Month: August 2020

Meetup: Day 41 – Saturday 8/22/2020 – 1943.6 – clear, sunny, hot, monsoon cloudy, monsoon sprinkles with hail, partially cloudy. I woke at 5 am. I was on trail about 5:50 am. I drank some MIO thinking it would give me energy. I only have 10 miles to meet up with Justin. I thought it would be easier, but still it was a struggle. The trail started with a climb. The descent was rocky and steep. The second climb and descent was so-so. But I was getting tired. I filtered water before the last climb to Justin. Although it wasn’t that steep the 4 mile climb wore me down. When I was a mile from him I could see his Jeep in the distance and I kept pushing until I got to him around 11:15 am. I dropped my pack and just needed to sit. I was done for the day. Why was only 10 miles so tiring? It was cool and the sun was behind clouds. Several other hikers came by. Justin made me a polish sausage wrap for lunch. Yum! Even a group of eight motorcyclists stopped to repair a flat tire. Justin lent them the air pump. When the sun did come out as they were working I decided it was time for my shower. On the other side of the Jeep, as the very cold water hit my head and ran down my semi-naked body, I couldn’t help but scream. This made the motorcyclists around front giggle and laugh. I scrubbed, yelled, rinsed, yelled and I was finally washed. I put on new clean clothes. The motorcyclists left somewhat successful with their repairs. Then I did laundry and hung it up on the Jeep to dry. The clouds came and went. More hikers and mountain bikers stopped by for a free soda. Justin is a great trail angel and engaged everyone in conversation. For a while the sun was shining. Then we got hailed on along with some thunder. For dinner we had blue tortilla chips, bean dip and RIB EYE STEAKS! Double yippee! As entertainment we would sit and watch with binoculars as hikers crested the trail a mile away. Once they got close enough we’d yelled hi, do you want a soda. It was so nice to be with him, meet other hikers, have great food, get cleaned up, be entertained and take a mini-break.

Meetup: Day 39 – Thursday 8/20/2020 – 1916.6 – clear, sunny, monsoon clouds, rained twice, clearing after dinner. I woke at 5:00 am. My sleeping bag is damp, and my tent is damp. I should have known. Sleeping next to a lake has that effect. I was on trail about 5:50 am. Immediately I had to climb out of bowl of mountains. I began to listen to an audio book. On the other side were more lakes, rocks and descent for miles. At the bottom was the next climb and it was broken into four sections. Some were not so steep, but others were awful. I climbed slowly. I reached the top and descended. At times you could see where the trail cut a path onto the next mountain. As time went by the monsoon clouds began to form. Around noon to 1 pm I put up my umbrella as it began to sprinkle. Over time it rained harder. My right side was get soaked with cold rain. Soon the rain stopped. A little while later it rained again. This time with some small hail. I was almost to Justin. One more hill stood in my way that was part of a ski area. Although it was only a few hundred feet to climb I was so tired from that other climbs. I descended, took a left, went down the forest road and I found to him. I immediately put my pack in his Jeep, got on my vest and rain jacket and got inside his Jeep to get warm. In a few minutes the rain stopped, the sun came out and I could relax. We chatted. I set up my tent. I did my resupply chores. He made a tasty meatball concoction for dinner. My next section is 27 miles and I’m going to take it easier if I can. My sore left ankle causes me to gimp around camp. It is just fine if I’m sitting still, but I’m worried it’ll get worse. We are near the road and can see and hear the trucks and cars ascending and descending from Monarch Pass.

Meetup: Day 37 – Tuesday 8/18/2020 – 1894.9 – clear, cloudy, monsoon clouds, 15 min monsoon rain, cooler, clearing. I woke at 4:45 am. I used headlamp to pack up. I was on trail about 5:40 am. My left ankle is still sore. I slowly descended down in darkness with my headlamp. In front of me as I hiked down the trail I saw animal eyes reflecting. Whoa! What was that? I started singing and luckily my awful voice scared it away. At 6:05 am turned off headlamp. I got to Cottonwood Pass and Justin about 10:30 am. He made me pancakes with butter and syrup. He’s a trail angel to other hikers. He gives them sodas, beer, and maybe food. Quickly I resupplied my water and food. It was just a Stop & Go. I kissed and hugged him and was back on trail at 11:15 am. Three climbs later I found a campsite. I’m worried about my ankle. I had lots of rocks to hike/stumble through today. The monsoon clouds were threatening but it was only just sprinkles. I set up tent and relaxed inside it. At 5:30 pm we had a downpour. Now it’s clearing. It’s also much cooler now. I hope all is dry by tomorrow. I made and ate dinner and then it was bed time. Tomorrow is four climbs. The last to a lake for the night.

Hiking Together: Meetup: Day 35 – Sunday 8/16/2020 – 1852.6 – clear, sunny, some clouds, pleasant. I woke at the campground at 4:45 am. I used my headlamp to pack up. I put my regular backpack next to the ladder. I took my day pack and poles. On the way to the trail I stopped at the toilets. I was on trail about 5:35 am. I only had to use my headlamp for 15-20 minutes until it was light enough to see. I did wear gloves and vest to keep the chill off. I left campground and circumnavigated Twin Lakes. At the start of the Hope Pass climb I sent a message to Justin telling him I’ve started [“At 1846.6 and beginning ascent” Aug 16, 2020 10:49 AM]. Steadily I climbed without stopping for all 4100’. It took until 12:15 pm or about 37.5 minutes per mile. At the Pass Justin was not there so I sat and ate my lunch. Milkshake, another hiker, was there as was a couple. After lunch I began to descend because I was cold from sitting still. A few minutes later I met Justin on the way up. He was nearly at the summit. So I waited for him to summit and return. Then we began the arduous descent in earnest. Down and down and down on a steep and rocky trail we went. About an hour and a half of repeated braking with my poles and pressure on my poor sore ankle. When we were almost at the bottom Justin offered to Milkshake and another hiker who were hiking behind us to come to the Jeep and get sodas. They did even though they hike down and up 0.2 mile. We chatted and then they left to continue their hiking. I did my resupply, set up my tent and am trying to relax after quite a long and strenuous day.

Meetup: Day 34 – Saturday 8/15/2020 – 1836.8 – clear, sunny, hot, Smokey. I got up in darkness at 4:45 am. After potty I came back to my campsite and used my headlamp on red mode to pack up. I was on trail at 5:40 am with my headlamp in low-intensity white mode. The first climb was 1000’ and then down on the other side. Then a second climb but not as bad as the first. However it was getting hot. So I listened to podcasts to pass the time. Finally I got to Justin’s camp site which is about 0.2 mile off trail at about 1:45 pm. So nice to see him. Over the next few hours we changed plans for me to slack pack tomorrow. He would park on the far side of Hope Pass. Then he’d climb it and meet me at the summit. We’ve heard that there are now three Colorado forest fires burning 100 miles or more north of us and the air quality is smokey. Another great tasty dinner by Chef Justin. My tent is on a slight slope, but I’ll see how I’ll do.