July 26

20 miles

It started to rain around 4:20 am. Luckily, it was short-lived and not heavy. I’d been having terrible nightmares all night. Whenever I woke and returned to sleep, the nightmare would pick up where it had left off! (Awful!) In the dream, half of my school campus had been closed off and turned into a crime scene. One of the teachers had gone out into the woods around midnight the night before and was brutally attacked again and again. She refused to die, though. She returned to town in a ravaged, near-death state. I felt very scared and it was hard to shake off the feeling (especially being out in the woods, alone).

I got up at 5:55 and ate some granola pieces and a trail bar in my sleeping bag. It was cold- 42 degrees! By 7 am, I was packed up and ready to go. The big morning climb was not strenuous because it was spread out over so many miles.

I reached the 11,800 foot summit, which was my first time above treeline, and planned to take a break there, but it was too cold and windy! Still, it was beautiful and I felt so happy to finally be out on an exposed summit! This is why I wanted to hike out here!


I put on my rain jacket and started the descent. About 8.7 miles in, I met a nice cyclist heading the opposite way. He stopped and asked me if I was having a good day! He asked me where I was planning to camp and told me he was set up 5 miles away. (I thought that was too early to end my day). He wanted to make sure I had enough food and water, and told me that the white van I would see was his in case I was wondering. He hoped to see me again later.
By the time I got to the river where I could fill my water, I was so tired! I tried to find a nice campsite area where I could eat my lunch, but ended up sitting on a log stump in not-the nicest area. I had peanut butter and honey on an english muffin, a little beef jerky, a little trail mix, and a snickers. I continued on and saw his white van. Then, I got lost! I couldn’t find the trail. ATV riders came roaring down the dirt path from the woods! I knew I was no longer on the CT! I kept walking, hoping there was an intersection ahead that would lead me to the trail, but I found nothing. I saw some trailer campers, but no one said anything. So, I retraced my steps. I realized that I missed my turn-off before the white van! The van had distracted me!
It was now 2pm, and I started another climb. As I crossed a road, a pack of cyclists came flying down and I almost followed them, taking the wrong way a second time! The CT crossed the road and continued into the woods. I managed to find my way, returning to my solitary trail. This was the toughest climb of the hike so far. It was hot, dry, and the incline was steep and unrelenting. I had to stop many times to catch my breath and take a moment of rest. Finally, I made it to the top of the climb. There were so many dead trees all over the ground! I guess it was due to the beetle destruction.

The trail was not well-marked in this area. I would come to forks, look at my guidebook pages, and receive no indication as to which way the trail lead! Luckily, at an intersection ahead, someone had hand written a “CT” and an arrow, so I knew which way I was supposed to go. I started descending the switchbacks. My pace considerably slowed. Several mountain bikers came whizzing by, and each time, I would have to step off the trail and let them go by. I had been unable to charge my ipod before this trip, rendering it useless, so I couldn’t bring it. That turned out to be a good thing, because it would have been dangerous to be on this trail with all of the mountain bikers flying towards you without notice, unable to hear them and quickly step aside! I sat down on the side of the trail for a break and checked to see if I had any cell service. I was getting exhausted. After finishing the switchbacks, a very outgoing cyclist in an orange shirt, in his fifties, came towards me, letting out whoops. “Are you all alone? Where are you going? You’re brave!”. In a loud voice, he shouted out, “This is a national scenic treasure you’re on! It’s way better than the PCT or the AT! You can see all the peaks!” I wanted to tell him that it was me and him, out in nature and that he didn’t need to talk so loudly. He started naming the peaks. “I’m sure you’ve researched them,” he added. (Actually… no, I had not…). “I hate the Collegiate Peaks!” he continued. “You know why? Because they are so dry!” I thought I was finished with the driest sections of the trail. I guess not… He then told me about a bike race that would be starting in another week, along the same route I was traveling, from Denver to Durango. He told me that the bikers camp along the way. that it is a self-supported race, and the first one to Durango wins. “I think you are going to enjoy it,” he told me. I was so exhausted… I had just hiked 20 miles and wanted to relax and rest. I didn’t have energy to create conversation. He took off and said he would see me in a little while.
At the next intersection, I sat down to rest. I had planned to continue on until I came to the next landmark- a set of power lines, but for some reason, I decided to look around the area. I saw some flat ground… Maybe I should camp right here! I set up my tent underneath some trees and went back out to the grassy mound in the sun. The temperature was in the 70s. It was warm in the sun, but cool in the trees where my tent was, and it was hard to know how to layer. I checked for reception and got a very faint signal. I didn’t feel like eating much. Another backpacker came around the corner. He was almost staggering, looked exhausted, and his face had a look of suffering. He gave me a slight wave, but did not really look at me. He just kept walking. Then I realized who it was! It was one of the 2 men I had met a few hours into the start of my hike, who so happily planned to hike to Breckenridge in 6 days! His more obviously out of shape friend was no longer with him. I looked at my watch and thought about him finishing in the dark. With so much suffering, I wondered if hiking this stretch in the amount of time he wanted to do it in was really worth it.
20 miles was plenty enough for me for the day. I rested for about 40 minutes, cleaned up, and then went out to watch the sun set for the first time on my hike.

