Lake City to
Silverton 412 miles traveled from Denver
Well friends we have made it to our last stop over in
Silverton. The San Juan Mountains are just the most epic range we have ever
explored in Colorado, everyday has been so rewarding. They are beyond gigantic,
jagged and sharp, most often they are dark in color with very little vegetation
above tree line. A range that looks almost uninviting, yet there is something
about them that draws you in deeper and deeper, like a Siren calling out to a
man at sea. The wildlife is truly “wild” out here and we are the ones who feel
out of place; we encountered a Bull moose and a Cow on separate days, both a
little closer than what felt comfortable but we admired and kept moving, we saw
a migration of Elk at least 200 head which brought me to tears it was so
astonishing and we heard the males in rut bugling to the females throughout the
cold nights and early mornings around dawn. Another Cow moose slept just below
our camp one night and we got to observe her all evening. The sightings have
been bountiful, but sadly so have the hunters. I am not here to get political,
I know hunting brings a lot to these small communities and hunters know how to
spend money I tell you what. I am personally torn about the whole thing. Most
local hunters we meet are sustenance hunting for the winter for them and their
families, but the vast majority we meet are out of state trophy guys from Texas
and Oklahoma… it just feels different somehow. We have fished along the way
which was hard for us at first so I feel I have no room to get on a soap box.
It just makes me feel deeply sad every time we hear a gun shot out there or see
a beautiful herd in the distance knowing not all of them will get to see the
snow fall this year. Bleeding heart I know I know!
Over the course of the last week we spent over 4 days above
tree line in some of the harshest conditions we have experienced yet. No
lightning, but a lot of wind and misty spit rain, the kind you don’t really
realize is soaking you until it is too late. The dogs don’t seem to care much
for the change in weather, but they are still truckin’ right along with us,
every step of the way and wagging those adorable tail and nubbin’.
Out of Lake City we took a “short cut” via another trail
that intersects with the CT, ideally this would have cut maybe 6 miles off our
first day back out there, but the trails weren’t marked and we got a little
turned around, only lost an hour or so over all, but I’d say due to the
condition a steepness of the trail we didn’t save any time that day at all. It
was nice because we hiked up to a yurt for CT and CDT thru hikers, Mike paid
for us to stay a night. I think he was a little disappointed with the condition
other hikers and the volunteers who manage it left the yurt in for us, but it
was nice not sleeping in the tent and having the wood stove was fun too! We had
been bunked up with a bunch of other people (dudes, bros, and hairy stinky men everywhere
I look in these towns for the past three weeks) in Lake City at the hostel, so
it was nice having the place just to ourselves, it was quiet and we watched the
sunset from the rickety old deck. That night the stars were just gorgeous and I
actually stayed up late enough to see them. I really appreciated that Mike took
the time and the forethought to book it for us, it was a nice little change up. PS yurts are super cool!
The next day while hiking Joey and Lil Britches caught a lil
chipmunk, he was scared and in shock, I think disoriented and in an attempt to
find coverage he ran up my leg. I wish I would have just frozen on the spot, maybe
he still would have had a chance, but no, my natural reaction was to shake my
leg vigorously. I threw the poor thing right back to the wolves and it was Little Britches who
went in for the final blow around its neck. I couldn’t believe my eyes, she
killed a chipmunk, I never thought in a million years that would ever happen. Of
course I cried about it as we continued down the trail. That same day we
reached the highest point on the CT, something like 13,200 feet and some change. All
the while making our way to Carson Saddle. So much of this section was high up and
desolate with little mining ruins scattered throughout the landscapes. We saw a
coyote the next day while taking a snack and water break, he was sneaking up on
us. I really think at first he just saw Joey and Lil B and that his plan was to
eat her. Lucky for us Mike saw his huge head a red back and so he stood up so
the coyote could see us, it dashed away quickly. But I was paranoid the rest of
the day that he was nearby just waiting for his chance to pounce and eat her
up. We called it early that day and Mike fished at Cataract Lake and we feasted
on Brook Trout both that evening and the next morning for breakfast, a real
treat since all of our food is not as appetizing as it was on day one. The next
day was seriously the longest 11 miles of my life. The trail was like a roller
coaster just up and down and back up, up, up again. We met a large group of 10
mountain bikers that day and when we finally reached the top of Stony Pass that
night we saw that they had left us two beers at our trail head. They were still
cold, yum Modelo! That is what you call trail magic!
