Up on the 4th and moving by 0530. On dirt roads again and there are hunters everywhere. They’re in big trucks, quads and walking. Push downhill and then make the push back up to Bowen Pass. 30 minute lunch break and head on towards Green Mountain Trailhead. 22 miles to there. Rocky Mountain National Park is burned and requires permits and bear cans to hike even during the day. Decide to do the alternate instead and road walk into Grand Lake around dinner time. Pizza and beer at the local bar. Then laundry and resupply. Walk to Ice cream parlor and get free chocolate cone from
A very nice couple. Walk to Shadowcliff Mtn. Lodge/hostel and check in. $37.11 for my own room, a comfy bed and a hot shower.
Slept ok last night. Up at 0430 on day 71 and charged battery. Grab coffee downstairs by 0545. Repack and sit in common room and work on blog. Head to grab a breakfast burrito and head to the lakeshore. Go out on dock and have breakfast with my feet in the water. Walk to pavilion and charge phone/wait till 1000 when the outfitter opens. Need fuel and electrolytes. Walk to jeweler and get Galaxy a present. Walk to the bar and order a large pizza and 2 PBRs. Eat 3/4 and pack out the rest. Walk out of town by 1300. Mostly flat and following Shadow Mountain lake, which quickly forms into the Colorado river. 5 miles in the RMNP boundary before leaving the park and climbing uphill. Encamped overlooking the Colorado river/Lake Ganby, where it flows into. Mile 1642.1.
Left camp at 0645 on the 6th. Hike back down to the lake/river and traverse around. Walk past several drive in campsites and everyone’s asleep. Trail is a mix of road and single track. Only hike 16 miles as I’m not super motivated. Galaxy is coming in a day and a half and there’s only so many miles I can do anyway. Colorado is also hard. There’s a 13K climb tomorrow. Mile 1657.8 currently.
Camping wasn’t bad at all last night for being down low and close to water. Was able to wash my sock before bed. Managed to stay dry. Rolling by 0600 on day 73. 2.4 miles of rolling/forested area before the initial climb to James Peak. Grab last water for at least 12 planned miles. Start up climb and find water 9 miles in. Been considering doing the hard alternate and the extra water solidified it. Stop 1.5 miles before summit for quick lunch. Push up to James Peak (13,309). Decide to do the James ridgeline traverse. 4 miles with 5-13,000 foot summits along a stretch with saddles in-between. Each climb was 500 to 1,000 feet tall. Runs from James Peak to Mt. Bancroft (13,250), Perry Peak (13,357), Mt. Eva (13,130) and then Mt. Flora (13,123). Days total mileage was 23.6 miles with almost 6k of elevation gain. Had to walk 2.7 down from Mt. Flora to Berthoud Pass trailhead. Hitch into Winter Park in 15 minutes and dropped at Dino’s Bistro for Pizza/beer. Get room at the Viking Lodge with a hiker rate for 2 nights. Waiting on Galaxy to get here tomorrow. HARD DAY.
On day 74, Galaxy flew in and got to the lodge by 1620. I aimlessly rambled around and ate 3 meals while waiting for her. We went to our room upstairs to unpack, change and head to Dino’s for dinner again. Good New York strips (eh, Galaxy said they were ok), salads and drinks - honestly, too expensive for what we got. Walk around on the boardwalk for a bit and then head upstairs for the evening.
Up early on the 9th by 0400. Quick shower and then on the hunt for good coffee. We end up at McDonald’s. I try a caramel iced coffee which isn’t too shabby. Eat breakfast and walk around Winter Park again. The town is mostly closed till 10 am so we pack up and head to Grand Lake to tour around a bit. Check out the shops and get Avi some souvenirs. We make plans to head towards Rogers Peak. When we get to Berthoud pass there’s a thru-hiker that needs a ride to town. We scoop him up and head back down-hill to Winter Park. Back to the original plan - Figure out we need a permit to drive to Summit Lake. It’s the highest paved road in the US and is an in/out. Good idea for permits. In the park around 1530. Hairpin turns make me sick so I drive instead. Get some good pics of goats, Galaxy and I and Summit Lake. It starts to sleet and the temps slip into the low 40s. I drive back downhill and we end up in Idaho Springs. Find a great pizza place (Beau Jo's) for dinner and drinks. Pretty impressed with that place. Back to the re-rented room at the Viking Lodge by 2100. Good spot and good price.
