Endless P Summer

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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Breckinridge, CO

Day 57     6/25     10 miles

Last night Cheese and Jabba drove down from Denver and met me and Queen B in Leadville. We ate tons of Chinese food before leaving town then headed towards the south trailhead of Mt Elbert to camp. We started on the trail going up Elbert at 7:30 and made a beeline for the summit. The 4 of us are all in good shape and pretty much crushed it straight to the top. When we reached the summit we had a spectacular and unexpected encounter. In February Queen B, Prickly Pear and I met up in the Adirondacks to snowshoe up Mt. Marcy. There we met SoyBoy(AT late 90’s) and he was just beginning his quest to ski the high point of each state. Since then we haven’t had any communication and didn’t connect on social media. I don’t even remember if we told him we’d be hiking the CDT. Anyway QB and I had taken the day off from the trail today to climb the high point of CO and of all people SoyBoy was at the summit just putting his skis on when we got up there. I couldn’t believe it, I recognized him right away and he remembered us too. QB and I had even mentioned him earlier in the day because someone told us they saw a guy carrying skis but neither of us thought it would be him. He had flown in from Maryland just the other day to climb and ski Mt. Elbert for his 5th high point. Unusual coincidences seem to happen to me quite often but this one is kind of mind blowing, I can’t even fathom what the chances are of this encounter. If you want to follow SoyBoy on his journey check out his insta @skithehighpoints. After he skied down the 4 of us spent about 45 minutes on the summit with a ton of other hikers on an absolutely beautiful day. The descent went smoothly and we went into Leadville and pounded pizzas and subs. QB and I had originally planned to get back on trail today but a little nudge to hike Colorado’s second highest peak, Mt Massive, got us going in a different direction. Cheese drove the 4 of us out to the trailhead and we then walked a mile or so to camp with plans of a sunrise summit of Massive. At the trailhead though we got quite a show. The road there goes right through the parking lot and then through a river. Not a little creek, a legit river. As we were packing our stuff for the hike, some nitwit comes bombing towards the river in his old Ford Explorer and we all went running right after him because this was obviously a recipe for disaster. And it was. He was safe and unharmed and everything but the truck was dead in the water and probably won’t be passing inspection anytime soon. Cheese, QB, me, JabbaQB, SoyBoy, and mepose down on the summit with Lotus and Hermes, a couple former PCT thru hikers on a summer long road tripBeen there dude, sorry we didn’t have the means to pull you out 

Day 58     6/26     14 miles 

Cheese, Jabba, Queen B and I were all camped at the end of a gulch at the bottom of a steep trail to the top of Mt Massive. The plan was to wake up at 3 and start hiking shortly thereafter in order to be on top for the 5:40 am sunrise. I couldn’t sleep a wink. I’ve dealt with insomnia my whole life, especially when I have to get up early for something exciting, but I usually sleep pretty well on trail. No big deal, I’d sleep later. At 3am we all began stirring and by 3:20 we started up the steep trail to the top. For awhile it was mostly rocky switchbacks but eventually we lost the trail across a snowfield(even with headlamps) and just continued up to the ridge scrambling carefully on snow and loose rock. There wasn’t much time to screw around so we barely stopped until we got to a spur up on the ridge just minutes before the sun came up. There were incredible views in all directions; huge snow capped mountains and a blanket of undercast clouds most likely full of Care Bears. We carried on along the ridge until we got to the summit and hung out there for about an hour. Nobody else decided to make it up for sunrise so it was just the 4 of us on top of the lower 48’s 3rd highest peak. The descent was much easier than I anticipated because we were able to pick up the trail in the light and sooner than later we were back at Cheese’s truck driving to town.  Queen B and I got dropped off in Twin Lakes and after eating some cheeseburgers got back on trail where we had left off a couple days before. I needed a nap in the worst way so soon after getting back into the woods I found a spot and crashed out for awhile. Around 5:30 I started making moves and picked up about a half dozen miles before crashing out again for the night. QB watching the sun come upPretty solid crew to climb up Colorado’s 2 tallest peaks with mountain beast

Day 59     6/27     31 miles 

Today was rather productive. Nothing too spectacular happened but it just felt like a really solid day of hiking after a full night sleep. For most of the morning the trail cut through a forest with a few good climbs and drops. There was the rare trail magic at the Timberline trailhead parking lot and it was totally appreciated and unexpected. Somebody named Steve left a cooler full of ice cold cokes and gatorades and m&m’s and stuff. Thanks Steve! While we were sipping on these sodas we met Ryder who was camping nearby with her kids. She thru hiked the AT 25 years ago when she was 20 and is considering hiking a long trail again. I really enjoy talking with former thru hikers. They’re the real deal, I can’t imagine doing this without a smart phone. Shortly after lunch the trail passed an alpine lake and I couldn’t resist jumping in for a refreshing dip. The rest of the day the trail went up and down through forests but every once in awhile it opened up and there were huge mountainous views right before my eyes. It was a good day for crushing miles. In the evening we found a campsite beside a meadow with howling coyotes and called it a night. Nothing beats the real thing!colder than it looks

