Day 31: Mile 432.9 to mile 455.8
8.21.21 -
22.9 miles +4,000 -3,900 ft
Segments: 26-27
I slept in a little this morning, waking up at 5:30 since it’s so dark in the mornings now. I got ready fairly quickly and was hiking by 6:15. Chaney and Bullwinkle got hiking a little earlier than me. The morning was super pretty on the way to Blackhawk Pass. I passed Larry as he was getting ready to start hiking for the day, and he passed me later while I took my poop break. We met up again on the last push before the pass, sitting on a rock in the glorious sun (it had been a cold morning), looking at the mountains, eating a snack, and I attempted to duct tape repair my shoe that was ripping apart. About 10 minutes into the climb, I could feel the poor repair job flapping at every step. It was barely staying on. So I yanked it off. Hopefully, the shoes will hold up for just a few more miles without totally falling apart.
The remaining climb up the pass wasn’t bad at all, but I was still huffing and puffing. At the top, it was super beautiful and we chatted with some mountain bikers & also exchanged taking photos. After the short break, it was time to descend. We met two northbound hikers and their 3 dogs! Pochahontas & Windjammer were the humans & Raja, Conscience, and Tigger were the pups. There were two German Shepards and one Shepard mix and these were the most loveable dogs! They came right up to me looking for all the pets. We chatted with them for a bit and kept heading down. Once we made it to Straight Creek, we had to do a little math. The next water source was in 14.5 miles. I still didn’t know if I’d make it to the camp there, so I loaded up 3 liters of water, just in case I had to dry camp. While we were eating & filtering, it started raining! It passed quickly, but I was a little peeved since the forecast was for nice weather all the days until the end. But at least it didn’t get us too wet.
Larry and I hiked for a while until he stopped for his lunch break and I kept going, following the ridge up and down, admiring some of the last views of the San Juans. Larry eventually caught up with me and then passed me. I had committed to making it to the camping at the water source, so I dumped some water to make the rest of the day slightly easier.
But I was hurting the last 6 miles. My knees and ankles were super sore, and I had to stop for a lot of rest breaks. But I finally made it to camp and there’s so many of us here! Me, Larry, Chaney, Bullwinkle, Matt, Deep Thoughts, Splash, and Bee! It’s quite the party and we all chatted and ate together as we talked about tomorrow and the wonderful scenery it looks like we’ll have. I think most of us are headed for the same spot tomorrow night as well!
Today was hard, but it’s the last long day I’ll have on the hike. The next two days will be a little easier and shorter miles!