July 25

6 miles

I woke up sometime after five. I checked my phone and found a message from my Swiss friend, telling me that the timing wouldn’t work out to talk, as he had activities planned from the late afternoon on. We were now separated by a time difference of eight hours and it was making finding time to talk even more difficult. I decided to try Skyping him from my bed, but it was a one way phone call due to the lack of reception in my motel room! He could hear me, but his voice was transmuted into that of an impossible to understand robot! I decided to get dressed, went outside, and walked until I got reception. I told him a little about my hike so far and showed him the dilapidated town I was staying in. I was standing next to a little shack with broken windows- a far cry from what he was used to seeing in Switzerland!

I got cold from standing outside, so I went to the motel office for a coffee and danish, put my hair up and contacts in for yoga, and went outside to meet Chrisselda. We had a pleasant ride over to the recreation center and even saw a fox in the field! The sky was unusually cloudy for a Colorado morning. Chrisselda introduced me to the lifeguard and to the yoga teacher, who was also named Wendy! I asked her how much the class was and she thought for a moment and then said, “For you, it’s free since your name is Wendy and because Chrisselda brought you.” My name was bringing me lots of good luck on this hike! And it was lucky that I arrived in town on a Tuesday night so I could attend the Wednesday morning yoga class! I weighed myself in the locker room and discovered that I had already lost a few pounds!

It felt so wonderful to be in a yoga room again, on a pink mat, listening to relaxing music. I couldn’t believe I had found myself here! I did a downward dog before class started, and as I lifted one leg into the air, a few other people in the room said, “wow!”. Eight of us took the class. We started with even breath (increasing the length of each breath), moved on to robin’s breath (something new to me), seated forward fold, and side stretching. Then moved to table top cat/cows, lifted one leg and brought it to the the opposite side, lifted and lowered it, and alternated several times. We then did high plank, downward facing dog to high plank, lowered halfway, upward facing dog, and downward facing dog five times (the second half of a vinyasa). She then pronounced us ready for camel pose, which I was a bit startled by, because that it a pose that should be done at the end of class, after a great deal of opening work. It suddenly made me thankful for my teachers who “smartly” sequence and for the passing of their knowledge to me. We continued with rag doll, warrior one to three and back (twice on each side), and then did splits (another pose we were not prepped for…). She kept calling child’s pose “bakatana” or something like that which always threw me. We did wild thing, turtle pose, side bends in a wide straddle, paschimotadasana, janu sirsana, a spinal twist, and savasana. During the class, Chrisselda would shout out her feelings. “I love you!” she told the teacher as we were doing camel pose. “I love you, too!” the teacher called back. It was amusing for me to hear people talking in a yoga class… Very different from my classes in Boston! Although I found the poses to be a collective hodge-podge, it was evident that the teacher had a lot of heart, and doing yoga always makes you feel good. As class ended, she commented on how wonderful the energy was in the room today. Chrisselda said that “Wendy brought it!” I thanked the teacher and gave her a hug before I left. What a nice experience!

Chrisselda gave me a ride to the post office, where I picked up my first resupply box. Along the way, she pointed out where the breakfast place was. She gave me a hug before parting. My hiker hunger was starting to kick in. I ordered a “mountain scrambler.” Unfortunately, I had an inattentive waitress, and I watched my breakfast sit on the counter for a long time before it was brought to me. (The cook was also getting frustrated about it not being delivered). By the time it was brought to me, it was cold. I thought about ordering some oatmeal after I finished my eggs, but it was 10:00 and I needed to walk back to the motel, get in a shower, pack up all of my stuff, and get out of my room by 11.

