8.22.21 -

17.9 miles +3,000 -5,000 ft

Segments: 27-28

Today was a beautiful last full day on trail. I slept in slightly, until 5:45, and was hiking by 6:20ish. Since there were so many of us camped together last night, we all seemed to trickle out of camp one by one, me being one of the first to leave.

The trail switchbacked back up to the ridge, with the last views of the San Juans to see as the sun rose. The trail then gained to the Indian Ridge Trail, which was a stunning trail that stayed on top of the ridge/ mountains with views of the La Plata Mountains. It was some challenging climbing, but the views were simply stunning. I leapfrogged with Splash and Bee a little bit, and it was nice to finally spend some time with them talking.

At the crux of the climb was the view of Taylor Lake below, which looked like an oasis in the middle of towering peaks. I scurried down, careful to not fall on the very steep terrain. There were mountain bikers coming up, and they literally had to carry their bikes for some of the trail because of how steep and rocky it was. Once I was at the outflow stream, it was chill time. We planned for a shorter day, so we (me, Matt, and Larry) spent 2 hours down there. And we chatted with Splash & Bee and Deep Thoughts as well. I ate two lunches: my pepperoni & cheese burrito and a pack of ramen. I was hungry!

And then it was time to go. I left last, wanting to soak it all in. I do tend to go slower and think a little more towards the end of a trail. The path lead to a trailhead parking lot for segment 27/28 and there were quite a few day hikers out and about. Many with dogs! I passed through the parking lot and up to the last pass of the hike, Kennebec Pass. The landscape instantly changed with some views of distant mountains, but mainly a very green gorge with the town of Durango glistening off in the distance.

I got quite emotional at the top of the pass here and cried a little bit. I feel thankful for my body and the privilege of being able to hike a trail like this. I congratulated myself for not giving up, even though I wanted to at times. And I cried because I was happy this was coming to a close. I could almost see my family down in Durango. Just 24 more hours until we were reunited! I made my peace with the Colorado Trail in that moment. The hard times and the good times. It wasn’t at all what I expected - honestly, I don’t even know what I expected - but I’m glad I did it, and I’m glad I was able to make new friends on this adventure.

The descent down was steep and it will be very long. I’m glad I’m breaking it up over two days because I think my knees and ankles would be toast if I didn’t. After some descending above the treeline, the trail dips below the trees and becomes a little monotonous. Still very pretty though with lots of plants and sometimes berries. I took a nice snack break at a stream with an amazing sitting rock and reloaded on water and reveled in sitting in the shade. As I’m descending in elevation - going below 10,000 feet for the first time in a while! - It is getting hot. And now I’m seeking shade instead of sun for the first time in many days. After my little break, I ran into Larry and Matt taking a break in the shade and we walked down to the bridged Junction Creek together.

Here, we took another break, and chatted with Bunker as he came down and set up his camp at the creek. He hiked 22 miles today, so I don’t blame him for stopping there! We had another 2 miles we wanted to hike, to get partially up the last climb of the trail. I debated staying down at the creek, but after sitting in the shade, eating some gu gummies, and drinking water, I was feeling refreshed and ready to keep hiking.

The climb to camp wasn’t too bad at all, just a little steep in some places. I grabbed some water at a small stream and kept hiking up. The forest was super pretty all around me, and I felt comforted by the trees basking in the afternoon light. I got to camp around 6 to find Matt, Larry, and Deep Thoughts all there, and I pitched my tent and got dinner going: Annie’s Mac & cheese with even more cheese chunks added, pepperoni, AND chanterelle mushrooms that Deep Thoughts foraged and sautéed. Talk about a 5-star end of trail dinner! A bikepacker that Deep Thoughts has been leapfrogging named Butterfly also arrived to camp and we all had a nice time chatting and eating. It’s always nice to camp with people and enjoy each other’s company, but especially on the last night of a trail it feels more special. And finally, it was time to get ready for bed and sleep. And as I lay here snug in my quilt, I’m watching the sky turn to pink off in the distance. Even though I am looking forward to finishing this trail, I am savoring this last night out in the wilderness.