Day 24: Mile 324.4 to mile 347.1
8.14.21 -
22.7 miles +5,200 -3,200 ft
Segments: 19-21
Ok dang today was pretty insane at the end. But to the start of the day… I woke up at my usual 5:00 am and immediately noticed all the stars outside my tent. I slept with the vestibule open since I knew this spot would be condensation central and it definitely was, and the venting worked a little bit, but I still had lots of condensation inside my tent. I immediately went to the bathroom and collected my ursack from the willows. Getting ready has been taking me longer than usual due to the colder mornings and also concocting my favorite morning drink mix that I brought with me on this stretch: 2 chocolate carnation instant breakfast packets with a packet of alpine start instant coffee into my half liter water bottle. I have to be careful pouring everything so I don’t spill the mixture in my tent (I always get a little on myself though).
I was hiking by 6:15. It was a cold morning so I started with my shirt, senchi sleep fleece, and rain jacket and wind pants on. I slowly de-layered as the sun filled the Cochetopa River valley, but it took a bit of time. The hike wasn’t super noteworthy, it was a very slow and gradual climb out of the area. I did slip and fall on my right thigh/ hip though on loose sandy/ eroded trail, which was a shock and it hurt. Eventually, I reached the end of segment 19 at a lovely trailhead in the middle of nowhere that also had a pit toilet with TP! I love these opportunities to use a pit toilet and to also throw away all my dirty TP that I pack out from the previous days. I took a little break at this trailhead since it had good sun to attempt to dry out my tent, and eat a snack. After about 30 min I had to keep hiking, and went on my way.
It was pretty hot and exposed and the climb was… boring. It was pretty gradual at first, and then got steeper as the trail approached the first pass of the day, San Luis Pass, where you could also climb the 14er peak from. It was already 2 pm when I got up there, and I hadn’t planned on it anyways, and there were many poofy clouds, so no peak for me, but I did get to see some day hikers coming down. I chatted with two ladies for a while, and ended up reuniting one of them with her gloves as she dropped them while I fell behind to filter some water. Luckily I caught up to them before they diverged down the other trail away from the CT.
The views were absolutely gorgeous in this area. It’s a little taste of the San Juan Mountains, I believe. But I was getting so tired. After the big climb, there was another small saddle that then descended to the beginning of segment 21 at a random trail intersection. Then a really big climb - like 1,000 ft in a mile came right after. I was huffing and puffing and stopping every few minutes to catch my breath, determined to make it to my ideal campsite for the night. As I was descending this pass, I noticed the white poofy clouds changing into darker poofy, but they seemed pretty far away. I had one more saddle to go up and down and it was mostly at/ slightly above treeline, so I had to go for it. As I was ascending that saddle, I saw the storm right above the previous pass I was JUST on. It was literally right behind me. I bolted down that saddle, thankful that the camp I wanted was below treeline, and not too far away. The thunder was clapping all around me, and I was pretty terrified. I finally made it to the camp and there were tons of other tents there, which I was relieved by. I also found Roy! So happy to be reunited. We caught up as I frantically set up my tent and I saw lightning flash across the sky. We said goodbye for now as we both ducked into our tents.
I didn’t want to set anything up at first because my tent was still a little wet from the condensation that hadn’t finished drying. I threw on some warm clothes and sat on my sit pad and snacked/ stared at my tent walls, watching the rain start to pour and then turn to hail as the thunder and lightning kept going all around us. The ground was getting saturated and puddles were forming under my tent, but nothing was leaking, thankfully. This lasted for nearly an hour. During this time I also started to cold soak my couscous for dinner, waiting for a break in the rain to go ask Roy to borrow his fuel canister since I ran out last night. The rain finally let up and I finished setting up my sleep stuff, I left the tent to go get more water, and got the canister from Roy to finish my dinner. Of course, as I returned the fuel, I felt some drizzles and could still see the storm off in the distance, so it was back to the tent. I only had time to eat dinner and tie my ursack up before the storm moved back to us and it started downpouring again. So now I lay in my tent, watching the lightning light up the sky and listening to the rain. It’s never super settling to be outside during a storm like this, but I’m feeling safe and happy in my tent and warm in my quilt. And I’m really happy to be around so many hikers, especially from these last few very lonesome days.
