CDT Day 43 (6/30/23)
Miles 986.3 (Red line 1182.2)- 1017 (Red line 1212.9) (30.7 miles)
Verbatim
I camped with people last night! That was fun. I slept really well, and found myself up and moving by six. I hiked with Durden and we exchanged stories about Maine. He spent a week in Millanockett and apparently the library there rents mountain bikes. He also was chagrined at the line at the Jordan Pond House and got there early the next day to spend $50 on a soda, lobster roll, and a couple popovers.
I hit 1,000 miles today! It was an enjoyable day, full of moody weather, good conversation, pizza, and some good climbs, and beautiful views. I’m happy to have done a thirty. Feels right. I hope I can keep that mileage up! We’ll see. I’m excited for Grey’s Peak in two days, but feel a bit anxious about it. Will I make good milage through the section?
Yesterday’s climbs were both really beautiful. It’s nice to be in the serious “ski mountain” part of Colorado. I feel like this state is almost over. The milage is starting to count down. I’ll be really thankful to be in WY.
Post Note
While working through this journal my mind keeps exploding with memories of different scenes from the corresponding day. There’s so much more that happens on these hikes than what I recount here. I remembered so much from this day I swore it would have had to have been two days. But no, it’s just one!
I remember the morning so clearly. Durdin and I left earlier than the others. We missed the shortcut that the group discussed the evening before, so we hoped Sarah or Snake would catch up. They didn’t. A backpacker heading south told us he’d just spooked a bear. Durdin and I laughed our way up the climb until Durdin needed a break. I didn’t look back and kept right on. The climb was awesome. Cool and under twisting cloud formations. Mood lighting up on the high ridges afterwards. I hung with the Marmots and some CT hikers up high. I drank ice cold chocolate breakfast essentials from unfiltered snowmelt. The clouds broke somewhere around noon. A mountain biker came flying down the trail behind me as I descended. You can always hear bikers coming. And though hikers technically have the right of way, the reality is that if you hear a Colorado bro flying down a mountain trail on his bike you get out of the way. The CDT is not open to bikers. But the portion of the CDT which is shared with the CT (Colorado Trail) is open to all uses. It gets really annoying after a while. But on this day it was ok. Fun to see him fly! It took me the next two hours to traverse what must have taken him fifteen minutes. I thought about lightsabers and all the money I wish I could spend on my friends for Christmas. I thought about making a StarWars scavenger hunt for them. It was fun!
Eventually I got to Copper Mountain (IT’S SO HUGE) resort. I ate a pizza there and watched the busy consumer world turn around me. I left and kept walking. I went up and over the ridge of mountains known as 10 Mile Mountain(?). The weather was continuing to worsen. You could see the bank of clouds moving in on the ridge line. Though I can blast out some climbs, there’s no escaping oncoming clouds. It was cold and windy on the way up. Everyone else was coming down. I went up and along and over the ridge and tada! The air was clear on the other side. I sat and called Daniel from the view. I listened to Lion of Rock by Gungor. I just sat and felt contented. Trail at its best. Then, as the evening shadows lengthened from the 10 Mile Mountain ridge behind me I ran down the mountain. I tucked myself in the trees down in the valley. Soft pine needles. Enough food. Another town day coming up. Life was good.