been a good section for birds of prey though, lots of cool hawks.delicious icy cold water at Rock Spring 

Day 101     8/8     16 miles

We pretty much just crushed the trail all morning and into the afternoon to get to Interstate 15 where we got a ride into the town of Lima, Montana. This is a tiny little town and the motel there was full of mostly southbound hikers who are filming a documentary or something. Jan’s Cafe across the street was renting out little cabins so that was cool, we got one of those for the night. In town we finally caught up to 3 hikers who we last saw in Chama, NM and have been just ahead of us for months; Moaglee, Little Spoon, and Kibbs. After we took care of some town chores a bunch of us went out for supper at Peat Cafe where you can cook your own steaks. The place was cool and the concept of cooking your own steak must work out especially nice for them since they don’t have to pay a cook plus nobody sends their food back. We ate our steaks then resupplied for the next section at a gas station. I’ve been eating all crap on trail and that’s what gas stations specialize in.school bus for snow days that way you can’t send your food back 
Day 102     8/9     21 miles

This morning we had breakfast with Moist at Jan’s Cafe next to the cabins. He had been hiking with Mac and Appa when we last saw him down in the boot heel and got off trail in Winter Park but was about to rejoin his buddies. Mac and Appa walked in the restaurant and were shocked to see that their buddy had come back from the proverbial dead. B and I put a beating on breakfast then walked out to the interstate and put our thumbs out. We got the rare big rig to pull over and drive us the 20 miles back to the trail around 12 o’clock. Once back on trail we walked on dirt roads through desert for a couple hours until the trail climbed up on an open ridge. There were electrical storms all over the place so we took an alternate that kept us low for a few more miles and hopefully the T and L would subside. This worked out for us for awhile since we didn’t get struck by lightning but on the bushwhack up to the ridge I had to walk through all kinds of nettles that made my legs itch like whoa. The ridge was a roller coaster of steep ups and downs for about a dozen miles before eventually dropping down into some pines where we could camp. I ran into 3 southbounders today including ‘One of Us’ who I first met in Northern California on the PCT in ’15. On the left is Idaho, on the right Montana. Or the other way aroundThis rainbow started in Idaho and ended in Montana with the trail in the middle

Day 103     8/10     29 miles 

For some unexplainable reason I tossed and turned all night and barely got any sleep. Insomnia has been, without a doubt, the most frustrating and difficult obstacle I’ve had to face on this trail so far. I ended up getting a couple hours of sleep and didn’t start hiking until close to 9am. My first half dozen miles were miserable, I was exhausted and dragging ass through tall grass and constantly stepping on fresh cow pies. The trail then steeply climbed a few thousand feet and Queen B and I must have both caught the eye of the tiger or some other rush of adrenaline because we both bolted up that pass. The rest of the day my body felt pretty strong and thankfully the trail wasn’t too fierce. A good amount of dirt road and some long slow climbs and descents with wide open views. After seeing absolutely nobody all day we came across a group of 8 sobo’s all within a quarter mile of each other(rare to see that many people hiking together). Among them was Salt Lick who I met in ’15 in the California desert, it’s got to the point where every time I see a hiker coming my way I wonder if we’ve already met. QB and I walked a few more miles into the sunset and down towards Deadman Lake where we set up for the night just out of reach of a thunderstorm in the distance. Just when I thought this trail couldn’t get any weirder, we come up on all these huge white cliffs

Day 104     8/11     29 miles

I thought I would be pretty sluggish today after another lousy night’s sleep but I got my mojo back right after climbing the steep trail to a pass from Deadman Lake. We then descended and followed the trail onto rolling plains for awhile. This afternoon thunderstorms moved in right before we had to climb up on to an exposed ridge so we found some shelter in a few pines and waited about a half hour. Perfect timing. The clouds moved through and the 3 or 4 miles up on the ridge went smoothly. We saw Moaglee and Little Spoon doing the same thing, chilling out and waiting for the storm to pass. Up on the ridge we had some pretty sweet views and saw a herd of pronghorn bolting past us(I thought these were the same thing as antelope but I guess there’s a difference). We dropped down from the ridge and everything was nice and peaceful for awhile and then out of nowhere we had this super cold rain for a couple hours. Whatever. It cleared up and we found a nice spot to camp in some pines by Morrison Lake. Howling The sky hazy from distant wildfiresAbout 15 super fast pronghorn

