Day 19, 23.3 miles

Howdy! I was ready to leave camp just before 6:30 today and Andrew (who today told me his trail name was “Firecracker”) was just beginning to stir. I asked him for the snore report and he said he only heard me a few times and then I would snore myself awake, change positions, and be quiet for awhile again. My sister and mom will know this sounds familiar! 

I was glad to get part of this done in the shade!

Plains and straight exposed for miiiiiiles!!

A real water source today, it was actually super clear and tasted great!

I was proud of this dry-out technique!

I was drying out my gear at around 10am when I met a hiker named Cheeseburgler. Apparently he had hiked from Kenosha Pass to this point with his husky named Scooby but he had just made the hard decision to take him off trail as his paws were getting all chewed up. We hiked at a similar pace so we decided to hike together for awhile!

Moo moo moomoo, moo moomoo 1000 MOO!!

Sorry, that was just me telling my cow readers that I had hit 1000km! They use the metric system…

It remained hot and exposed!

Cheeseburgler 

Two-Pack

4th moose of the trail! Spotted across a meadow creek

As the two of us were chilling at the long awaited water source, along came Firecracker! He had not met Cheeseburgler yet either and the three of us were an instant vibe. Cheese was trying to hike 18ish from where he started, Fire was trying to hike 20-22 from where we camped, and you know I’m always down to go for a 20+! 

The three amigos! 34, 37, and 37! Finally, some similar pace dudes around my age! Hahaha

Had to cross this in shoes, felt nice! 

Finally some cloudage!!

We finally started climbing up and out of the desert plain below and into the mountains! Apparently we are coming up to San Luis Peak, the most remote 14er in all of Colorado! It’s the longest to get to by any trailhead and the road is super bad and long to get to said trailhead. We are luckily going to walk right by its lower saddle tomorrow and I’m trying to convince the other two to summit it in the morning with me! Would be a fun side trip! 

That ladies and gentlemen… is a big ole bear print. Two days old max! Paw width is wider than my outspread hand 😳 

It was super fun hiking with some others and talking and laughing all day! Firecracker is going to get off in Creede for two days to see his family. Cheeseburgler is going to Gunnison with his dad instead of Lake City, and is also taking a couple days off! I need to get back to work by the 30th so I’ll just spend an afternoon in Lake City and then continue on. I do wish I could hike more with these guys though, it’s been the best camaraderie day in trail so far for me, and we even pushed 23 miles together!! 

We stopped in a gorgeous little meadow in the valley. There was one flatish spot suitable for me and my foam pad, but a dead beetle bark tree was lingering over. I could move it with my hands so us three boys pushed it over! Now others can camp here safely too! It’s going to be a really cold night, and condensation in this grass is going to be wicked! I can already feel it! It’s 9pm, I’m off to bed for an early morning tomorrow!

-Thanks for reading!