Day 60     6/28     29 miles

Once we got going this morning we proceeded to crush the trail all day. It was no picnic. Early on we passed the creepiest set of abandoned bunkers or cells or something with strange graffiti all over them, and then somebody came by and cleverly corrected the graffiti. Probably good shelter in a storm but I guarantee they’re haunted. I really wish I knew what they were used for, I could probably just google it. After the bunkers we passed this waterfall that I showered in last year but the flow rate was a little heavy today. We then blasted up the beefy Kokomo Pass, followed a ridge over to Searle Pass and dropped down to Copper Mountain Resort where we grabbed some cheeseburgers for a late lunch. I skied here in January and it was cool to walk across the ski trails and under the lifts. The waiter said we must be pretty hungry since we looked like we’d been living in the woods for a week. Thanks buddy! More like 2 months so I guess that’s a compliment. After lunch we had another heavy duty climb as we walked for miles up to the top of 10 Mile Range. We dropped over the top of the range, where Breckinridge Ski area is, and walked a few snowy and scenic miles before finding a place to camp. Cops are Evel Knievel?showered here last year

Day 61    6/29     6 miles so far

I’m sitting in front of the supermarket in Breckinridge right now figuring out my resupply for the next few days and hoping to get back on trail in a few hours. Today has gone pretty well so far. We walked a nice easy 6 miles and caught the free bus into town. We met Drew at the bus stop, a boatbuilder and carpenter, who moved out here to climb mountains and snowboard down them. He offered to let us take showers at his house and that sounded pretty good after 5 or 6 days without one. Crushed breakfast after the shower and now taking care of some errands while in town. I’ll fill you in on the rest of the day in my next post. Feel free to follow me on Insta for more pictures and maybe even a video @endlesspsummer

This lady just looked at me and then I overheard her say to her man, “This place has a lot of homeless.”

-Endless

PS All My Love!!! 

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 Posted on June 29, 2017 by

 colorado, Hiking, Thru hiking, travel

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Leadville, CO

Day 51     6/19     10 miles 

So everything went pretty smooth yesterday. The pilot landed in Denver We caught up with Cheese, and some of his friends for lunch including Grundlehammer who I first met on the PCT in ’15. Queen B and I then walked all over downtown Denver, watched some break dancers while earing a bunch of noodles. Nomad met us at a Mexican restaurant later on for more food and we were also joined by legendary hiker Jabba aka @therealhikingviking of instagram fame. We spent the night at Nomad’s sweet apartment on the 18th floor of a high rise looking over Union Station. Cheese is joining us for a couple sections so this morning we met up with him and proceeded to return to the trail. With him driving, the 3 of us headed to Leadville where he dropped his truck, then we started hitching the 100+ miles south to the trail. Hope gave us a ride for about 40 miles to Nathrop and then Joy scooped us up for about a half hour ride into Salida. Seb was driving a big rig, which I never ever get rides in, but he picked us up and took us down to Saguache(I spelled it wrong the other day). We waited for an awful long time but finally got picked up by Joanie and rode in the back of her pickup back to Coachetopa creek. We got back on trail around 4:30 and seriously not 10 minutes later saw this huge black bear in a valley. A great bear sighting, close enough so we got a good view and far enough where we didn’t scare the beast off too quickly. We got 10 miles in and set up for the night. Looking down from Nomad’s placesweet ride in a big rig! grear big bear 

Day 52     6/20     27 miles 

Great day of hiking on the good ol’ Continental Divide National Scenic Trail today! Not too much out of the ordinary just an all around bang up day on the trail. It was nice hiking with Cheese and hearing all that he’s been up to since we first hiked together in Southern California. A Wisconsin native, Cheese relocated to Denver last summer and has had lots of adventures since. Since we got back on trail the mosquitoes have been out in full force. None of us are carrying any bug spray so the last 2 nights we had campfires. Including today and yesterday I can count on 1 hand the amount of times I’ve had campfires while thru hiking and they’ve all been to smoke out the bugs. Thankfully we have Queen B around, a former Girl Scout, she’s a pro at building fires. We found a nice little spot next to a stream to camp and with the smoke the bugs didn’t bother us too much. Good thing QB was a Girl Scout

Day 53     6/21     17 miles 

Today we had ourselves a nice modified town day. We used the in and out strategy that is helpful for not only saving a few bucks by not staying in town, but it’s much more productive to get back on trail in the evening. Town can be like a vortex making it hard to leave, even if you have every intention of getting back on trail first thing in the morning you still have to get breakfast. Right away this morning we hiked a nice quick 9 miles to Monarch Pass and ate some ice cream at the store there. Then Jerry, a local hiker, gave the 3 of us a ride into the town of Salida. We made a beeline for some cheeseburgers, then walked over to the supermarket to resupply. From there we got a hitch in the back of a pickup to the Salida Hot Springs Aquatic Center for a shower and a nice soak. Salida has a little shuttle bus that just bops around all over the place and the driver scooped us up and brought us a few miles to the edge of town. We were about to start hitching back to the pass from there but we saw a Thai restaurant across the street and decided we couldn’t just pass that up. After dinner we got a ride back to the trail by a couple of scout leaders who generously went a good distance out of their way to get us where we were going. It was about 5:30 when we started walking again and got in a strong 8 miles before sunset. It was some really nice miles too, high up on a ridgeline we enjoyed the summer solstice with views of granite mountains, alpine lakes, and pink skies. We found a sweet spot below a ridge and near a lake and called it a night.  Salida, COQB and Cheese hitching to SalidaPerfect evening for the summer solstice