Day 105     8/12     25 miles 

Finally some rest. Slept like a rock last night. This morning we got up and just cruised all day. The trail was mostly rolling dirt road up high on an open ridge but there were some good climbs in there. We saw a little red fox jumping around in the grass either playing or looking for mice and stuff. When it saw us it took off into the woods. Too bad because the last time I saw a fox it came right up close to play, probably expecting a frisbee toss or something. Once the trail turned off the dirt road onto actual trail and started up towards Elk Mountain I saw what I thought was a black dog. It wasn’t, it was a little black bear cub following another cub but this one was cinnamon colored and both were following a cinnamon colored sow. At first I thought it was a black bear cub hanging out with his grizzly bear friends, but I’m pretty sure this doesn’t happen. After this cool little bear sighting we got up over 10,000 feet on Elk Mountain and then just cruised downhill about 12 miles to Bannock Pass. Sam, the owner of the 4 room Leadore Inn, drove up to the pass and brought us down into Leadore(population 105) for the night. To get here from Bannock Pass we drove down gravel rt 29, the last unpaved highway in the country, supposedly. In town we grabbed some burgers at the town restaurant and then hung out in yard at the inn with Moaglee, Little Spoon, Kibbs and Lux. To see more pictures of this trip feel free to follow my insta @endlesspsummerQB crushing miles

-Endless

PS All My Love!!!

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 Posted on August 13, 2017 by

 Hiking, Thru hiking, travel

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Dubois, WY

Day 88     7/26     7 miles

After sleeping in this morning in the comfortable guesthouse at the 3 Peaks Ranch I enjoyed a substantial breakfast with some much needed fresh food. Cereal with milk and bananas for a change(instead of the off brand dry lucky charms that I’m always eating on trail) and fried eggs with cheese on bagels. Plus grapes, lots of fresh delicious grapes. We hung out for awhile with some of the Nols staff and then Nina took us into Pinedale to resupply. In Pinedale we got pizza and grilled Nina on all things Nols and she told us about her fascinating job as a cowgirl, super b.a. After pizza we grabbed milkshakes and then Nina dropped us off at the trailhead. Queen B and I hiked for a few hours on the Seneca Lake Trail that led back to the CDT. We found a sweet spot to camp near Hobbs Lake and enjoyed the sunset with a view of the mountains while we ate dinner. QB and Nina and a whole buttload of horsesSeneca Lake

Day 89     7/27     29 miles 

Today was awesome. Honestly it might have been the most scenic landscape I’ve ever walked through. I could try to describe it or you could just look through the some of the pictures below but the camera never does the scenery justice. I had heard the Winds would be pretty impressive and they definitely lived up to the hype. The beauty of the Wind River Range rivals anyplace I’ve ever walked through before. We passed Seneca Lake early this morning and then walked through a landscape of snowy jagged peaks in every direction and crossed countless icy cold rivers. Eventually we descended into a the Green River Valley and before we camped had awesome views of Square Top Mountain. Green river really is green! 

Day 90     7/28     30 miles

Today started off with a moose sighting. There was a great big bull moose eating grass or something right across the river from where we camped last night. We walked through the valley that contained Green River and the Green River Lakes for half a dozen miles this morning and views looking back were incredible. Square Top Mountain dominated the horizon above the snaking Green River that is literally bright green, there must be some minerals in it or something that give the water it’s unique color. After passing all this water the trail climbed steeply up to Gunsight Pass, this might have been our steepest climb in Wyoming to date. On the north side of the Pass we got a nice view of the Grand Tetons (I think) in the distance. The CDT doesn’t go through the Tetons but I’ll most definitely make it a point to come back and traverse that park some day. After lunch QB was leading the way and had a close encounter with another moose and then we both had close encounters with about a million mosquitoes. The forest we were walking through led to a huge open meadow and it was something of a mosquito hell. I put on long pants, my rain jacket, and head net and not only was I still managing to get bit now I was walking around in a sweat box. It was annoying. On a positive note we saw a massive bald eagle this afternoon and this was definitely a confirmed eagle sighting (usually if either of us see a large bird in the distance and don’t know what it is, it’s an eagle until proven otherwise. We’ve had many unconfirmed eagle sightings). After walking across some fields with views of the massive Tetons we found a pleasant place to camp for the night.tough to see in this picture but this was an awesome moose sighting, first thing we saw this morning.ol’ Square Topcrossing Clear Creek, coldest water everQB climbing up Gunsight Passand me at the topBlame it on the Tetons!

Day 91     7/29     29 miles

There was nothing all that remarkable about today except I’m pretty sure we saw a grizzly. Plus lots of birds of prey. The trail was rather tame all day following fields, snowmobile tracks and gravel roads. Shortly after lunch we were walking down a dirt road through a burn area when we saw grizzly bear running in the opposite direction about 50 yards away. Now I’m not 100% sure it was a grizzly but if it was a black bear it would have been the blondest black bear I’ve ever seen. This was a little alarming but it wasn’t a dangerous situation just a gentle reminder to continue to be aware. After a full day of hiking we got to Togwottee Pass and started to hitch towards Dubois. This is the first paved road the CDT passes in 180 miles. After a little while a couple in a pickup towing a boat pulled over. Walking up to the truck I recognized the voice of Joe Castiglione announcing a Red Sox game on the radio, I knew this was a good sign and the couple drove us all the way to town. St. Thomas’s church has a free hostel in Dubois for hikers and bikers, it was awesome. There were a few other hikers there that we hadn’t met yet and also 3 cyclists riding cross country. The hostel had a kitchen so QB and I whipped up some spaghetti with meat sauce since we both had been talking about pasta for about a week. Dubois is a cool little town and it was really nice of the church to let us crash there. We were walking towards a view of this thing all day, whatever it ismy favorite kind of hitch, the back of a pickup truck

Follow me on insta for more pictures @endlesspsummer 

-Endless

PS All My Love!!!

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 Posted on July 30, 2017 by

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South Pass City, WY

Day 79     7/17     9 miles

Enjoying some much needed sleep this morning, I didn’t get out of bed until close to 9:30. Just in time to put a good beating on the Days Inn continental breakfast. Then I returned to the room to continue sleeping until checkout. Queen B and I spent the bulk of the afternoon resupplying and relaxing inside an air conditioned McDonald’s with free wifi and a steady flow of double cheeseburgers and vanilla ice cream cones. Even though we sat out the heat of the day the temperature was still close to 90 when we got back on trail around 5. The trail cuts through the city of Rawlins and then follows rt 287 for a few miles before joining a dirt road out in the open range paralel to the highway. We ran into Buddy Backpacker and his parents Andrea and Dion who were hiking south for a section. I saw these 3 briefly last year in Colorado and we met Dion again way down in the boot heel of New Mexico a few months ago. We walked on, enjoying a nice sunset and found a place to camp as it was getting dark. People in Rawlins keep deer as petsstill living inside an REI commercial

Day 80     7/18     40 miles.

We knocked it out of the park today! The trail was flat, hot, dry and treeless all day. It was ideal for big miles. Early on we decided we would aim for 40 and were relentless in our pursuit. Honestly though it wasn’t all that difficult. The trail through the Great Basin is made for cruising. You have to go long distances in between water sources and since there’s no trees there’s no place to take breaks in the shade. Might as well just keep walking. There wasn’t any other people out here but we did see some wild horses and about a hundred antelope. I’m not sure if the horses are actually wild but I didn’t see any fences or cowboys and the hoof prints didn’t look like they were shoed (plus my friend Speed said that BLM has something like 10,000 horses). We walked through the sunset and as it began to get dark we hit 40 miles and called it a day.this all day long!QB going all Clark Griswold across the desert there’s antelope in this picture, there so fast and skittish it’s hard to get a good shot of themWalking into a beautiful Wyoming Sunset

Day 81     7/19     32 miles

There really is no sense in taking our time through the Basin so we tried again for 40 today. The skies were mostly overcast all day and this provided some decent shade and was good for hiking. Yesterday the heat was borderline oppressive but today it was much cooler and rather comfortable. I saw more wild horses again and tons of antelope(those things are fast!). Around 30 miles in we came across an awesome water cache stocked by Hawkeye and stopped for supper. I was feeling really good after we ate and definitely had ten more in me but Mother Nature had other plans. About 20 minutes later, the clouds that were providing shade and keeping us cool all day suddenly got really dark and suddenly we were enveloped on all sides by thunderheads. There was lightning in every direction and it started to pour. The only move was to quickly find a lower lying area and quickly set up camp. This wasn’t a passing storm, there was heavy rain with thunder and lightning for about an hour, and then there was an incredible sunset and a faint rainbow visible from my tent. More of this today but with a few more trees here and thereWild Horses!! Run Faster!! Run Faster!!!it looks like this weather is starting to change on usthen it stormed like whoa!

Day 82     7/20      36 miles

Today might as well have been two separate days, at least it felt that way. It was mostly blue skies, with a few clouds, a slight breeze and hot until about 6:30. We even came across the Sweetwater River and  jumped right in. So nice to cool off after a few hot days in the desert. We stopped to eat dinner around 6 and had some big time thunderheads looming directly in our path. There was another crazy electric storm just a few miles ahead of us and we were the highest points on a flat plain. Continuing forward was not an option. We could have either retreated backwards and found some lower ground to camp on but instead we audibled. Looking at the map we decided to cut West down to a river and then stick between a river and a road that went all the way to South Pass City(this isn’t really a city but more of a historical area along the lines of Plimoth Plantation or Sturbridge Village). We had resupply boxes waiting for us in SPC and this was our next destination. Taking this route we figured we could go along the edge of the T-Storm and avoid trouble. It was crazy! For the most part we stayed out of harm’s way but were right on the edge of a couple different storm systems and more than once had to stop and hunker down for a few minutes. We had to cross a river, crawl under a few fences, and were cutting across what was probably private property but it seemed to be the safest and only option. After a couple hours we were out ahead of the danger and were not only happy that we didn’t get struck by lightning but were also able to enjoy some incredible skies for the last hour into town. There was a remarkable double rainbow as well as bright orange, yellow, pink, purple and dark gray sky in all directions. This was a truly incredible experience, I’ve never seen such an intense sunset. Wyoming has the best sunsets! It was dark by the time we got into SPC and found a spot to set up. I’m relieved to be able to sleep in tomorrow since the store where I’m picking my package up doesn’t open until 9.

-Endless

PS All My Love!!!Walking towards Wind River Range in the distanceswam here in the Sweetwater Riverthe sky got so crazy!I swear there was a perfect full double rainbow but when it was visible my hands and phone were too wet to take a pictureescaping!Getting through the T-Storm safe and sound

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 Posted on July 21, 2017 by

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Encampment, WY

Day 72     7/10     Zero miles

I spent the day in Steamboat relaxing, running errands, eating and not hiking. It was really nice. I’m not a big fan of taking zeroes because they’re just unproductive and 2 nights in town get expensive but Queen B and I have both been feeling pretty beat lately and wanted to take a day to rest in order to go into the Wyoming nice and fresh. While in town we had a few little hiker errands to take care of. In a couple hundred miles or so is a town where there really isn’t any amenities so in addition to the food resupply for the upcoming section, we had to buy food for the future and mail it to South Pass City. We also mailed home our ice axes and microspikes since we hopefully won’t be needing them again. When we took care of all our chores we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the Yampa river at Dr Rich Weiss Park. They’ve got hot springs there too, or more like warm springs, and they’re really nice. These are built up pools collecting runoff water from the resort hot springs across the street. I also ate tons of food today. I won’t bore you with the details but I stuffed my face. It was very nice to take a day off and just chill out. Swam here in the Yampa RiverSteamboat looks a lot different in January 

Day 73     7/11     20 miles

No hurry getting out of bed today so that was nice. Eventually we made our way down the street to McDonald’s for breakfast and I have to say that stuff is underrated. I know it’s hard to screw up breakfast and McDonald’s is no exception. We saw Roswell there and hung out with him for about an hour. I first met Roswell in Lordsburg and he’s been popping up every once in awhile since then. He was modeling a new pair of shorts he just picked up at the Wal-Mart next door and since my shorts were on life support I decided I too should upgrade my wardrobe. So I did. I also needed to get some more sunscreen because this pair was considerably shorter than my old pair and exposed my fish belly thighs. From Wally World we walked over to the highway and started hitching in order to return to the trail. I figured with my new shorts I would immediately hear a bunch of cars screeching to a stop but this wasn’t exactly the case. After about 20 minutes Karen Sue pulled over and gave me and QB a ride all the way back to where we left off the other day. She was totally cool and went way out of her way to bring us back. Once on trail we pretty much crushed it the rest of the day. It was almost 1pm when we returned but we still managed to hike 20 miles. The trail was relatively flat and relaxing and cut through forest for most of the afternoon and evening. At one point we rounded a corner and saw 3 big old moose looking back at us and shortly after that saw another moose way out in the middle of a lake. There is so many moose in Colorado. This evening we crossed into the Zirkel wilderness and found a place to camp right as it began raining. I saw 22 moose in Colorado. Anymore and I would have stopped countingnew shorts have me exposing a little more leg than I’m used to

Day 74     7/12     33 miles

We just had ourselves a banner day out here on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. At 33 miles today was our biggest day of the season and what should also be our last full day in Colorado. We started our day in the Zirkel Wilderness aka the Steve Urkel wilderness and it was awesome. This place is a hidden gem within the state. I hadn’t heard of it until just a couple days ago and judging by the lack of hikers not many others know about it either. For a few miles this morning we hiked with Thunder and Snow. We had heard of this couple and had even seen their tracks because they skied through the San Juans ahead of us. If you look back in this blog I’m pretty sure I’ve got pictures of their perfect figure 8’s in the snow. QB and I had a good pace going all day and didn’t even slow down during some afternoon rain. This was probably the most substantial rain we’ve got the whole trip and it really wasn’t all that bad. I think I even saw an eagle today. We’ve had many unconfirmed eagle sightings(if either of us see a big bird it’s an eagle until proven otherwise), but this was as close as it gets, I’m almost positive it was a bald eagle. There was a nice climb at the end of the day and as we looked for a place to camp we were rewarded with a spectacular sunset that will probably be our last in Colorado. Early morning walking thru the Zirkellast Colorado sunset
Day 75     7/13     33 miles

Had another big day out here, slightly less than yesterday but still some big miles. About 10 miles into the day we crossed the border into Wyoming. I think crossing state lines on a thru hike is a big deal; it gives me a sense of accomplishment and also makes me feel like I’m in a whole new place, which I am. Recently I heard Colorado referred to as the hardest state out of any on the triple crown.  Although I’ve got a couple states to go I would agree with this statement. Previously I would have said New Hampshire but since it’s only about 160 miles, so I guess I’ll give NH the pound for pound title. Colorado has been amazingly beautiful and at the same time consistently difficult and relentless. I had very few easy days through CO. Still awesome though. After we crossed into Wyoming we followed the trail up and down through open fields and forests for about 20 miles before reaching Battle Pass this evening. We didn’t see another person all day and then there was absolutely no traffic at the Pass. For a few minutes I was concerned that the world had ended. It didn’t. After awhile of trying to hitch we called a hotel in town and the owner, Desi, drove up and gave us a ride down into Encampment. Spending the night here, resupplying and getting back at it tomorrow evening or something. Follow me on insta for more pictures @endlesspsummerYeah it isquartz(I think) everywhere as soon as we got into WyomingQueen B walking to Canadauntil next time,

Endless

PS All My Love!!!

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 Posted on July 14, 2017 by

 Hiking, Thru hiking, travel

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Steamboat Springs, CO

Day 68     7/6     29 miles 

This morning we walked from the campground for a little over a mile until we rejoined the trail in downtown Grand Lake where we proceeded to crush a huge breakfast before moving on. GL is either within Rocky Mountain National Park or right on the edge of it. The deal with the park is you need a permit to camp there overnight. To get a permit you need to be carrying a bear cannister and I most definitely wasn’t going to do that. Our options were to either take a 4 mile trail that cuts through the park or hike a 28 mile horse shoe shaped trail that goes deep within RMNP. We chose the latter, I mean the place is a national treasure after all, and just knew we had to crush all day so we wouldn’t be camping within the park boundaries. It was a wise choice, the place is beautiful. Because it’s a national park the trails are well built, well maintained and nicely graded. Early on it was hot out and I was moving fast so I jumped into an icy cold river to cool off. Possibly the coldest water I’ve ever swam in. This afternoon we spent a lot of time up along a ridge outrunning some fierce looking thunderheads. We then dropped back down below tree line, walked for miles beside a meadow, and then really had to pick up the pace to avoid death by mosquito bite. Queen B is a conscientious objector to the war on bugs and I’m forgetful, so between the two of us we don’t have a drop of bug spray. I always forget while I’m in town and then remember when I’m feeling the wrath of the mosquitoes fury. The situation improved once we got to a road but for about 3 miles this evening the bugs were about as bad as they get. Right around sunset we reached the border of RMNP and the Never Summer Wilderness where we could camp freely without a permit or a bear cannister. Oh yeah we saw 4 moose throughout the day today and dozens of elk up on the ridge.

Day 69     7/7     19 miles 

I don’t know what my problem was last night but I just couldn’t sleep. I should have been super tired because of the day I put in on trail but I tossed and turned for hours. So today I was exhausted all day and the trail hasn’t been working in my favor. During the first 6 miles there was a long uphill slog to the top of Bowen Pass and then lots of ups and downs throughout the rest of the day with many blow downs in the trail that we had to climb over, duck under or walk around. During the climb up to Bowen Pass this morning we rounded a corner with QB leading the way and had a close encounter with 4 gigantic moose, 2 bulls and 2 cows. It was wicked cool! They were just chilling there eating and scratching themselves and really didn’t pay us no mind so we watched them for awhile from a safe distance. Today was difficult, mostly because I was running on barely any sleep, but also because the trail was no picnic. We called it early around 6pm at the bottom of another major climb that we can save until tomorrow. Hoping for some rest tonight. A great big moose all sneaky behind that treelooking back from Bowen Passsave that climb for tomorrow 

Day 70     7/8     25 miles 

Damn! Today was tough. The first few miles were a steep climb up to the top of Parkview Lookout. This might have been the most difficult climb of the whole trip. At least it felt that way, and that’s what really counts, right? At 12,300 feet this is the last time the trail goes up over 12,000 feet.  I’m not 100 percent on that though I just glanced at the elevation profile for the rest of the trail. As I was climbing up the ridge to the top of this peak I saw what I could have sworn was a polar bear. That didn’t make any sense though so I convinced myself it was an albino black bear. Turns out it was a mountain goat, I’m an idiot. After the initial climb the trail really didn’t let up the rest of the day. We descended for awhile on a ridge and then it was up and down for miles slowing me down and beating me up. This evening we had one last solid climb before reaching a forest road and finding a spot to camp. Looking back at a pretty rad ridgewalknot a polar bearthat was one beefy climb

Day 71     7/9     25 miles 

Last night we finished reading Grapes of Wrath. That was an incredible book. Both thumbs all the way up and what an ending! Queen B and I are trying to come up with a thru hiking summer reading list. So far Huck Finn and Grapes of Wrath both make the cut, next up is Swiss Family Robinson, I’ll keep you posted. Today the trail finally gave us an easy day. Not the most scenic or anything but just good cruising miles. We walked mostly downhill along a dirt forest road for about 15 miles. This was a long dry stretch but thankfully a couple that was camping in an RV at the edge of Arapaho forest hooked us up with some good clean water. Eventually the forest road ended and we walked for about 10 miles along highway  14. It wasn’t super exciting but we moved quickly all day, doing 25 miles without stopping. When we reached rt 40 we stuck our thumbs out and the first car that came by scooped us up and drove us a half hour to the town of Steamboat Springs (I’d like to think it’s me but it’s probably QB that’s been making hitchhiking so easy). I skied here in January and have been looking forward to returning ever since. I’m not big on taking zeroes during a thru hike but there’s a good chance we spend the day here tomorrow. A little rest will definitely do me good and this is just the right town to spend some time in. Feel free to follow me on insta for more pictures and even some videos of this adventure @endlesspsummerRoadwalk: the highway kind 

-Endless 

PS All My Love!!! 

 2 Comments

 Posted on July 10, 2017 by

 Hiking, Thru hiking, travel

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Grand Lake, CO

Day 65     7/3     10 miles

It was nice to be in no hurry at all this morning and I slept in a couple hours. QB and I grabbed breakfast at a restaurant near the hotel and I went for the Denver omelette scramble plus a pancake. Then we went across the street for ice creams from McDonald’s before taking the free bus to the supermarket in Fraser, a town a couple miles down the road. The supermarket was a zoo with everybody out shopping for the holiday. I accidentally grabbed a box of reduced fat cheezits instead of regular. This is crap because the ‘reduced fat’ label is tiny and easy to miss. Anyway it cost me about 20 minutes of waiting in 3 different lines; the first was to get to a register where the girl told me I had to go to customer service for returns, at customer service I waited while the guy took forever selling this woman a fishing license before taking care of my cheezit return, and then I had to pick out another salty snack and wait in the checkout line again(I went with Lays potato chips this time, it will be awhile before the cheezit company sees any of my money again). In hindsight I should have just suffered through the box of reduced fat cheezits. Right away after leaving the market we put our thumbs out and got picked up by Tim and his grandfather who drove us all the way back up to Berthoud Pass. At the pass we ran into Hannah and Charlie, who we first met in New Mexico, and bs’ed with them for awhile before getting back on trail. Leaving the parking area we walked steeply uphill to a ridge and continued until Flora Peak up over 13,000 feet before starting to descend. It was super windy up there and at one point we had to duck below a man made rock wall to escape the worst of it. The winds died down but we did catch a little bit of hail later on and even some rain but nothing crazy. We walked through a pretty amazing valley and had views of a faint rainbow in the distance before finding a place to camp in some woods near a creek. 

Day 66     7/4     25 miles 

I slept like a rock last night. 8 hours straight. It might have been the greatest night of sleep of my life, at least top 10. After leaving this super cozy campsite, I followed the trail as it gradually and then steeply climbed up out of the valley and onto a ridge topping out over 13,300 feet on James Peak. It was something like a 3000 foot climb to start the day. The trail then followed a ridge for about a dozen miles and we had amazing views for most of the day. A lot can be said for cookouts fireworks and parades but walking over around and through the purple mountain magesties of the Rockies on the 4th of July is probably my favorite way to celebrate America. It was cool to see lots of others out hiking today and there was even a good amount of people skiing what’s left of the snow in the backcountry. We eventually dropped below tree line and walked the last 10 miles or so in the woods before finding a soft looking campsite beside the trail. Devil’s thumb Queen B. Macklemore

Day 67     7/5     21 miles

Another solid night sleep on some cozy ground. On this day last year I was summiting Katahdin to finish the AT and today I’m crushing miles walking into Rocky Mountain National Park, both great days but I couldn’t help thinking a lot about the Appalachian Trail this morning and I look forward to hiking it again someday. We descended for most of the morning until we came to a series of lakes and then walked along them staying below tree line for the entire day. Right before we got to Monarch Lake I came around a corner and immediate was within 10 feet of a great big bull moose. I startled the poor fella and he bolted down to the edge of the lake. Once we rounded another corner we got a sweet view of him doing his thing in the distance and shortly after that saw a cow moose with two calves in tow. It was awesome. For the rest of the day the trail skirted the edge of lakes and for lunch QB and I ate on a beach and went for a swim. There were a lot of boaters out and I nicely asked one guy to pull me skiing. He thought that was funny but I wasn’t joking. The trail crosses into RMNP and then goes right through the vacation town of Grand Lake. Our friend Katie, the recent newlywed we saw get married in Illinois, was in nearby Estes Park and came to meet us for supper. We missed Boone by a day. Immediately after getting into town, QB and I ate cheeseburgers and sucked down coke floats so when Katie showed up we weren’t completely ravenous and could relax while waiting for second supper. In honor of Townes Van Zandt we ate fish tacos and quesadillas at Pancho and Lefty’s and had a great night. Since we’re in RMNP there’s all kinds of rules like we can’t just set up wherever we feel like it so we had to go to a pay campground for the night. This is against everything I believe in. At least I’ll take advantage of their showers, even though I swam today and that should hold me over for awhile. I swear there’s a moose in this pictureand this oneGranby LakeColorado Riverthose things don’t even have UV ray protectionKatie and QB no doubt laughing at one of my jokes looking as cool as possible 

Check out my insta for more pictures and some wildlife videos @endlesspsummer

-Endless 

PS All My Love!!! 

 5 Comments

 Posted on July 6, 2017 by

 Hiking, Thru hiking, travel

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Winter Park, CO 

Day 62     6/30

Yesterday after leaving the supermarket we ate some noodles at Pho Real(Vietnamese restaurants have the most clever names) and headed towards the free bus back to the trail. On the bus I met Bug Juice who is back home in Colorado while taking a few weeks off from the Pacific Crest Trail waiting for the snow to melt. I guess it’s been a really tough year to hike that trail since the West Coast got pounded with snow this past winter. I never met Bug Juice before but last year he was just ahead of me on the AT and he had a stamp that he used in all the trail registers with his name and avatar on it. It was nice to put a face to the name that I saw so often last year. Check out his blog if you just can’t seem to get enough of this sort of stuff at gobugjuice.com. He carried on to Frisco while QB and I got off at the trailhead and picked up about 9 miles before finding a spot to camp on the side of a ridge with a decent partially obstructed view of the sun setting over the 10 mile range. 