I sat outside and sorted through my food, deciding what I wanted to send home and what I wanted to throw away. Lily, the dog of the housekeeper, kept me company.

I gave the cleaning lady a tip, stashed my pack in the office, and walked back into town to mail my unneeded things home. I ended up getting lost and asked a little Indian girl where the post office was. “Look for the American flag. There’s one in front of every post office,” she told me.

I checked out the lunch options at the Java Moose, but didn’t find anything too appealing, so I headed back to the Burrow. I wanted to eat at one of the outside tables, but they were all taken. Inside, it was extremely crowded, stuffy, and hot. I asked if I could sit outside and was directed to a table occupied by a man. “Do you mind if I join you?” I asked. I ordered a buffalo burger and sweet potato fries and we chatted. He was here on vacation from Texas and intended to go fishing today, but the lake was dry. I told him what I was doing and that I needed to hitch back to the trail in the afternoon. He said that since his plans didn’t work out, he had free time and could drive me to the trail if I was ready! I had wanted to do some writing and order a milkshake, but decided to take him up on his kind offer instead. The trail was 20 miles away and it might not have been easy to find a ride! We stopped by the motel to pick up my pack and headed out. His name was Walt. We talked about hiking and GPS devices, and he pointed out a herd of antelope in a meadow. My first antelope!! I offered him some gas money, but he wouldn’t accept it. He gave me a half hug and I waved goodbye. I needed to put sunscreen on before I could resume my hike. It was now 2 in the afternoon.

Shortly into the hike, I met an older gentlemen who was headed in the opposite direction. His name was Oakley Westfield, but went by Graybeard on the trail. We had a nice chat. He told me there was a guy several hours ahead of me, who was planning to hike about 7 or so more miles to a campground. (“He’s young if that’s an incentive.”) I found it strange that a thruhiker planned to stay at a campground, and he sounded too ambitious and too far ahead for me to catch. I stuck to my own plan. The walk was pleasant- nice forest and nice flowers. I felt happy. I came into an opening after having just taken off my pack for a break, only to realize that I forgot to put my visor on (I hadn’t needed it in the woods). “I don’t want to take my pack off again,” I said aloud and then noticed two people lounging in the grass. “Where are you going?” they asked.
“Durango.”
“Durango? That’s that way,” the man said, pointing to where I had come from.
“No it isn’t. It’s that way,” I said, confidently pointing ahead.
They asked where I started from and were amazed. The man said that there are hardly any men who would do that alone, never mind women. They couldn’t believe that this was my first time in Colorado.

Later on, a nice girl on a mountain bike, who was headed the opposite way with her big dog stopped to chat with me. “Are you doing the whole thing by yourself?”. She said that she was scared to sleep out here. Her boyfriend makes her bring a gun. She makes her huge dog sleep in the tent with her. I told her that after you get used to it, you come to feel protected out here. She told me that there was a guy only a few miles ahead. “He’s 19. He does 25 miles a day. What you guys are doing is so far!”

The terrain was fairly easy throughout the afternoon and dotted with nice wildflowers. At mile 4.5, I stopped at a creek to fill up on water.

I continued on another mile and a half and started to look for a campsite. I didn’t see any, so I continued over the river, where I happily found several spots! There was even a fire ring. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were out in droves. I set up my tent as the temperature cooled and wind picked up. I tried for quite awhile to make a fire, but only ended up getting a huge blood blister on my thumb. (I’m going to blame in on the wet sticks…) I made a pot of macaroni and cheese but had to keep walking in circles as I ate because the mosquitoes kept trying to bite me. I cleaned up and got in my tent at 6:21pm. It was still light out and I had time to journal. I wish I could have relaxed more in town. Hopefully, I will be able to in Breckenridge! Tomorrow, I have a 2,000 foot, six-mile long climb to 12,000 feet!

July 24

21.8 miles

The squirrels let me know that it was time to get up again. (I realized that the places that I pick to sleep underneath the protection of pine trees is also the home of territorial squirrels!) The temperature had dropped to 40 degrees. It was cold! I just wanted to stay nestled in my sleeping bag. My sleeping pad was all crumpled up again, and my piece of Tyvek that serves as my groundcloth had slid towards the tree side. I got up at 6, put on all of my clothes, and went out to pee and retrieve my food bag. My granola had frozen, so I just ate a poptart in my sleeping bag. I was on the trail by 7:06, dressed in my fleece pull-over and rain jacket and pants. My fingers were freezing! I didn’t even want to stop and collect water because I was too cold. There had been a creek running alongside the trail (several yards away and not easily accessible), and I had thought I was approaching the headwaters where it would be easier to collect. But all of a sudden, I was descending into the woods! I had no idea how far away the next water source was! Luckily, everything worked out. There was lots of water in the next segment. As I hiked, fond memories of my time spent with my Swiss friend last summer came into my head and made me smile. And, I saw my first bunny of the hike!