Day 54     6/22     25 miles 

Cheese hiked in with us and we camped together last night and he then turned back to Monarch Pass this morning while QB and I carried on. It was great hiking with him these last few days and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing our buddy again before we’re out of Colorado. Today was awesome. The hiking was a little difficult at times but we were constantly rewarded with amazing views. I think we went up and over 4 passes including Chalk Creek Pass and Tincup Pass(the other 2 either didn’t have names or I never learned them). In between the passes was a fair amount of snow travel that slowed us down but nothing too exhausting. From Monarch Pass to Twin Lakes, hikers have the option of going through the West or East Collegiate mountains(I think these are just mountains named after colleges). We did the West route last year on the Colorado Trail and knew that it was quite magestic, so we chose the same route again. The Mirror Lake alternate was a 20 odd mile trail off of the West route that we also opted for just to shake things up a bit. Tonight we’re camping at the empty Mirror Lake CG about 6 miles into the alternate. I think we missed the trail somewhere and just waded through the edge of Mirror Lake

Day 55     6/23     27 miles 

Today was borderline exceptional. We left Mirror Lake CG and climbed up onto a ridge for awhile before following the trail up and down through pine forests before descending into a valley containing the Texas Lakes. We broke for lunch at one of the lakes and immediately jumped in. Swimming/bathing in a natural body of icy cold water on a hot day when I’m sweating and filthy is probably my absolute favorite thing to do. After lunch we came across a couple of moose chilling out in a meadow about 20 yards away, the bull was giving us the stink eye. I’ve got some decent footage. The trail followed along this meadow for awhile and then started to climb up towards Lake Ann Pass. I don’t know if it was the afternoon coffee I was drinking or the extra pack of ramen I had last night but I caught a wild hair and absolutely crushed it up the steep switchbacks of the pass. Queen B must have had the eye of the tiger herself because she was right on my heels. Upon reaching the top I resisted every urge to let out a primal, blood curdling scream for fear of causing an avalanche because the north side of the pass was all snow and heavily corniced. Getting down would be a challenge; there was tons of snow and only one very steep path of footprints down. It was gnarly. One of the more precarious situations I’ve been in. Queen B wanted to lead the charge and I wasn’t putting up an argument. The sight was incredible though. I remember how impressive it looked last August and this year the snow gave the landscape a whole new paint job. Sooner than later we made our way down and were whoop whooping through a few more miles of snow until we found a spot near a creek to camp. A primo lunch spota great big moosewe hiked down a super steep path to get around these beefy cornices

Day 56     6/24     19 miles 

This morning after breaking camp we followed the trail as it pleasantly rolled through a valley in the middle of the Collegiate Wilderness. Mountains everywhere; it was magical. Eventually we started climbing up Hope Pass, and this thing was no joke! Super steep and went on for miles but couldn’t slow me down any. There were lots of people out; day hikers and trail runners. I think I saw more day hikers today then in all of New Mexico, real talk. Most of the runners we saw were training for the Leadville 100, a true endurance race that takes some serious grit. Maybe someday but for now I’m too busy hiking. The north side of Hope Pass was much tamer than Lake Ann and after awhile we ended up on a road walk into the tiny town of Twin Lakes. Not before jumping into a freezing cold river of snowmelt(it definitely helps to get a layer of grime off before hitch hiking). After eating a couple burgers at a food truck with a pair of section hikers, we hitched over to Leadville. This town is pretty rad. An old mining town it also has the highest elevation of any town in the U.S.(with some caveat or something). We resupplied at the supermarket and are showering and currently doing laundry at the Colorado Trail House. This hostel is great and the owners Rick and Bec are super friendly towards thru hikers. Cheese and Jabba are driving down tonight and the plan is for them to pick us up and we’ll go for a little field trip to climb a mountain tomorrow. Check back next week for details and follow me on insta for more pictures and maybe even a wild animal video @endlesspsummerQB crushing it up Hope Pass

-Endless

PS All My Love!!!

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 Posted on June 25, 2017 by

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Rockland, IL and Madison, WI

Day 44     6/12/17     23 miles

Today was rather productive, especially considering we didn’t get out of town until quarter past ten. I had been lugging around my snowshoes for about 300 miles now and they had become a total nuisance. There was only about half a day when I actually used them and even that was overkill so I finally got a chance to mail them home today. This was no easy feat however, some old grouch at the post office was trying to make matters difficult. The woman at the counter was really nice but there was a particular crabby lady in the back that kept barking out orders at us from the other room. It took 3 trips to the PO, one pretty solid dumpster dive by me for some cardboard and a little bit of crafty ingenuity by Queen B to get our snowshoes packaged up and sent home. We celebrated our successful post office mission with ice cream sandwiches and then walked out of the town of Creede. This is a really cool old mining town and the Main Street leads right out of town through a giant canyon where the mine is. After leaving town the road ascends steeply through the mine and eventually picks up a trail that brought us back to the CDT after 10 miles. We walked quickly up this road and about halfway up saw a great big bull moose just chilling in the grass watching us. Once we got back onto the official route it was familiar territory. The CDT coincides with the Colorado Trail for the next few hundred miles and Queen B and I both hiked the CT last August. For the next 4 miles we were up around 12,000 feet contouring around huge bowls and postholing in deep snow. QB said this is her favorite place in the world, personally though I’m not too crazy about post holing through the snow for miles, no matter how spectacular the views are. Once we got up and over San Luis Pass we dropped down through a valley for about 10 miles before finding a place to camp in La Garita CG. I loved the CT and it’s fun to remember my time here last year and to see the trail going the opposite direction. In the valley this evening I saw a beaver, another great big moose, a white tailed deer and about a dozen elk. Walking out of Creede the old mineQB’s favorite place in the worldA great big moose