Speaking of trail magic and trial culture, some of you may
have been wondering if we have trail names out here, all of the folks on the
long hikes (CDT, PCT, AT) use them to help keep track of one another because
there are lots of Johns and Mikes out there. The trail names are richly
ingrained in the AT thru hiking culture and that is where I am told it all started. So we
began this journey as Wook and Dimples and will continue using those names in
registries along the way, but those names were chosen prematurely because we
thought we had to have them, before the trail really had a chance to name us… This
section the true trail names found us and in the future we will be known out on
the trail as Pack Wolf (Mike) and Lights Out (Erika). Little Britches is Carhart and Joey is Culture Shock. I like this part of the thru hiking
culture and want to adopt it in to my personal backpacking lifestyle. Other parts of thru hiking culture I can live without. They are all so
hardcore, I guess if you have 3100 miles to cover you’d have to be. But they are
up at dawn and will often hike well into the night, they rarely use tents and
go as ultra-light as they can with gear and food, lots of cold oatmeal and cold Ramen out of a Nalgene bottles...no thanks!!! They do at least 20 miles a day
and because they are all on such rigid schedules they end up hiking together a
lot of the time. Groups will band together and it seems it gets really clique-ish, people
will join in and get kicked out of different groups along the way and lots of talk
seems to go around and around. Love blooms and goes down in flames out there. Plus many of them know each other from previous
long hikes so stories a rumors follow people from trail to trail. In Lake City we met a couple (they gave all the inside info I just mentioned) getting ready to
Triple Crown, that is when you complete the CDT, AT, and the PCT. It is a huge accomplishment,
but not really one Mike or myself are looking for personally. It is just like any other sub
or counter culture, thru hiking is a lifestyle that many people are drawn to,
but I just don’t see myself getting too sucked in.
The last couple days to Silverton were slow going, we didn’t
have a ton of miles to cover but the terrain and the weather was tough and both
Mike and I are starting to get bored with the trail life routine. Don’t get me
wrong, we love it out here and everyday there are new surprises and beauties
that we look forward to, it is just that hiking these miles day in and day out
and being on a tighter and tighter schedule as Durango approaches makes the
hiking feel more and more like a job. And camp life is hard too, setting up,
cooking, cleaning, and then tearing down… day after day after day. Let’s just
say this is no day hike and we are really excited to finish this trail!
In our last days we continued and climbed over a mountain through a
gigantic rain cloud that we rode to the precipice of Elk Creek Canyon, the most
beautiful place I have ever been in Colorado. We began hiking down into the
canyon just as the cloud we had been riding lifted, and before us was the most
gorgeous red quartzite and green limestone rock out cropping’s as far as the
eye could see. Against the grey sky and the inverted clouds still lingering among us, there were just the most beautiful red and pink and every shade of turquoise shiny rocks towering above us and resting below us. The rocks are so smooth and you could see the rain gliding off
of them giving them and extra sheen in the emerging sunlight. We dropped down
further and further and the canyon walls grew taller all around us. The streams
were so clear and pristine running off from all sides of the canyon walls all joining
Elk Creek at the bottom. The exposed geology was a billion year old timeline
just laid out before our eyes. It was almost too much beauty to fully take in.
I have never seen anything like it. That night we camped just near the train
tracks for the Durango to Silverton rail and it was fun to see the trains pass
that afternoon as we settled ourselves at camp. People loved it, waving at us
and taking pictures. The next day was just a 5 mile hike out to Molas Pass but
it was a doozy. Miles of switchbacks and when you get to the top of them you
can see and hear the cars, but you are still 1.5 miles from the top and it is
mentally tough getting up there. It is like, “really, I’m not there yet?” But I
made it up eventually and within 15 minutes of thumbing it a nice older couple
from Indiana picked us up and took us into town, and boy do they just love
Silverton we heard about it the whole way down the pass. The hostel here is
weird, it is really nice and inviting but the people working here leave
something to be desired and it could be a little cleaner feeling. Let’s just
say this place could be a lot better than it is, but we are grateful for the
hot shower, the kitchen, and a private room with a really good sized bed for
the four of us to share. Tomorrow we will head back out and are set to arrive in Durango
on Thursday the 24th. Mike’s other awesome auntie is gonna meet us
here tomorrow to have lunch and then take us back up to the trail head.
7 more days!!!!
We didn’t have time to upload our pics from
this epic section so you will just have to wait until next week for those.
As always thanks for reading and thanks for the love and
support.
Ahhh! You are getting so close. Love the stories! You go girl (and boy) (and pups)!!!!!!
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