Yooooooo!! Train time!! The rain hit pretty good last night and in the AM it hit SO hard! I wanted to leave by 7 to not be rushed for the train but there’s no way that I was going to get out of my tent in that downpour! My tyvek groundsheet was just caked in red clay from all the rains. There was just red mud all over when I was packing up!
Eeeeeugh!!!
The trail!
It was an absolutely gorgeous trail as it wound its way down through the upper slot canyon, sometimes tightly hugging a dramatic cliff. Cheeseburgler had left when it was still raining hard. Stoke and Bougie soon after. Digs left right when it stopped raining, and I left just after him. Splat left last but soon passed me on the downhill.
Oh my gosh I was sooooo happy to see trees again!! It was weird not having any trees around me for a full 36 hours! I will never take trees for granted again!
400 Baby!!!
Stoke, 61, my dude is KILLING it!
Yosemite?!
Bougie rock-hopping
Train stop?!? Yes please!!!
Uhhhh nope! Not that one
15 hiker trash Silverton bound!! Would YOU stop the train for us?!
Some of you may be asking: “Train? What train?! I thought you were hiking the Colorado Trail?” So, very very conveniently, the Colorado Trail crosses the Silverton-Durango train tracks! Instead of hiking 5ish miles up to Molas Pass and then hitching into the town, for $35 you can ride the train in! I’ve never ridden this train and it’s been on my hiking bucket list ever since I started this trail!
Here she comes!!
When we got on, the boarding attendant said it would just be $20 today!! That’s great as I was expecting to pay $35! I was the first one to head over to the concession car to get me a ticket and a beer!
Digs and Cheeseburgler literally hanging out!
What a cool experience!!
Hikers descending upon the town!
Stoke and Bougie will be staying the night and spending a good chunk of tomorrow in Silverton so we won’t be seeing each other again. They were two of my favorites on trail and so inspiring as a dad/daughter combo. We had to take a picture together!
See you in Oregon!! 👋
The crew who ran through multiple thunderstorms together on the gnarly 22 mile day! 💪
$72 resupply at the Silverton general store! And yes, that is a whole 1/4 watermelon 😂
It rained and hailed SOOOOOO hard at the general store, Cheese and I got stuck there for two hours! This was the most intense hail and rain that I have seen the entire time we’ve been out here! It was bonkers! Digs, Big Pig, and Landslide decided to walk to the coffee shop in the light rain just before the worst came down. They got soaked! When Cheese and I finally left it was still wild to see the flooding in the streets!
Food round 3 in Silverton!
After some pizza and beer and more phone recharging and blog uploading, it was time to head back out onto the trail! I for sure could’ve spent more time in this cool town but my wallet would never forgive me! Digs left first as he had a box to pickup at Molas Campground. Splat decided to stay in a room overnight. Big Pig and Landslide left towards the edge of town to hitch and Cheese and I went back to the general store to buy him some more tape for his ankles.
As we came out of the store we saw that Pig and Slide had gotten a big truck with a cab to pull over, and the nice man said he had room for two more! It was the easiest hitch I’ve had in trail yet! We all jumped in the back with Pearl, the sweetest dog on earth!!
She definitely has those crazy Collie eyes 🤣 But man was she a love!! Idk if it was the pizza smell or what but she kept pawing us all and wanting pets and snuggles!
The awesome people that drove the truck took us along the dirt road off the highway right up to the trailhead! It was still raining and hailing on and off, but there was a pit toilet that kept our packs dry as we scouted possible camping spots… after the rain there was a gorgeous rainbow, but then afterward it hailed twice more!
Hailed out of nowhere as I was setting up my tent, so now I am on smushed ice beads! 🤣
Getting close to the end!! Ahhhh!!
Love these boys!
Digs called Big Pig from the Molas Campground phone where he got his package and said he was headed towards where we already were! 🤣 Sure enough, he turned up about 5 mins later. Man, I’m super glad that I have found a few really great people to hike with! It’s making the tail end of this hike a lot more enjoyable. And honestly, it makes bad weather and scary situations a lot more handle-able, especially mentally!
Thanks for reading!!
Glad you were inside for MOST of the super heavy raining and a few of the hail storms. Pearl looks sweet, even with her crazy eyes.
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