Day 45     6/13     27 miles

Crush City today! For real, we really knocked it out of the park. Today was a primo day for banging out some serious miles. The original plan was to push for a huge day, do the same thing tomorrow then hopefully get to Monarch Pass early enough on Thursday with enough time to hitchhike a couple hundred miles north to Denver. My friends Boone and Katie are getting married in Illinois this weekend and Queen B and I would like to be in attendance. We were destroying miles all morning and had close to 20 by the time we stopped for lunch. Shortly afterwards we ran into a southbounding Colorado Trail hiker who gave us a report of pretty lousy trail conditions ahead. I have no idea how accurate this report was and if we gave it hell I’m sure we could have still got to Monarch Pass by Thursday but chose to let fate have its say. There was a road crossing about 6 miles ahead and we decided to put our thumbs out for exactly one hour. If we didn’t get picked up in an hour we’d carry on hiking. As luck would have it, 45 minutes into the hour, the 8th car that passed us scooped us up. Chad was driving a huge pickup towing an even bigger trailer full of scrap metal. As a former scrap metal collector myself, I knew this was a good omen. He fed us a still warm McDonald’s double cheeseburger and drove us 40 miles to Sawatch, CO. We were quickly in and out of a gas station for drinks, and seconds later got picked up by a car heading our way. Mary was driving a full size suburban Chevrolet dragging a pop-up trailer and packed with 3 kids, 2 dogs and a few bikes. I was shocked when she stopped for us but it was a great hitch. The whole family was really nice and Mary drove us 3 hours to Colorado Springs where they were meeting her daughter who’s in the army there and camping for the weekend. On request Speed drove down to CO Springs to grab us, then he and his wife Theresa put us up in their home in Denver. Things really work out nicely sometimes. I just ate a ton of pizza and I’m about to crash out after an awesome long day of walking and traveling. Coachetopa creek crossing, arguably the coldest water of all time. My legs were numb to my thighs for 20 minutes. Miles to go before I sleep

Day 46     6/14     0 miles

Today I took my first official zero of the CDT. In thru hiking terminology a ‘zero’ is simply a day with no trail miles hiked.  So nice to just relax for the day. Theresa cooked us breakfast and then I straight chilled this morning, even took a mid morning nap, a total rarity for me. Over the last few weeks I developed a gigantic tear in the seat of my shorts, I mean these things were threadbare and see-through and even the packing tape we got in Creede couldn’t stop the damage. A better hiker would have just sewed them with dental floss but I had planned on replacing them while in town.  Theresa, a seamstress, offered to fix them and had my shorts good as new in minutes. Early this afternoon, Big Cheese (who became so svelte hiking the PCT in ’15 that he now goes by just ‘Cheese’) came by and the 5 of us went out to lunch then explored the Berkeley neighborhood of Denver where Speed and T live. QB and I ran a couple of errands this afternoon and then this evening Cheese had a little impromptu cookout at his place in Arvada just north of Denver. Speed, T and some other hiking friends and Colorado Natives BK and Nomad showed up, it was great. All day everything  was so last minute and unplanned and all these people came out of the woodwork to help us out; driving us around, putting us up in their homes, feeding us, or just hanging out. So nice to get trail magic from friends. Speed was supposed to get back on trail today(he’s hiking a section of the CDT in southern Wyoming) but put it off until tomorrow just to help us out. Cheese lives on a little working farm complete with goats and chickens and the like. Plenty of room to camp so this is where I’m spending the night. At first I couldn’t tell if this was some kind of sidewalk art or a scaffolding collapse. Note the ‘Bad Neighbor’ sign next door. Slow car or fast house? The last time I saw Cheese grilling, he and Shadowhawk were flipping burgers in Warner Springs, CA for about 100 hungry hikers. Bullit the Goat eating grass