As I continued into the woods, I wondered where the man ahead of me had spent the night. I saw no signs. My body was having a tough time with the climbs today. It just didn’t want to put in the effort, but I kept pushing along. (I had reached an elevation of over 10,000 feet by this point- higher than I had ever been). My goal was to get to Rock Creek at mile 7.3 of this segment. I arrived just after 1 and it was way too hot and early to stop and cook there! It was a pretty area, though. I collected and filtered water and ate part 2 of my lunch- a packet of peanut butter and a snickers bar (earlier I had some beef jerky and trail mix). Then I began another climb. I stopped to chat with a friendly squirrel and then heard 2 people who were headed towards me talking. They weren’t very friendly. They only wanted to know how far away the water was and what it was like. A bit later, an older, more friendly man came along. He asked me how far I was going and I told him I was doing the whole trail. He was very impressed with that, and even more impressed that I was doing it alone. He said that he would never come out here alone and that I was very brave. “Bravery,” he said, pausing and looking into my eyes. “That’s a good thing.” I thanked him and continued on, through meadows, and up smaller hills.

I estimated that I had hiked 9.1 miles of this segment, but there were no more landmarks until mile 14.9, so I had only the elevation profile to guess where I was. The trees became smaller and the landscape opened up, and for the first time, I could see the Continental Divide in the distance! This was the first open view I was able to see on this trail. It had surprised me how much of it had been in the woods. I came to Colorado for its open, sweeping expanses, and had bin a bit disappointed by the scenery so far.

I took a small break and continued walking. My plan was to camp a few miles away from the trailhead and hitch into town the next morning, so I could make the best use of a motel room. Then, thunder started to rumble… Sprinkles of rain started falling. And the trail was continuing to climb! I needed to find a place to camp- away from the lightning- but I didn’t see anything. I looked at the elevation profile and estimated that I was at mile 12 of this section. There were 3.1 more miles to the end of this segment. It was now about 3:40. I decided to make a push to the end and hitch the 20 miles into town that evening! There was no point in staying out in another storm, with no good spots to camp. I noticed the beautiful aspen trees and flowers along the last stretch, as I hurried along. Maybe because I was now on a mission and was trying to hike as fast as I could, my awareness of the things I was missing and would have seen if I had taken more time became stronger.

From the time that I had started planning out this hike, I had been worrying about hitching long distances alone, and as I got closer to the road, I stopped and looked up at the sky, asking the spirits (and my brother) out loud to please deliver me a really nice person at about 5:00 to take me into town. As I continued to walk, I saw the road and heard many trucks whizzing by, which was a good sign for being able to get a ride. I walked on the train tracks after emerging from the woods and made it to the road at 4:45! I had just hiked the first 72.2 miles in 4 days!

I crossed the highway and asked 2 bikers which direction Fairplay was. “Are you going to walk there?” the man asked me. “No! I’m going to hitch” and I stuck out my thumb as the first car passed by. It didn’t even slow down.
A silver car pulled into the dirt parking area, and 2 women got out of the car. They were clearly tourists, and played around the trail signs, completely ignoring me. I continued to stick my thumb out, but no car would stop. I started to become a bit demoralized. I looked at my watch. It read 4:55. I still had time… Two big trucks slowly came up the hill, heading towards me. I felt a bit scared and put my thumb down. One of the trucks pulled into the parking area and rolled down his window. I walked over to him and he asked where I was going. “Fairplay” I answered.
“Come on in.”
I looked over at the ladies, half hoping that they would finally offer me a ride, but they still didn’t acknowledge me. So, I climbed into the passenger seat, set my pack down, and glanced at my watch. It was 5:00.

