Day 59- Now That Is More Like It

Tuesday June 12, 2018

Ute Lake(926.8) to Stoney Pass(945.9) 19.1 Miles

Total Miles: 1019.9

Elevation: 12,500 feet

I did stay warmer last night than yesterday, but not by much. I’m not sure I’ll keep cowboy camping when I’m above 11,000 feet. I’d rather stay warm in my tent than shiver beneath the stars. Since I only had to hike 19 miles today I slept in a little. Eventually I had to dig a hole so I finally got out of my sleeping bag at 6:15. I was hiking by 7:00. Once again it didn’t take long before I had to stop and start taking layers off. 

Early morning view of Ute Lake

Today’s hike had me frustrated very early on. I’m rather tired of walking through the thickets of willow. I got a small tear in my puffy, a rip in my pants, and a hip belt pocket on my pack is now damaged. That is not to mention the scraps and cuts on my arms and legs. The trail went through very dense willow for most of the morning. I climbed uphill and downhill through it. It is very time consuming and really slows me down. I did get to see another moose though. I guess these guys love the willows. I ended up seeing 3 today. 

I haven’t said how I felt in my last few blog posts, but I’ve been disappointed with the San Juan mountains so far. I’ve hiked through some incredible scenery in my hiking career so I thought that maybe I was jaded. I had very high expectations for this section and so far they haven’t been met. Don’t get me wrong, the last few days have been great, but they haven’t been exceptional. The Kings Canyon part of the Pacific Crest Trail was way more impressive. Well, today that all changed. Around mile five, I rounded a corner and my jaw dropped. I thought to myself, “Now that’s more like it”. It was a good thing I wasn’t trying to make miles today, because I kept stopping to take pictures and breaks. I really stopped and smelled the roses. All of a sudden the willow thickets weren’t bothering me. I had several steep climbs, but I was relishing the workout. Plus, I knew that I would be rewarded with an awesome view at the top. I will let my pictures from today do the rest of the talking. 

Vibrant wildflowers 

This is when the day changed 

This is what I call a talus field

Willow thicket. I swear there is a trail in there

More willow, but also a cool mountain 

Things are really picking up now

Panoramic point of view 

Nice trail maintenance. Notice all the flat rocks laid out to form an easy walking surface 

Beetle kill. These trees are referred to as The Standing Dead. The entire forest is full of them

Is this real life?

Definitely beating my expectations now

Real or Fantasy

More wildflowers 

Today was full of small stream crossings. I struggled to keep my shoes dry

The trail joined up with the Colorado Trail. The two trails coincide for the next several hundred miles

Random giant snow bank. It was taller than me

So green 

Same time every day the smoke blows in

Super cool panorama of the smoke and clear skies

I’m obsessed with this picture

Towards the end of the day I was able to get cell phone service. I called my administrative assistant to put in an emergency food order. I’m going faster than planned and just noticed I was cutting in close on my next food drop. The next location is UPS only and that takes longer than priority mail from the post office. I’m sure this box is going to cost my an arm and a leg for shipping. I was able to get 2 blogs posted as well. The big news of the day came in the form of a text from Seth in Telluride. He informed me that officials had decided to close the entire San Juan National Forest. That was more than a little concerning for me, since that is where I’m currently hiking. I checked the CDTC website and they have issued a major trail closure. The trail is now closed from Cumbres Pass(mile840) to Stoney Pass(mile945.9). Whew, by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I made it through. I am currently camped at the end of the closure. There is another closure a few hundred miles ahead of me, but as of right now it is only affecting an alternate route. I wasn’t planning on taking that alternate, so I should be ok. I hope they manage to get the 416 fire under control soon and I hope that it hasn’t burned down any of the threatened neighborhoods. 

Mangas caught up with Turtle this morning. They hiked together most of the day. Turtle made it to where I am camped around dark. Mangas is camped a few miles south of me. His wife, Julie, will be here at 8am with our food drops. I did this section 1.5 days faster than planned, so I don’t actually need anymore food. She will take my trash, ice ax, microspikes, and waterproof socks though. I’m super excited to be getting rid of the extra gear. I can’t wait for my pack weight to be back to normal. 

Photo shoot with a cute marmot. He kept running into his hole, but would come back out immediately and stand on his hind legs. We did this 5 or 6 times before I got bored and moved on 

“Every adversity contains, at the same time, a seed of equivalent opportunity!”