Day 47     6/15    0 miles

Yesterday Queen B and I booked our flights to Chicago for early this afternoon. The last thing I needed the first then this morning was an email from Spirit airlines saying that my flight was delayed 6 hours(this really wasn’t that big of a deal especially since we were able to use our time wisely). So I just walked a butt load of miles, strangers picked up two dirty smelly hikers and drove us for hours on end, friends carted us around, fed us and housed us but a major U.S. airline (albeit a budget airline), that we spent real money on, was the only entity we couldn’t count on. I believe in people and fate, airlines and huge companies on the other hand are just the worst. No big deal, we made the most of our day in Denver. Cheese had the day off so he was able to hang out and brought us all over town to take care of chores and eat food. We went to Tom’s Diner downtown and I demolished a delicious Denver Omelette(I think everywhere else it’s just called a Western Omelette, at least in New England). While exploring the city we shopped for brand new used clothes to wear to Boone and Katie’s wedding. I can’t be getting out on the dance floor this weekend in my dirty running shorts, feathered trucker hat, and filthy ill-fitting Hawaiian shirt. Cheese then drove us up to Boulder to a gear repair  shop where I got the zipper on my tent replaced. Boulder Mountain Repair is the real deal; short money and super quick, in and out in 20 minutes. Before dropping us off at the airport we stopped for Vietnamese food. One of my 2017 New Year’s resolutions was to master chopsticks and I hadn’t picked up a pair in 6 weeks. It’s like riding a bike though and I had no problem devouring a huge bowl of Pho Tai. Right now I’m sitting on the plane that was delayed an additional hour and a half waiting to take off. Should be getting to O’Hare around 11:30 central time then still have about a 90 mile drive to Rockford, IL ahead of us. Hoping to crash out for a little bit on the plane. Oddly enough last night at Cheese’s cookout I met 2 of his roommates, one grew up in Rockford and the other went to Appalachian State in Boone, NC. My buddy Boone’s hometown and another city where he spent a lot of time and where his trail name is derived from. The truth is stranger than fiction, I’ve been saying that for years. The thing is though, that kind of stuff barely surprises me anymore, my life is a series of eerie coincidences or at least I think it is (I’ve also been saying that for years).Colorado state capitalit wouldn’t have been cool to put it back on the rack after trying it on over these gross clothes

Day 48     6/16     0 miles

We got into Chicago after midnight and still had to rent a car and drive 90 miles to Rockford. I hadn’t driven a car in 6 weeks, I was exhausted, in a place I’d never been, in a car I wasn’t familiar with, and driving through cloudburst rainstorms and navigating other obstacles like orange construction barrels and having to throw coins in real tollbooths like the olden days. I felt like I woke up in this really weird dream and had to perform ridiculous tasks. No problem though, we got to Boone’s house and caught up with him for awhile before finally crashing out for the night around 3am. After sleeping in for a few extra hours; Boone, QB, and I went to breakfast at Eggceltional or Eggsclusive Cafe or some other egg pun restaurant. I can’t remember the exact name but both thumbs up. Come to find out they call it a Denver omelette in Illinois too, but they should call it a Rockford omelette. QB and I both devoured our 5 egg omelette, plus stacks of pancakes. These were gigantic meals and we major beatings on them, I could tell the waitress was impressed. Queen B and I spent the afternoon having fun exploring the city of Rockford. It’s got a reputation for being a rather gritty place but from what I saw of the city I think Rockford’s got a lot going for it. We went to an art museum at the Discovery Center, walked along the riverfront and downtown and checked out the Rockford Farmer’s Market. This evening we went to the wedding rehearsal at the Barn and then to dinner with the Bride, Groom, and family and friends at Costa’s in Byron, IL. The wedding venue was really nice, dinner was great and it was a lot of fun meeting the people in Katie and Boone’s life. Boone and QB crushing breakfastthe Discovery Center in Rockford, ILthe Riverwalk Rockford, ILthe wedding venue

Day 49     6/17     0 miles

This morning Queen B and I took a little field trip to the Wisconsin state capitol, Madison. What a delightful little city this is! Madison is a clean, safe college town that was chock full of tourists, sidewalk performances, and another farmer’s market(2 midwestern FM’s in a row if you’re keeping track). In the center of the city is the beautiful capitol building. We checked that out and went up to the observation deck, enjoying 360 degree views of Madison and the 2 lakes the city is built between. We walked along pedestrian only State street which is closed to traffic on the weekends, over to both lakes, down to the University of Wisconsin and then out to lunch for noodles and sushi. Katie told us that Madison is the foodie capital of the Midwest(Boone disagreed). Either way the Japanese food today did not disappoint. Madison is about an hour and a half from Rockford so we headed back early enough that we’d have enough time to get all gussied up for the wedding. We got to the venue with time to spare and the impending rain held off for a beautiful outdoor ceremony. I’ve had many different roles at weddings and this time I was asked to step in and be the videographer. I was up for the task and everything but there’s a small chance there may have been some technical difficulties with the production. The reception in the barn afterwards was perfect; I met lots of their family and friends, there were 2 rather awesome toasts by Brian and Amanda(the BM and MOH speeches are usually my favorite part of any wedding and they both rose to the challenge), live country music, and serve yourself style BBQ which I prefer because of my fierce appetite. Most importantly it was easy to see that everyone in the room was genuinely happy for Boone or ‘Eric’ and Katie. These two have themselves a legit love story and it was obvious how excited they both were to be marrying each other. Tonight was a great night and I’m so glad I was there for it. Congratulations Katie and Boone! Madison, WIa street performer me, Boone(with his eyes closed), Katie, QBBoone or ‘Eric’ and Katie, the newlyweds QB and Lydia the flower girl, cheesin real hardMe and QB, got our wedding gear at thrift stores and took a few bird baths to get rid of that hiker stank

