Day 24- Early Bird Catches the Worm

Tuesday May 08, 2018

Mumm Water Cache(1.2) to CDT(565.3) to Side of dirt road(579) 271.1 miles Total miles:447.9

Mt. Taylor Alternate 

Remainder of the day 

I’m happy to report that I pulled myself out of bed at 4am to catch the sunrise on Mt. Taylor this morning. I really considered it a 50/50 proposition. The nights and mornings have been so cold lately that I doubted I would wake up and hike up to11,307 feet to watch the sunrise. Last night was the warmest I have been on trail since my second or third night. After I woke up I had the fun task of packing up in the dark. It has been a long time since I’ve done that, but it wasn’t  as bad as I remembered it to be. I used to do it all the time on the pct. I left camp a little before 5 and immediately had problems finding the trail. In retrospect I should have scouted it out last night before I went to bed. After fumbling around in the dark for a few minutes I finally found my way. The best thing about hiking by headlamp is that the trail never really looks steep. I kept my headlamp on for about 40 minutes before it got light enough to see. I absolutely crushed the hike up the mountain. It was the perfect way to start my morning and set a positive tone for the rest of the day. I love the physical challenge of climbing mountains. This could have been a climb on the AT. There were very steep parts and a false summit thrown in for good measure. My legs and lungs were up to the challenge. I hiked the entire 3 mile, 2,000 ft climb without stopping for a break. By the time I reached the top I was sweating profusely and the wind was really blowing. I missed the sun breaking the horizon by a few minutes, but it was still a fantastic experience. 

Hardest part of the day

Sunrise at 11,307 feet

Turtle and Mangus were behind me and hadn’t arrived so I used the 10sec timer function on my phone

Showing off my Zpacks pack

By the time the boys showed up I was chilled to the bone. We stayed for a little while longer waiting for the sun to break through the clouds and warm us up. The hike down wasn’t too bad and we made good time. I was all jacked up on adrenaline from the climb and kept up a really quick pace for the next couple of hours. I lost the boys for a while, but they eventually caught up to me when I stopped to take off some layers. We kept up a nice strong pace all day long. After heading down fro the summit we passed by the tiniest mound of snow. Although it was small it got me excited for hiking in Colorado at the end of the month. 

Little bit of snow

Once we were down fromTaylor we had a surprise climb up another mountain that no one expected. After that the rest of the day was mainly downhill and on forest service dirt roads. Since hiking 40 miles on a single paved road I have a new appreciation for dirt roads. They really are better than paved roads. With the early start and creamy miles the day flew by. We hiked 10 miles by 10, passed 12 miles by 12, and by 1:15 we had already hiked 18 miles. We took lots of breaks and tried not to over exert ourselves in the heat. Around 4 o’clock the early start began to catch up with me. My feet and legs held up well, but I was really tired and my pack felt like it weighed 60lbs. Since tonight is another dry camp we had to haul water for the remaining miles, camp, and tomorrow morning. Oh well. That seems to be how life works on this trail. I’m actually getting pretty dialed in on how much water I need to sustain myself. With the early start and high mileage day I’m falling asleep while I write this. I’ll let my pictures for the day tell the rest of the story. 

Pretty dirt road
Another dirt road 

12 miles of rocky road 

Not the best or worst water I’ve had

Cool looking volcanic plug. Looks like something from Lord of the Rings

Tomorrow should be another high mileage day with a lot more dirt road walking. 

“The most inspiring piece of advice I've gotten is simply to persevere. My mom taught me to always keep going no matter what from an early age. When it feels too difficult to push forward, I always remind myself, 'This too shall pass,' and then I redouble my efforts.” 

-!Liya Kebede

Day 23- A Little Bit of Home

Monday May 07, 2018

Sure Stay Hotel(534.1) to Mt. Taylor Alternate(551.8) + 1.2 on alternate 18.9 miles Total miles: 420.8 miles

 

Once again I stayed up way too late last night. There are always last minute details to take care of and as a result I was up until almost midnight. Turtle and I got up around 6:30 to meet the group at Denny’s for breakfast. The plan was to get a later start out of town so Turtle could go to the Verizon store when they opened. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. I really enjoyed talking with Mangus’s wife about what Colorado will be like. She has hiked a ton of the 14ers(mountains that are 14,000 feet and above) and was a treasure trove of knowledge. 