Up and looking for coffee on the 10th around 0600. Find some that’s good and head back to the room. Shower and a late breakfast at an Irish joint called Randi's Grill & Pub. Back to the room to pack a day bag for our hike up to the Continental Divide. Take off to the trail and find a gate closed along the road. Backtrack and take another route. Attempt to drive the BMW X7 up a 4wd road. The SUV has liftable air suspension that gave us plenty of clearance, but not exactly confident in the tires. We make it about half way and then park along the side of the road. Grab the day pack and take off up the road for a few miles. We traverse across and up a steep hill connected to an old RR bridge. Pretty sketch. Pretty vertical. After road walking for a bit, we then cut cross-country and climb 1+ miles up to the top of the ridge/Continental Divide. Galaxy did great at elevation. Epic video and photos and then traverse back down to the road to walk 2.5 miles back to the car. Almost dark and we carefully pick our way downhill to the main road. Back to the room to change and then eat again at the Irish place. Steak dinner for us both - better than Dinos!) Back to the room and there’s thru hikers I know everywhere! Good to see everyone.
11 September 2022- Never Forget and always stay aware. Up at 0500. Walk to Moon Frog to get us some coffees. Head back to the Irish place for the 3rd time, second breakfast there 2 days in a row. The foods wonderful. Run into some hikers and start shuttling them to Safeway. Make two trips. Also pick up Wrecking Ball and drop her at the clinic. Take hikers to the gear store and then run Treeboy back to trail up at Berthoud pass. Swing by to grab Galaxy and we head to Safeway to resupply me. Back to the room to reorganize and repack. Head to the tattoo shop and get a new wrist tattoo. Head to a nice dinner at Hernando's Pizza Pub and eat a Stromboli and down some PBRs. Back to the room, shower and sleep.
It’s the 12th, and time for Galaxy to head home and me back to trail. Last shower and pack/head to McDonald’s to eat breakfast. Swing by post office to mail extra stuff home and then back at trail by 0830. Say goodbye to Galaxy and make the climb back over 12,000 feet. Up and over Stanley mountain and a few other peaks. Eat dinner and push till 2100. Currently camped along a paved bike path. Tomorrow will be the highest point on trail and a potential alternate with some cool history. Current mile is 1708.5. Made a 22.85 mile day.
13 Sept - Day 79 and currently at mile 1730.5. Another 22 mile day. Woke up to a 2 mile climb to get to Grays Peak trailhead. Was passed on the road by many cars and loved choking on their dust. 5 mile push to the summit. I hiked past almost everyone while climbing the trail who passed me on the road and who started earlier. Made the top around 0830 and pushed down a sketchy section and up to Mt. Edwards summit. Started the Argentine Spine. Up and over Argentine Peak, Decatur Mtn., around Revenue and Silver Mountains and up another ridiculous climb to the redline. Lots of cool mining stuff from the 1800s. Ate dinner in an old mine pit. Just about 10,000 feet of elevation gain today and I’m Whooped. No water till .8 from the end of the alternate. Water conservation at elevation makes me dizzy. Stopped around 2200. Encamped above 12k on a slant by the side of the dirt road.
Day 80 - Rolling on the 14th by 0415. There’s 4 mini hills to deal with before getting to the dirt road alt (4.6 miles). Cuts off about 5 miles and some elevation. Snow is coming and I need to move. All downhill to the redline and the a 1,000 foot push up. Back down the rest of the way to the trailhead. Rained the last 2 hours and it was 45*. Went into the bus station soaked and put on my puffy. Hitched into town and got Pizza and beer. Ended on the 14th at the Bivvi Hostel in Breckenridge.
Days on the trail: 80
Miles completed: 1,759.3
Location: Breckenridge, CO
Zero days: 6 (4 of those with Galaxy)