Day 50     6/18    0 miles

Boone put us up at his house for 2 nights and let us use it as a base while we were in town but since the newlyweds were returning there after the wedding, we sprang for a hotel room last night. I’m sure he carried her over the threshold and everything but we got out of their hair for all those traditions. I’d have to go over my journal to make sure, but I think Boone’s house was the first place that I spent 2 nights in a row since I left Massachusetts in the end of April. The place was incredible. Boone built it himself and as a carpenter and a perfectionist; his house is a perfect example of the craft that he’s mastered. We stopped by this morning before leaving town to say goodbye and gather a few of our things before driving to the airport. Everything went really smoothly so far today and QB and I are currently up in the air flying back to Denver. No delays on Spirit Airlines end so as long as the pilot lands this thing where they’re supposed to, we should be back on trail in the next 24 hours. I knew getting to Rockford for this wedding was going to be a challenge but it would be well worth it and it was. It’s tough to get off trail for an extended period of time but we hadn’t taken any zeroes yet and hopefully my body will appreciate the rest I’ve given it. Check in next week for an update and feel free to follow me on insta @endlesspsummer for more pictures.

-Endless

PS All My Love!!! a Northern Illinois sunset last night at the wedding

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 Posted on June 18, 2017 by

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Creede, CO

Day 38     6/6/17     11 miles

Another great day on trail. Queen B and I ate a rather substantial breakfast in town and did a few last minute errands before what could potentially be a 6 day stretch in the mountains. We got back on trail at Wolf Creek Pass and it’s only something like 85 miles to Silverton, but super difficult, snowy, mountainous miles. In the last section I didn’t anticipate it being such a slow pace through the mountains and didn’t have enough food so I brought enough for 6 days through this stretch. I think I’ll be alright, but my pack is wicked heavy. We hitched back up from Pagosa to the Pass and got a ride from Yianna, a former Olympic kayaker. Once we got back on trail we seemed to be right in the middle of the herd. We met like 8 or 9 other hikers today which is so rare for the CDT but pretty great because we haven’t seen many people this whole trail. The terrain was nice today, snow covered scenic mountains all day, or half a day since that’s pretty much all we did. We’re camping in this killer spot up over 12,000 feet looking over a whole range of mountains with 6 others tonight; Spirit, Bones, Lunchbox, Dos Egg Rolls, Prophet and Pei Mei who I first met on the PCT in ’15. I also hiked with Garbelly and Critter earlier today, I met Garbelly in Northern California on the PCT in ’15. I only talked to him briefly then because he was in the middle of back to back 45’s or something crazy like that. It’s cool to run into somebody in the middle of nowhere that I already know because I met them somewhere else in the middle of nowhere. Happens to me all the time. This is by far the most people I’ve seen together on trail all season. It’s good to go through such a difficult section with a crowd though, safety in numbers or something like that. So many hikers on trail So many hikers at camp

Day 39     6/7     19 miles 

Even at such a high elevation and on rocky uneven ground, I slept so good last night. I don’t want to jinx it but I’ve been getting great nights of sleep for the last month now.  Right away this morning Queen B and I bombed up a pass and then the trail was quite pleasant for awhile. For the first few miles we walked over ridges where the snow hadn’t accumulated or had blown away and it was very relaxing. This wouldn’t last. Around 10:30 we got to this steep mountain with lots of snow. There looked to be about 3-4 options to go over or around it and along with the 6 others we camped with last night we all went like 4 different ways. QB, Lunchbox, and I contoured along the side of the mountain for awhile and when we found a good spot, climbed straight up toward the rocky summit. This involved about a 100 yard hand over hand scramble through the snow. It wasn’t easy, but it seemed to me like the best option because every other way looked like I would have to cross over a beefy cornice. The guys that took the other routes all made it through and seemed happy with their decisions. I wore microspikes for pretty much the rest of the day because we walked through lots of snow and had a few sections where we had to contour around these gigantic snow bowls. All day we leap frogged with the guys we camped with last night and when they stopped to camp up on a saddle, Queen B and I pressed on for a few more miles. We crossed through another huge bowl and climbed up towards a burn area where we found some flat dry ground with some pines nearby. Hoping for another sleepy night. 