-Napoleon Hill

Day 57- Smokey The Bear

Sunday June 10, 2018

Stealth Site(883.1) to Squaw Creek(904.8) 21.7 Miles

Total Miles: 978.8

Elevation: 11,214 feet

I’m really pleased with the new cold weather gear that I added to my pack for Colorado. I was able to cowboy camp last night even though the temperature was 38 degrees. My new four season sleeping pad is awesome. I’m also liking my new thermal Patagonia base layer and SmartWool beanie. The only problem I had was convincing myself to get out of my sleeping bag when my alarm went off. Mangas didn’t make it as far as Turtle and I did last night. I took my time leaving camp hoping that he would catch up, but he didn’t. The morning started off with a gentle climb and I was able to start taking off layers as I warmed up. Mangas’s wife, Julie is resupplying us at our next stop, Stoney Pass. This saves us the trouble of having to hitch into Silverton. With Mangas somewhere behind me it doesn’t make since to hike big miles. I knew I could take it easy today and enjoy the scenery. I ended up taking a lot of breaks. Each time I stopped I hoped to see him behind me. 

Early morning view 

After spending almost two weeks at lower elevation in Wyoming, I’ve really been feeling the high elevation. I spent most of the day between 11,400 and 12,800 feet. I had a noticable drop in my energy level and appetite. I’m hoping that my body readjusts soon. It didn’t help matters that most of the uphill today was short and steep. Hiking today reminded me of the climbs I did on the Appalachian Trail. Usually I enjoy this type of hiking, but my decreased energy made it a little less enjoyable. On the upside the scenery today was breathtaking. I was above tree line for most of the day. I had panoramic views of the San Juan Mountains. It was a good thing I wasn’t trying to make mikes, because I just wanted to stop and smell the roses. 

No roses, but I did come across some Queens Crown 

Cool ridge

I encountered more snow today, but none of it was a concern. All of the snowfields and traverses were easy and I never needed my ice ax or microspikes. I just made sure to take my time and actually liked the different terrain. 

Longest traverse of the day(easy peasey)

No fall situation, but an easy traverse

I was a little concerned about a section later in the day called Knifes Edge. I have encountered several Knife Edges in my hiking career. Typically they are dangerous sections and tend to make my butthole clinch. You definitely need good weather and good trail conditions. This particular section would be above 12,000 feet and a north facing slope. Usually the north faces have a lot more snow and since I had seen more snow today than yesterday it was a definite concern. I knew I wouldn’t get there until the afternoon, so I tried not to worry about it. Instead I just enjoyed the hike. 

Large area of Beetle Kill Pine trees

I hiked on top of a few ridges. I could see exactly where the trail was going for miles. The wind had really picked up and I was fighting to stay on course. It made for an interesting afternoon of hiking. I got really good at finding natural wind breaks before stopping for a break. 

Trail going straight up

Not a great spot for 15-30 mph wind

Around 1:00 I finally got to the Knifes Edge. From a distance it didn’t look like anything scary. The snow was almost nonexistent. I was very relieved. I had gotten ahead of Turtle first thing this morning. No matter how many breaks I took he never caught up. I had planned on waiting for him before going across Knifes Edge alone, but since there was hardly any snow I did it by myself. It was a really fun section and I never felt out of my comfort zone. I had hiked a few areas similar to this on the PCT. I remember all of those sections pushing me to the edge of my comfort zone. I was round of myself for feeling so confident through this section. 

Start of Knifes Edge

Small traverse where I could go below the snow

Had to go through the snow, but there were other people’s foot prints that I could stay in

Through the snow again, but super easy

The entire section lasted about a mile. I felt more comfortable going across the snow than I did going across some of the rocky sections. The rock would shift under my feet. Sometimes my foot would slip and send rocks tumbling down the mountain. I took my time through it all and I found the experience to be fun. 

Sweet view at the end

Shortly after crossing the Knifes Edge hiking conditions took a turn for the worse. I believe I talked briefly about the 416 wildfire the other day. The fire is staying away from the trail so far, but the winds are pushing the smoke into the area. I spent the next 6 miles walking through heavy smoke. The entire area was downright smoky, with a very strong smell. It didn’t bother my lungs too much, but it really messed with my eyes. 

Not too bad yet

Literally 2 minutes later 

A few minutes later 

As the wind speed increased s did the smoke. Eventually it was surrounding me. It seemed to be at its worst when looking to the northwest. I had a 800 foot climb over 1.3 miles. I had to put my buff around my mouth to keep from breathing in a ton of smoke. Breathing in big lung fills of the smoke eventually irritated my throat and produced a dry cough. I’m hoping the wind changes direction tomorrow. I don’t want to spend an entire day hiking through the smoke. As Smokey the Bear would say, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” I encourage everyone to be especially careful when out in the wilderness during dry conditions. Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California are all under red flag conditions and a draught. Educate yourselves before heading into the great outdoors. It only takes one person being careless to threaten homes, businesses, and the wilderness. 

The smoke did make for a few really cool pictures 

Sky on fire 

View from camp 

Tomorrow promises to be another challenging, but rewarding day 

“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are? - T.S Eliot