Still, I felt a bit wary. There was a bed behind the seats. I hoped he didn’t want anything from me. He asked me if I had ever been in a truck with beds before. Nope…
He turned out to be a very nice man. His name was Ron and he told me that he usually takes another, more direct route to his destination, but tonight, for some reason, he felt compelled to take the more scenic route. He didn’t know why. We talked about the storm that had rolled in last night. He called me a “tough cookie.” And he told me about the time that he picked up three punk teenage girls who were hitchhiking from Florida to get to a concert in Denver on the 4th of July years ago. At this one location, no car would stop for them. Without any camping gear, they spent the night in a meadow next to a highway in the rain. The next morning, Ron drove by and picked them up. They couldn’t thank him enough. Not only was he the first trail angel of my hike- he was simply an angel! He dropped me off at the gas station at the entrance to town, shook my hand, and handed me my pack. I dug out my town map and guidebook pages and determined that one motel was not far ahead. I went in and asked how much a room was. I decided to stay. The man behind the desk asked me what my name was and then said, “I’ve always liked that name!” (Ever since he heard the song from the 60s with my name in it). I asked him for dinner recommendations, went to my room, showered, and then called my sister to wish her an early happy birthday. It was pouring out and I was glad I had chosen to come all the way into town. I was growing hungrier and hungrier while on the phone and told my sister I needed to eat.

I headed across the street to the little barbecue place. I felt SO tired! I ordered a pulled pork sandwich (which was a bit spicy for me) and texted my “friend” back home. He had texted a couple of times and I felt bad about not responding. It was nice to have a bit of company over dinner, even if it was virtual company. The owner of the place was a chatterbox. She guessed that I was a hiker when I pulled my money out of my ziplock bag. I told her that I had just walked 72.2 miles and had 416 to go. “No wonder you are so skinny!” she said. “You walk all the time!”.
“No,” I told her. “It’s from doing yoga. That’s all I did to train for this!”.
“Yoga- I just had class yesterday and will again tomorrow,” she said. “I’m never bitchy after yoga class.”
“I know! Isn’t it the best?”
She told me that they did hip openers yesterday and that she hoped they would do backbends tomorrow. She asked me what my favorite pose was.
I told her I didn’t have a favorite, but that I was excited about going from camel to thunderbolt for the first time on my own a few weeks ago.
“I’m going to ask my teacher if we can do that one!” she said.
She talked about how they did buzzing breath, robin’s breath, and lion’s breath and then said, “You should come to class tomorrow morning!”
The idea made me so happy! I told her I didn’t have yoga clothes with me. (“Stay in the back row and don’t go in front of me!” she responded). “I’ll pick you up at 7:45 right outside the motel.”
I ate my blueberry cobble with cinnamon ice cream, so happy that I decided to eat dinner at this place and so happy that I mentioned doing yoga. Great things were already happening to me. Chrisselda returned with her special rock formed from the tears of the Apache woman that was given to her by a customer who was in the military and who left these rocks in all of the places to which he traveled in the world. She told me about the powerful energy it contained and let me hold it to see for myself.

I returned to my room, tried calling Laura a second time that day, tried to find my chiropractor’s e-mail to let him know how I was doing, and e-mailed the person in my lab who would be sending my next couple of mail drops to let him know I was already ahead of my planned schedule. I finally went to bed a little after 9, but the pillows were too thick and fluffy and I couldn’t sleep like that! So, I had to lay flat without a pillow. (I also discovered that I already forgot to flush the toilet in my motel room! How quickly you adapt to a different lifestyle…) It rained a little more as I tried to sleep.

Today, I realized that when I hike these long trails, I never feel damaged, inadequate, lacking in anything, or that I am somehow not “good enough” like I often feel in regular life. Out here, I feel strong and confident, without fear, and generally happy. I feel like the brave person that everyone who meets me tells me I am. I feel more like the real me.

July 23

17 miles

I didn’t sleep well again… This time, I made sure to have my head at the top of the slope, but the bigger slant was in the left to right direction, and my sleeping bag kept shifting to that side. My sleeping pad had balled up underneath me again. It was totally useless. And my mind continued to be disturbed by that “friend’s” words from home. It took me two days to fully understand what I already knew to begin with- that a person’s anger always stems from their own behavior and inability to make changes within themselves. The anger that he was projecting on to me was simply a misdirection for what he didn’t like about himself. This has been a long-standing pattern in my life. People who display unhealthy habits are drawn to me and then tear me apart for being who I am. I now understand that I can’t allow these people into my life. It’s so hard for me to give up on people though, especially when I think I can help them.

The chatterings of a squirrel woke me up at 5:45. My period did in fact come (and I was grateful that it waited until I was out of the treeless and waterless section). I ate some granola and a poptart, packed up, and headed out at 6:50. The first three miles passed quickly. My food bag was noticeably lighter. And I found a heart in the middle of the trail that someone had made with rocks! (I imagined that someone ahead had left it for me and was curious about who that person was).