This morning we followed the trail through forest for about 10 miles gradually climbing most of the way on nicely graded switchbacks. These were the last miles that the CDT coincides with the Colorado Trail  and we met lots of southbounding CTers. They’re just starting their hike and are about to get into the first town; Breckinridge. The CT has so much in store for them, they’re so lucky and they don’t even know it, or maybe they do. When we reached Georgia Pass the trail splits and the CDT opens up onto a huge ridge for miles and miles. We had huge expansive views in every direction and climbed up over 13,000 feet for the first time on trail(Elbert and Massive were off trail extracurricular activities). After awhile of ridge walking QB and I took an alternate of our own creation. We took a steep dirt road into a valley and walked through the tiny but awesome town of Montezuma. We then rejoined the CDT and walked for a few miles Argentine Pass Trailhead that leads to Gray’s Peak where we found a place to camp with views of the Argentine Spine.Gray’s and Torrey’s Peaks the beefy Mt GuyotIt’s Hammertime in Montezuma

Day 63     7/1     17 miles

Today is one I won’t soon forget. I woke up to a frozen tent. It might have been the coldest morning of the trail so I figured it would be best to try to sleep in a little since the sun wasn’t yet shining in the valley where we were camped. This ended up being our latest start yet at 7:55 by over an hour(excluding days starting from town). Once we got going we started climbing up a steep narrow path to Argentine Pass. The trail passed 4 icy patches of snow where I put on my micro spikes and carried my ice ax in my hand. They weren’t horrible but definitely a little dicey, one or two worse than the others. We met Little Buddha near one of these snow patches and snacked out with him for awhile before carrying on to the ridge. Once we got to the ridge it seemed like a straight shot to the top of Gray’s Peak but after we summited the 13,817 foot Mt Edwards we got a good view of the Argentine Spine. This thing had super steep cliffs dropping off both sides and the only option was to carefully navigate upwards and forwards along the top of it. I thought it was pretty scary. I did see 5 goats up here including a baby and these animals walk around up here all the time so I knew it couldn’t be too dangerous. The Spine went on for about a mile and we took our time and safely made it to the switchbacks that led to the summit of Gray’s Peak. The summit was packed with people and we enjoyed our lunch up there taking in awesome views in every direction. At something like 14,278 feet this is the high point of the CDT, supposedly it’s all down hill from here. Just across a saddle maybe a mile away is Torrey’s Peak coming in at 3 feet shorter than Gray’s. The trail to Torrey’s summit was steep but clear of any snow or other obstacles so it was a bit of a no brainer to go off trail and hike up and down that one also. Once we got back to the saddle we followed the main trail for a few relaxing miles downhill to a parking lot. While we were eating snacks and drying our gear in the sun some lady asked me if I had any extra water but I could barely hear her over the sound of a raging river 10 feet away. We crushed about 8 more miles this evening going under I-70 and then camped about a mile north of the major highway. We were uphill of the road and could see headlights but the noise was drowned out by flowing water nearby. Gray’s PeakQB walking up to the Spinewe had to walk over and around stuff like thisTom Brady the dastardly Argentine Spinethe view from the top of Gray’s Peakon top of Torrey’s PeakTorrey’s Peak 

Day 64     7/2     20 miles

Today was incredible and very productive even though we had a bit of a slow start this morning. Shortly after breaking camp we ran into Garbelly and Critter who we haven’t seen since the south San Juans and caught up with them for awhile. Then I proceeded to jabber jaw with every day hiker for the first few miles before finally settling into a groove. The trail climbed steeply out of Herman’s Gulch and onto a ridge for about 15 miles. We topped out around 13,200 feet early on and stayed up high outrunning potential weather for most of the day. There was one point where the the winds became super fierce so QB and I ducked below the top of the ridge and let it blow over our heads. It was about 3 minutes of weather, most of the afternoon the clouds were threatening but we only had 3 minutes of heavy winds with a snow/hail/sleet/graupel blend. It cleared quickly and we followed the trail a few more miles down to Rt 40 at Berthoud Pass. We put our thumbs out and after only a couple minutes Jen and her dog Milo scooped us up and brought us to the town of Winter Park, not before seeing a moose on the side of the road though. I haven’t slept inside for a few weeks so after stuffing my face with cheeseburgers and tacos I’ll be enjoying the comforts of a hotel room. QB powering up Herman’s Gulchcheck out my insta for more pictures and even a goat video @endlesspsummer

-Endless

PS All My Love!!! 

 4 Comments

 Posted on July 3, 2017 by

 colorado, Hiking, Thru hiking, travel

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