Mangus, Mrs. Mangus, Turtle, Me, and Shiloh 

Mangus gave Turtle and I a ride back to where we turned off the trail. We could have walked it, but with the busy roads a ride was greatly appreciated. Shiloh will be staying in town until his dental issue is resolved. We planned on seeing Mangus later in the day after his wife leaves to return to Ouray, CO. 

We enjoyed a nice 7 mileroad walk through town. It wasn’t as bad as the road walk into town thanks to a combination of sidewalks and bike lanes. The Verizon store was right off the trail and I left Turtle to get his new phone case. I planned to meet up with him a few miles down the trail. I really enjoy hiking by myself and after days of constant company, the solitude was nice. 

Sidewalk 

Grants really seems to enjoy their road signs. I saw several amusing ones throughout the road walk. Most seem to point out the obvious, and one or two were helpful. I’d love to see the sign budget for this city. 

Seems like a good idea

Helpful, even if the water was at a dog park. I can’t really complain though. I’d rather share with a dog than a cow 

I saw this same sign 3 or 4 times. Makes it hard to get lost 

I had planned on taking a break about an hour after I left Turtle, but I had to go for a lot longer before I could stop. The first time was because I passed an unofficial gun range on the side of the road. It was really just a spot where locals pull over and start shooting their guns. I saw two cars stopped and two people talking. I greeted them hello and walked past. Nothing seemed out of order. I walked about 30 paces when I heard the gunshots. At first I thought they had shot at me, but my next reaction was they shot at each other. I turned around to see the lady firing multiple shots across a deserted area. Well that certainly got my attention. I felt like I could have been given a heads up. I put as much distance as I could from them before I considered taking another break. I soon realized a break would not be in my near future as I walked past a prison. There was no way I was going to be caught loitering around a correctional facility. 

Grants side of the road gun range 

Prison 

The rest of my day was magical. Once I got off of the road I had a nice climb to the top of a Mesa. Climbing up a Mesa is a first for me. It was a nice 1,000 foot climb and it was so fantastic to be back on trail and off of the road. Turtle caught up to me when I finally took a break before the climb. Since it is next to impossible to stick together while climbing a mountain or a Mesa I left before him. It was nice to stretch my legs and the view from the top was great. 

On the way up

Halfway there

View from the top and a great big smile 

I waited for Turtle at the top and we hiked together for most of the remaining miles. The top of the Mesa was pretty flat and while we sauntered along we chatted back and forth. Our plan was to hike another 9 miles and camp at the Mumm’s water cache. I am tired of dry camping and was willing to stop early so we could camp at water. Plus, we will summit Mt. Taylor and I didn’t want to camp any higher than 9,000 feet. I hope to get up before sunrise and summit just as the sun rises tomorrow. I had cut it a little too close on my water today and was getting pretty thirsty. I eventually hiked ahead of Turtle so I could get to the cache faster. I made it around 6:00 and was glad to have a leisurely night in camp. The weather has really warmed up and I was glad to not be shivering while I cooked and ate dinner. 

Turtle on our way up the Mt. Taylor alternate 

Turtle on top of the Mesa heading towards Taylor

Random stuff you find in the woods

The absolute highlight of my day was when I was struggling to make it to the water source. I was hiking a pretty fast pace and had my head down. The feel of the hike began to change. There was a different scent and feel to the air. When I looked up I was surrounded by Ponderosa pine trees and Aspens. It felt like home(it is weird to finally think of Colorado as home and not Florida). I was born in Colorado, but my family moved away before I could remember living there. I think my mom used to take me out for walks around Aspen trees, because whenever I see them it feels like I’m home. As luck would have it our campsite is surrounded by Aspens. As the sun set they began to glow in the dying light. 

One happy Jedi Master

Aspens everywhere

Mangus showed up to camp just as I finished cooking dinner. It was nice to have the gang back together again. We hope Shiloh catches up to us soon and is back to being 100% healthy. I’m really hoping that I can drag myself out of bed for a sunrise summit of Mt. Taylor. Mornings are not my strong suit, especially if I’m cold. I somehow manage to be an early riser while on the trail, but a sunrise summit takes a little more fortitude. 

“No difficulty can discourage, no obstacle dismay, no trouble dishearten the man who has acquired the art of being alive. Difficulties are but dares of fate, obstacles but hurdles to try his skill, troubles but bitter tonics to give him strength; and he rises higher and looms greater after each encounter with adversity.”

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox