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.For a self-service buffet, the morning nosh does not disappoint! There’s fresh fruit, yogurt, French toast and egg casserole, but the real thing to write home about is the homemade pastries: sticky cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip pound cake and delicious oatmeal pecan apricot bars. Let the foraging for food begin!

It was a genuinely needed carb fest for a few hungry hikers, and it set us up for a productive day of relaxation. We chat over breakfast with the gang of four, but today the fellowship is breaking up: Paul and Ellen are hitting the trail a day ahead of the rest of us in order to make up for lost time and still finish the trail before their concert season begins back in Naples in a few weeks.

We walk to the post office with them to get our resupply boxes, only to discover that ours has been mailed back to Chicago, return to sender! We are shocked and dismayed. The post office in Denver told us that our package would be held for 30 days, but the folks in Creede claim the policy is only 15 days. There’s little point in arguing but we are certainly frustrated by the miscommunication.

Luckily, Paul and Ellen are shortening their next leg by a full day, and they are jettisoning food left and right. We are grateful and accept any and all vegetarian options they are happy to discard. And so the foraging continues! In the end, it looks like we’ll be OK if we can pick up a few supplements in town.

So the time has come to bid the Orchestra a final farewell. We’ve enjoyed their company over the last four weeks and wish them happy trails over the last stretch to Durango.

Inspired by Chris and Bartel (the Montana hikers who really do forage for food in the wilderness) we set off to San Juan Sports where we forage yet again for needed items in their free hiker box.

Luckily we find a few goodies to add to our odd assortment of foraged items. In addition to Clif Bars, we score some Q-tips. Q-tips! We also purchase a few backpacker specialties from them, including ProBars and Backpacker Pantry meals, to replace what was sent back. I finish out the list at the local market, grab a coffee and head back to the motel room.

Just outside of our room, we find a White-lined Sphinx Moth (hummingbird moth) like we have been seeing out on the trail chilling by our doorstep. We don’t want the little fella to get stepped on accidentally by anyone, so we pick it up and place it in one of the hanging planters outside our room. We hope he likes it there.

We spend the better part of the late morning lounging in our room where our backpacks seem to have exploded all over the room. In addition to taking care of all the little things we need to do to hit the trail tomorrow morning, we catch up on email, edit blog posts and work up our pictures. It’s a great pleasure to look back on our recent days on the CT and be reminded of how fortunate we are to spend our summer trekking in this beautiful state.

To me, this is the perfect Zero Day. I’m listening to a recent Phish concert as I write and edit. The sun is shining, and the breeze is keeping us cool. We head into town for pizza and salad around lunch time. We picked up a pint of Ben & Jerry’s earlier (how’s that for urban foraging!) and tear into that for a mid-afternoon treat.

It’s great to take a day off trail and rest our feet as well. Satisfied with how much we’ve been able to accomplish on the blog, we head back to Kip’s for dinner and a pint or two to celebrate a zero day done proper.

Tomorrow we’ll be back on the trail heading to Molas Pass and our final resupply of the Colorado Trail, but for now it’s time to enjoy one more night of rest in Creede.

Day 30 Stats

Starting Point: Creede, CO elevation 8852’
End Point: Creede, CO elevation 8852’
Mileage: As little as possible
Segment: Zero Day!
Date on Trail: July 30, 2018