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Showing posts from August, 2022

Summer of Colorado, Week #6 + #7

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On Tuesday I finished my first through hike ever! I've been backpacking for more than 30 years but never had the time to venture out on a through hike on account of being a working schlep for thirty years. BTW, I think a through hike is a bit like an ultra marathon in that there is no set distance but it's commonly acknowledged to be long, grueling and not for everyone! I finished the Colorado Trail (CT) in the northbound direction (Durango to Denver) in 26 days of hiking. I highlight the northbound (or NoBo as we say on the trail) aspect as I was truly a rare breed out there as I only encountered five other NoBo hikers compared to hundreds of SoBo hikers. Most people go SoBo as that's what the CT guide recommends as you start at lower elevations and the first hundred miles are fairly gradual in the southbound direction. On my second to last day on the CT, I met a NoBo couple (Washer and Pocket Snacks) who was also finishing up the CT so we hiked together for the final fort...

Summer of Colorado, Week #5

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Ginny and I backpacked the Collegiate West segment of the Colorado Trail last week and it was spectacular, grueling and full of wild, wet weather! We loved it, we (Ginny) hated it but most importantly, we survived to tell the tale! On day 3 after going over five mountain passes (all over 12,000 feet in elevation), we found ourselves at Cottonwood Pass which is a paved road that leads to Buena Vista (aka CIVILISATION!) with a thunderstorm bearing down on us. After unsuccessfully trying to take shelter from the pouring rain under this tiny roadside sign, we decided to hitch into town to get out of the rain for a few hours and maybe get something hot to eat! It was a nice little break from the elements but we were back at it the next day with a couple more monster passes to tackle (Lake Ann Pass and Hope Pass, also both over 12,000 feet). The scenery was amazing but the terrain was very difficult and Ginny's knees and feet decided they'd had enough after five days of hoofing it up...