Day 40     6/8     Est 20 miles 

Well the CDT got the best of me today. The first half dozen miles were really nice, we walked along snow covered ridges and through a couple large bowls. Around 11 am we climbed steeply up to the beginning of the ‘Knife’s Edge.’ Once on the other side of it the trail contoured along a super steep slope that went down about 800 feet to a sheer cliff. I estimated a 60 plus degree angle but who knows. The weather was warm and the sun had been beating on the snow for a few hours now making it extra soft. Queen B and I took about an hour up there trying to figure out if it was safe enough to cross or if there was another way around this obstacle.  She was more game to try it than I was but after I took a few steps onto the snow I decided the risk wasn’t worth the reward and I made the call to figure something else out. Hikers that came before us made it across safely and I sure hope everyone behind us does too but today was not my day. It would have been nice and we probably would have been ok, but there was a small chance that one of us could slip or the snow could give out and I wasn’t willing to take that chance. I hated making that call. We then followed up a tough decision with a bad one. At first we thought maybe we could take a take a trail waaaayyyy around the obstacle but that wasn’t the case. The other day we were able to follow a river to a valley that eventually turned into a road that brought us to a town. Stubbornly we assumed we could do that again and our maps made it look plausible. We dropped steeply from the Divide to a creek that we followed down to a larger river that we walked alongside for miles. There was a trail there but eventually we got cliffed out. The river was raging and even if we could have got across it, there were steep unpassable cliffs on either side. We tried to consider all our options and figured our safest bet was to return up to the Divide and then backtrack 20+ miles to the Creede cutoff route and then another 24 miles into the town of Creede. We had to cut our losses and this was another agonizing decision. There’s a chance we may have been able to go up and around a peak and possibly find another trail that could get us out. Right now we’ve got enough food to get us to Creede if we simply backtrack but if we take a chance on a trail and it doesn’t pan out, we would only be compounding mistakes and might really get ourselves into trouble. So we walked back the way we came and found a spot to camp about half mile from where we left the trail for the creek. I’m not happy with the way things went today but I know they could be worse. I know for a fact tomorrow won’t be easy and all of today’s extracurricular activity cost us lots of time. Even with all that, I don’t regret my decision to not cross the Knife’s Edge. I thought the trail became too dangerous and I’d have been doing an injustice to all the people who tell me to ‘be safe out there.’ I don’t want to fall off any cliffs and I would most definitely regret dying. QB walking across a gigantic bowlwalking across a ridge in the morning The dastardly knife’s edge, it was scarier than this picture portrays. I swear! 
Day 41     6/9     16 miles 

Today was humbling. The consequences of yesterday’s decision to turn around will last a few days. All day long we backtracked miles we’ve already covered and they seemed more difficult and snowier than before. There was truth to this, because it was warmer today the snow was softer and that made it harder to walk through whereas a couple days ago we could more easily skim across the surface. It was still a really good day. I wasn’t thrilled to be retreating but I soon realized my only choice was to enjoy myself, I was out here walking over and around incredible mountains all day long and living in the woods like a dirty wild animal. And it was a beautiful day. In the evening we found a spot to camp in a wide open valley saving a big climb for the morning. We’re at 12,000 feet, there’s huge mountains in every direction, the sun just set and the almost full moon appeared above a peak. The plan is to backtrack about 5 more miles south on the official CDT and turn left onto the Creede cutoff and continue north on a lower route through the San Juans. 

Day 42     6/10     23 miles 

Today was productive. We started off climbing a couple miles until we were just below the rocky summit of a 12,800 foot mountain. It was harrowing getting around this thing 3 days ago but now the wind was absolutely ripping and QB and I were having trouble keeping our balance as we walked the ridge up to the peak. We dropped down a little and took cover beside a rock until the wind died down some. When we felt the time was right we followed the trail around the back of the peak across loose rock and contoured across a sheet of ice at a steep angle. It was scary. After we got across the back of this mountain we took a lower but much longer route than the other day to contour across the snowy bowl on the frontside of it. Once we had that behind us the rest of the trail until the Creede cutoff was open ridgeline and very nice. Dropping off the CDT to the Creede route was no picnic. The first few miles were steep downhill and had lots of obstacles; downed trees from a burn and beetlekill and 3 or 4 fast moving creeks we had to cross. Eventually though the trail got really nice. After lunch we cruised for about 15 mostly uphill but pleasant miles until we found a good spot on the edge of a meadow to camp. 

Day 43     6/11     10 miles

This morning we walked an easy 10 miles downhill and got into the town of Creede, CO. Immediately stuffed my face with a couple chili covered cheeseburgers and plate of French fries. QB and I are taking the rest of the day off for some much needed rest and also to regroup and come up with a plan for the near future. We planned on being in Silverton right now and halfway around the high route but things change. The course of the rest of my life has now been forever altered. Just kidding, but seriously. During the last few days I spent a good amount of time going over in my head the decision to turn back at the Knife’s Edge. I’m not crazy about redoing the miles and I regret having followed a river to a dead end but if I had to do it over I still wouldn’t go across. I’m not sure exactly of my next move but besides eating a bunch of food and doing town chores, I’ll probably be carrying on north to Canada from here. Stay tuned for more updates and feel free to follow me on insta for more pictures @endlesspsummer

-Endless                                                              P.S. All My Love!!! 

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 Posted on June 11, 2017 by

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Pagosa Springs, CO

Day 33     6/1/17     16 miles 

We stayed last night in Chama and this morning parted ways with Speed. He’s already hiked this section of Colorado and is heading home to Denver before he gets back on the trail later this summer. I learned more from Speed in the last couple hundred miles about the outdoors than Queen B and I will learn from each other the rest of the trail. Thanks for coming out Speed, see you in Denver. After eating the most delicious breakfast burrito of my life from the Boxcar restaurant in Chama, Queen B and I got a ride from Cecil back up to the trail-the first car that drove by. Shortly after we got back on trail we realized; it’s on now. The San Juans are no joke. We quickly climbed up to a ridge and walked through lots and lots of snow. All around us on the ridge were threatening thunderheads but luckily we made it through unscathed. Today we got up over 12,000 feet and that’s already higher than any part of the trail in New Mexico. I wore my microspikes for most of the day and for the first time I broke out my ice ax and carried it in my hand. Before today I had my snowshoes and ice ax strapped to my back but finally ended up using all my weapons. For the most part the snow was crispy and we could stay on top of it but in the afternoon it turned into a mashed potato consistency and I was postholing every other step, for this I wore my snowshoes. We dropped down between two ridges and found a rather stellar campsite near a frozen snow covered lake. There were hardly any patches of earth showing anywhere but we ended finding a really nice cozy flat section of ground to sleep for the night. Hoping to stay relatively warm. 

