Our last true zero day on the trail…hmm, how to spend it? Well, laying low and taking it easy for sure. After last night’s late night fun, a little sleeping in is certainly in order. And now that I have a name for it, my tibial tendonitis suggests a minimum of movement. Ah, but hiker hunger, even on an off day, motivates us to escape the motel room in search of the one thing America does better than anywhere else in the world—breakfast! (more…)
Waking up to the soothing sound of Elk Creek as it rushes by ten feet away from our tent is a great way to start the day. The white noise of the water made for a great night of sleep as well. (more…)
We wake up this morning to a totally out of the ordinary phenomenon in our previous 33 days on the Colorado Trail—a blanket of thick gray clouds completely blocking out the sun! We had been warned that rain might be in the forecast but had hoped it would hold off until later in the day. This is not the type of start that we are hoping for, on this our last full day of trekking before reaching the end of this leg. On the up side, it’s much warmer as we sip our coffee and prepare to head out for the day! (more…)
On paper, today is the shortest mileage day of this leg between Creede and Silverton. We only have to hike 14.5 miles, and, after the 15.8 and 18.8 mile-days that we have put in already, we wake up figuring that today’s hike should feel pretty easy. Funny how that’s not the way it works. (more…)
Boy, we think we get up early, but the two mountain bikers in camp have us beat by an hour on the wake up call. We hear the tires crunching down the gravel past our tent at about 4 am! Off they go for a big day on the trail. We also have a big day planned, but we are content to start the hustle and bustle at 5 am. (more…)
Today we begin the 5th leg of our Colorado Trail adventure, hiking from San Luis Pass near Creede down to Molas Pass near Silverton. The next 68.1 miles will largely be above treeline, so we are crossing our fingers that we will get a good weather window that will allow us to finish this stage in only 4.5 days. It’s a little ambitious for us, but we are feeling strong and hope we can do it. It all starts today with Day 31, so here goes. (more…)
It’s Zero Day in Creede, and we have big plans to do very little! If we are taking two nights in the Snowshoe Motel, we are going to make the most of it, starting by sleeping in and enjoying the comfort of a soft bed for a change. Then it’s time to saunter down to check out the much-talked about breakfast. (more…)
Every so often, as I toss and turn, I take a peak outside the cocoon of my sleeping bag and see that it’s getting light outside. I nestle in anticipation of Alison’s alarm going off, but the moment never seems to arrive. Why is it so light outside? (more…)
When we woke up this morning, all cozy in our sleeping bags, we had no idea how cold it had turned overnight. The temperature on my watch read 32.5 degrees, and, when I step outside to make coffee I find that there are ice crystals on the tent fly. This is not the first time on this trip that we’ve camped low in a valley, so we have come to expect that it will be colder down here. But this is certainly the coldest morning on the CT by far! (more…)
Over the last three days, we have been averaging 15 miles/day, which is getting us to Creede a little faster than we had planned. Our motel reservation is for Monday night, and we only have 41.2 miles to go over the next four days, which means that we need to slow down. The only problem is that the scenery in this leg of the CT isn’t the most inspiring, and it is relatively easy terrain. So, if there is any place that we want to speed up, this is it. (more…)
Take A Hike Photography 