I crossed Buffalo Creek, put on some sunscreen, and then started a climb. And after eating a power bar by a stream at mile 11.9 in this section, I was finished section 3 by 10am! (The Colorado Trail is divided into 28 segments of different lengths, split by trailheads where the trail can be accessed. Many people hike it section by section). A third of a mile into section 4, I headed towards some campers lounging in camp chairs. When a thru-hiker comes across a scene like this, the first thing that comes into our minds is trail magic! But these people didn’t even say hi to me, much less offer me any food or drink. And two barking dogs started running directly at me! I made my way around them and turned back onto the trail, thankful to be alone again. I was starting to feel tired and my spirits were dragging a bit. I found an embankment covered with pine needles and sat down for a rest. I turned on my iphone and was greatly surprised to find that I had reception! I didn’t have any texts or voicemails, but reading facebook updates and having a connection to people I knew from home gave me a little morale boost. I left a voicemail with Laura, letting her know how I was doing, texted my friend in Switzerland, sent Erik an e-mail, and resumed walking.

It began to rain around 11:25, but I decided not to put on my rain jacket. It only lasted 20 minutes. Just after noon, after hiking 4.6 miles into the segment, I found a place with the nicest running water yet to stop and have lunch. It was in the woods and the bugs were out, so I had to apply repellent first. My mood was finally beginning to improve! I snacked, put on sunscreen, filtered water, and looked at my guidebook pages, and then headed back out at 1pm. I climbed and climbed up the next section. At first, it reminded me of the beginning of the trail up Mount Washington, and then turned into forest. As I took my pack off for a break, I saw a female hiker headed towards me. I told her she was the first person I had seen all day. (I was the third person she had seen. Apparently, there were 2 men ahead of me). She was hiking the trail the opposite way I was, and I congratulated her on her near finish. We asked each other about the water availability ahead of us, and continued on.

Around 2:45, it began to rain again. I eventually put my rain jacket on, hopped over a tree, and continued on through a large meadow, dotted with yellow flowers. I finally felt like I was in Colorado! (I had known since I was in college that Colorado was a place I had wanted to go, but this was my first time I had actually made it out here!).

I walked over a mile in the rain, and then started to get tired again. I also had to pee. I found a couple of large trees with dry pine needles underneath, so I put my pack down and took a break there. I looked out in the direction I would be going and saw the rain coming down. And then, I looked back towards where I had just come from, and saw no rain in the air! I was standing right on the rain line! Incredible! I left the protection of the tree and continued through the meadow. Looking up towards my right, I saw a man setting up camp, but he did not see me. The rain had stopped and it was now hot out. I felt tired and found a nice flat rock to eat a power bar on. I decided to lie back on the rock and rest for awhile (something I rarely give myself permission to do). The sun was bright and I needed to shade my eyes with my hands. Within a couple of minutes, clouds began to move across the sky. More and more clouds moved in, filling up the sky, and the temperature immediately got cooler. A storm was coming and I needed to find a place to set up my tent! Thunder began to rumble. Most of the area was covered with thick plants and rocks and my eyes scanned the landscape for a flat area. I was also looking for a place where I could collect water. I found a small, exposed clearing on the side of the trail, but decided to press on. To my right, up a slope, I saw a stand of pine trees and decided I could camp underneath them. So I veered off the trail, headed for the trees, and dug my tent out of my pack. I had a hard time staking the tent because the ground was so hard! I looked around for some rocks that I could use to pound in the stakes and came across a campfire ring and the skeleton of a large animal! This was an actual campsite that I had found! By 4:30, I managed to get everything inside my tent and I stayed there for the next 2 hours, as the storm came in. At first, there was sprinkling rain and lightening in the distance. Then the wind picked up and the thunder grew louder. The temperature dropped from 80 degrees to 70 to 50! I put on my fleece pull-over and my rain clothes and got into my sleeping bag, fading in and out of sleep while lightening flashed all around me! I was weathering my first Colorado storm! Eventually, it passed, and I emerged from my tent to cook some mac and cheese. I added salmon for more protein, but the whole meal was cold and disgusting! The processed cheese remained hard and clumpy, and I just couldn’t stomach the taste. As I crawled into my sleeping bag for the night, I realized that I had hiked 50 miles of the trail so far- already 10% of it!

My camp companion!