Day 97 – A Perfect Day

Last night as I was lying in my quilt writing, a hiker showed up at my campsite. We waved at each other. I didn’t want to stare but he seemed to be making dinner. I could see the flame of his camp stove. Was he also monkeying around with a tent? Hard to tell. His head lamp was on but he kept switching between white and red beams. I gave up on the surveillance. It was enough that he was there. I slept peacefully, cradled by five small pines on an otherwise hardened slope.

Movin’

I just can’t move before I see the first inkling of morning light. At 6 am I vault out of bed and work steadily to break camp. I am out by 6:45. Not great. I have 19 miles to hike today to put me at a good camp spot in reach of the road for my trip to town for resupply.

The trail out of camp goes straight up to 10,400 ft. – a new high-altitude mark for me. Unfortunately, the trail looks like a broken Jeep road again. At least there is plenty of room to pick a line for my feet. My pace is incredibly slow. I have learned from the Wander Women that this is OK. Just don’t stop. Stopping is what loses time.

My favorite animals

The trail breaks away from the Jeep road and becomes a proper foot trail. There is a creek at the top and then the trail goes down. I get glimpses of a reward – an alpine meadow.

Eventually, the trail breaks out into the meadow and I descend in the wide open morning toward a valley. You may not be able to see it in the photo, but there is a tent down there. My heart leaps: people.

The name of the wilderness area I am traversing is Lost Creek. I am descending to the Lost Creek valley. Ahead of me I see several vehicles and campsites in the tree line on the opposite side of the valley. The trail bends to the right, following the valley. The campers wave to me from their comfy lawn chairs as I parade by. I wave back.

I have a predicament. I have run out of caffeine. I get my morning dose through an additive I put in my water. But that ran out yesterday. A caffeine headache should arrive this afternoon unless…unless… I turn my feet back toward the campers. They are silent as I approach. “Sorry to barge into your campsite like this,” I say. They don’t respond. Uh oh, I think, this might not go well. “I have one small request.” Silence. “Do you have any caffeine?” They all smile. “Of course we do, would you like some coffee?” A religion we all share.

They hook me up with some fresh coffee and two sleeves of instant coffee. We chat about my predicament with the PCT, ACL injuries and marmots. “One ate my dad’s hat!” one of the kids says. I am not surprised. I drink my coffee and head out. Nice folks.

Lost Creek

This valley is really enormous. In the photo you can see it rising up to a saddle about four miles away.

The trail goes up and down, as it must. I am happy either way. This valley is really pleasant. The creek flows right down the middle. I walk above it on the right side.

There are some new flowers. The blue ones look like the ones I saw at Red Pass in Washington. These are open. The white puffy ones are nice too

At the saddle at the end of the valley is a broken split rail fence.

Intel

Not long after that, I meet Low Gear. He got his name because he likes grinding up steep inclines. We swap trail intel. He recommends the hostel in Alma. He also warns of an upcoming section of trail where there have been numerous nuisance bear reports. He had his own food bag pulled out of a tree by a bear. This is worrying. I may skip that forty-mile section.

I settle into an uneasy dialog with myself. This trail has been perfect today. And yet I feel like leaving it. I am going to put these feelings on hold for now. Tomorrow I will take them up again. I will make a decision then. The trail shows me her best.

The supremacy of dogs

In camp, a man and his dog walk by. We chat. His name is Cary and his dog is Teig. They have hiked all over Colorado. Tigue has climbed 24 “fourteeners”. Tigue also survived an encounter with a mountain lion (outran it). They are quite a pair. The remind me how special a dog can be.

I put my tarp up tonight because I noticed a lot of animal tracks in my camp. This triggers my overactive imagination. I don’t need a lot of animal drama tonight. Hopefully the tarp will help. Tomorrow I will hike 8 miles to the road and then hitch to Fairplay for shopping and to Alma for the hostel. Then I will make some calls and decide what to do next.

• September 6
• Starting CT marker: 45
• Ending CT marker: 64
• CT miles hiked today: 19
• Total CT miles hiked: 64
• Total miles hiked: 1306
• Animals: scolding squirrel