On a side note; yesterday in Chama I saw a a dog riding on top of a pickup truck. This was a big f350 or something going about 40 pulling a big work trailer. The dog looked like a full size yellow lab standing up facing forward like a statue. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so weird. 

Day 34     6/2     17 miles 

Not all 17 mile days are created equal. Gave it hell today but it wasn’t easy, lots of snow travel made the trail very slow going. We got an early start on the day, in order to try to move quickly over the crispy snow in our microspikes. I put on my cold wet socks and shoes and pretty much every other article of clothing I was carrying, Queen B decided to face the day in running shorts and a long sleeve shirt. She believes in the philosophy, “Be bold, start cold.” Most of the day we spent snowshoeing, which is fun but super slow. After a few hours my feet felt like blocks of ice, then I remembered I had a couple empty plastic tortilla bags I was carrying for this very reason. I put the bags over my socks and it provided another layer, warming my feet up to a comfortable temperature. I swear I learned this trick from a Beastie Boys song. All day we had wide open, incredible, snowy, mountain views. We switched back to spikes in the afternoon and crossed a rather sketchy mountain pass up over 12,000 feet. There were t-storms in the distance but we only got about a half hours worth of rain and were rewarded with a rainbow. Around 6:30 we found a spot to camp in a valley after the pass and below another one. Had we continued until dark we’d have been up high on a ridge with the thunderstorms with little chance of finding decent camping for miles. That’s just bad thru hiking. Today was tough, one of the harder, more memorable, and slow moving days of my hiking career, but it was still awesome. 

Day 35     6/3     17 miles estimated 

I woke up pretty cold but warmed up quickly as I climbed the first mountain pass while the snow was still pretty crunchy. We continued along a ridge for awhile and then slowly dropped down a very steep slope. This was like walking down White Heat if White Heat was steeper and a lot longer(all you Sunday River skiers will get the reference). There actually had been at least a pair of skiers there previously and had carved some nice figure 8’s into the side of the mountain. We climbed again and then contoured along a mountain for awhile. As the sun rose in the sky the snow became slushy and slippery. This went on for awhile, at around 9:30 we only had about 3.5 miles for the day. At this rate we were only looking at about a 13-14 mile day and it would take at least an extra day and a half to get to town. I had started to ration food yesterday when I realized how long it was taking us. On this steep stuff, every step has to be precise and takes total concentration. Besides being physically demanding, it’s mentally exhausting. With all that being said we realized it would be borderline reckless to carry on and we should start considering alternatives. There was a valley way below us with a river and looking at our maps we saw that it eventually led out to the tiny town of Platoro, CO. From Platoro we can pick up another trail that will lead us to the Creede route through the San Juans if that’s what we choose to do. Once we got down to this river, we followed it for awhile and eventually it converged with two other forks and they all drained into the Platoro Resevoir. Finally we got down to this tiny town that has an old rustic lodge, cafe, and minimal amount of food for sale but enough for a minor resupply. They’ve also  got airstream trailers for rent so that’s where I’ll be calling it a night. Look closely and you can see the figure 8’s

Day 36     6/4     26 miles

Platoro was quite the little town, look it up on a map or on Wikipedia or something. There really isn’t too much there but it’s cool. It used to be a mining town but now there’s just a couple of restaurants and lodges that rent out little cabins or Airstreams to hikers, bikers and travelers. We met the two guys that spent the first winter in town in the last 40 years or something crazy. Ernie and Paul, they own Platoro Valley Lodge and Cabins. Next time I’m in town I’ll stay there, seemed like a much better deal, they look out for the hikers and it’s the only place in town with even a hint of wifi. This morning we pigged out at the Golden Nugget Cafe for breakfast and then started walking a long dirt road up to Elwood Pass. For a few miles there was a fair amount of snow on the ground until we got over the Pass and descended for the rest of the day. It was a pleasant road walk and nice to stretch the legs after a lot of difficult hiking lately. In the evening we found a nice campsite in the woods next to the road and around 60 degrees should’ve done comfortable sleeping. Looking down at Platoro 

Day 37     6/5     14 miles 

This morning we walked about a half dozen miles of dirt road before getting to a highway and walking about 8 to South Fork, CO. From South Fork, QB and I hitched over to Pagosa Springs and met up with our friend Lost’N’Found. It was a great day, ate tons of town food, came up with a plan for the next section and bought tons of food for it. I feel like I was light on food for the last section so I probably over did it this time. Better off with more food though, but it sure is heavy. Lost drove us around all day and is putting us up for the evening. We spent the night relaxing in some hot springs here, place is awesome. Tomorrow morning the plan is to hitch up to Wolf Creek Pass, get back on trail there and try to take the high route on to Silverton. Things could change though, stay tuned. And follow me on insta if you want to see more pictures @endlesspsummer 

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 Posted on June 6, 2017 by

 Hiking, Thru hiking, travel

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