A Bit of Adventuring On & Off Trail

Greetings from Silverton, a hitch we made this morning from Molas Pass. Our hitch was from a lady who has done the Colorado Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Pacific Crest Trail & maybe others? She is also an elementary special education teacher. Small world, eh? We had a delicious breakfast, resupplied, will grab a milk shake or root beer float or anything ice cream & then soon be on our way to hike out this evening. We are almost at the one month mark of our time on the trail (the 14th was our start date) & it's funny because when I sort through our pictures to post them on here, I get all sentimental & almost teary-eyed because it's all so beautiful. But this isn't quite the past yet, this is still the present!

We had a 6-day hike in between Salida & Lake City & again, got a hitch from a very nice young man who let his dog ride shotgun with Unicorn as I (very comfortably) rode in the back of his enclosed truck with a window cracked. It was a very peaceful ride & neat to see the beauty of Colorado moving by so quickly as we made our way back to the trail. The trail took us through a lot of different types of landscapes, and we walked by a lot of cows. One young cow chased us for a bit mooing all the way. We were able to walk right through another herd, where they part ways as we walked right through...nervously. It was nice when the smell of cow poop disappeared & we no longer had to watch every step to avoid walking in it. We walked through long, open expanses of cow pasture & then through a lot more of exposed trail, there were days when we cheered whenever we got close to a tree. Speaking of trees, at a certain elevation, a lot of the pine trees are dead due, we are assuming, to the beetle. There were days where there were little to no live trees so when we saw a live one, we cheered it on for survival.

We were very excited when we arrived at Spring Creek Pass & my dad & brother Caleb were waiting for us, ready to take us into town! We spent two and-a-half days with them in Lake City & we did some traveling/exploring as well on Caleb's birthday, when we drove 4 hours to Telluride, making a quick stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. When we pulled into Telluride, there were festival people at the entrance into town who let us know that Pearl Jam was in town to play that night for the Ride Festival. We checked out prices to see them play & the price was quite out of our range, so we pestered around town, riding up the gondola & then back down, checked out a few shops & eventually (even though there were a ton of extra people in town) made it into the Thai place for dinner to celebrate Caleb's birthday. When we were finished there, Caleb decided he'd like to stay & at least listen to Pearl Jam - we'd heard from a lot of people that you can do so from just about anywhere close to the festival, since it's outside & there are mountains surrounding it, making for good acoustics. So that we did & it was amazingly lovely. He played many of our favorite songs including "Society" from the "Into the Wild" soundtrack & payed homage to Christopher McCandless, which made for a very beautiful moment. We left that experience having fallen even more in love with Eddie Vedder & it will be placed in a very special place in our memories. A special night....and it made for a late night drive back to Lake City for my dad & Caleb who were troopers staying wide awake until 1am to dodge deer, but we all agree, it was worth it! For Unicroc & I, it was way past our usual bedtime - sunset, so we could not stay awake!

That is one of my favorite things about being out here, sleeping with the sun. No clock, no alarms, just the sun waking you up when it hits your tent. The peacefulness & quiet in my mind while we have been out here have been just what I've needed. I feel so lucky & privileged to have such a great partner to share these experiences with. The beauty is so spectacular and every day we seem to see something new that is so spectacular, that it is almost too much! Colorado is really so special, we know that now on an even deeper level. We have about 5 days left including today until we will arrive in Durango & we will soak up those moments just as well as the rest.

Here are some photos detailing our last bit from just before Leadville to where we are now:

Looking out on Searle Pass

Unicroc cruisin' in our borrowed 1970's Jeep thanks to our friends we met in Leadville

Dipping our feet in Twin Lakes

Storms surrounding us while we tried to outrun them!

Hard to see, but see that dark dot behind us? That was a young cow chasing us!

Climbing down from the top of San Luis Mountain, a 14'er just off the Colorado Trail

 Beautiful hiking up near the tops of mountains

Beautiful wildflowers all over the place

Camping on top of Snow Mesa = mosquitos, wind & no escape from the sun!

We were so excited when we arrived at Spring Creek Pass to find my dad & brother Caleb waiting for us just after 7am!

Our view while listening to Pearl Jam in Telluride

Highest point was a lot more mesa-like than I'd imagined! Super windy-which is why our ears are covered!

Beautiful & very challenging bit of trail coming down toward the Animas River

A mother moose & her baby taking a break by a pond! Such a lovely surprise!

The trail took us on the Silverton-Durange Narrow Gauge Railway tracks for a minute & we camped near them last night...but saw no train :(

The library in Silverton is adorable & again, is another reason I love traveling this way. I love seeing the libraries, the post offices, patronizing the small stores & restaurants & the inns if we decide to stay in town. It doesn't get any better than this.

Much love,

Scat Tracker & Unicroc