Section 13 is 117.2 miles long and will be split into two sections. The second is 62.4 miles long and runs from NOBO marker 916.6 to Highway 149 with a hitch to Lake City. September 10th - 12th.
Day 79, 21.6 miles to Beartown Trailhead (1,531.1 overall)
A late night after an exhausting day led me to sleep in for awhile. I got packed up and went the short distance to a stream on the meadow’s edge. I filtered water and then went across the clearing which had a treacherous creek in the middle. It looked to be about four feet across so a jump would be difficult but it was also four feet deep with vertical sides so fording it would be a pain. I decided to jump and barely made it. There was then a section of new trail with immaculate switchbacks and nice flatly packed gravel. A few miles in and I saw The Window, a perfect square cutout from the rocky ridge ahead. There was an alternate trail leading up to it but I figured the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze and I could see the formation just fine from down here. There were tons of lakes, streams, craggy peaks, and distant ridges all swirling around the next section and it reminded me of the Pandora planet from the movie Avatar. The sun was shining and I was feeling great as I kept racking up miles.
The Window
The other side of Rio Grande Peak and The Window.
Some light rain rolled in as I passed West Ute Lake and I tossed on my rain suit. I passed Salty and Trey, the first SOBOs I have met, and we chatted for a few minutes before continuing on. Low hanging clouds were snaking through the tall peaks and I got some great shots. I got down to Nebo Creek and hoped to get over this one last pass but right as I was about to exit the tree cover, a huge thunder boomed down and was so loud I could feel the vibration in my chest. I stood there for a minute and heard another, then another, and when the rain picked back up I decided to hang my tarp between two piddly little trees. A torrential downpour arrived with more chest-shaking thunder and I was very thankful that I was able to bunker down here instead of being up on the exposed rocks on top of Hunchback Pass. I decided to use my Garmin’s weather forecast ability for the first time ever. Knowing if I should retreat back down to Nebo Creek and camp or wait out the rain to make it over Hunchback Pass would be quite useful. Luckily the rain quit within the hour so I made it over the pass and began dropping down to Beartown Trailhead. I was soaked and cold but then transformed to being happy beyond words when I caught a whiff of campfire smoke! Another section-hiking savior was camping in a small cluster of trees which offered only one possible hammock hang. Fire and hammock trees, I was on top of the world. I helped David him gather firewood and we hung out as we cooked dinner and dried out our gear.
Unnamed lake with Mount Nebo towering to the left.
Day 80, 23.3 miles to a derelict cabin (1,554.4 overall)
It was loud and windy all night so I didn’t sleep very well and was reluctant to get moving in the chilly and wet morning air. I knew every mile hiked today was the sooner I could get to town tomorrow. I passed an old cabin to West, got some photos, and soon after getting to the top of the ridge, it started hailing. It was hailing sideways and stinging my face so I tried to turn my hood to cover it, making me look like TwoFace from Batman. It began to lighten and I passed Willy (the kid from Anaconda) and we caught up for a bit as the hail fully stopped. About another mile in and I hit the junction where the Colorado Trail (CT) links up with the CDT. The clouds dispersed as I wrapped around Canby Mountain, checked out some mining ruins, and gazed back at Rio Grande Peak and The Window.
Old Miner cabin, the first of many.
Where the CDT links up with the Colorado Trail.
Hail on this yucky day.
A couple hours later and it was a beautiful day.
Marmot.
Abandoned mine, also the first of many.
I passed a lot more hikers now that I was on the CT and I also noticed the trail was much more well marked and better maintained. It hailed again for a little bit as I was eating lunch #2 in the sunshine. There were no trees as I approached Carson Saddle, and a big climb up to 13,00 feet afterwards. I did not want to camp at high elevation and was thinking I may have to be a ground peasant again. But coming around a turn, I saw that there was a few abandoned miner cabins throughout the field just below the saddle. One cabin served as a perfect hammock hang and a wind break as well. It was one of my favorite campsites from the entire trail. I cooked dinner and played music on my phone as I enjoyed the sunset.
The Colorado Trail is better maintained and marked and it’s cairn-game is on point!
Prints Available
Another picturesque cairn on the CT.
I think this should be called Rhino Rock.
Home Sweet Home. With no trees around for miles, I was happy to find this.
Day 81, 17.5 miles to Highway 149 and a hitch to Lake City (1,571.9 overall)
It was the first night that it dipped well below freezing and I was glad to have my cozy new quilt. My extra water bag froze to a solid brick so I carried it on the outside of my pack to let the sun rays help thaw it out. I checked out the rest of the mining ruins and took tons of photos before hiking up the pass to the highest point on the CT. The next high meadow was gorgeous and I met a few more CT hikers in addition to my first bikepacker, Boombox. We talked for probably ten minutes, each more interested in the others adventure than sharing our own. I got up to the wide open expanse on top of Jarosa Mesa and then ran into Sunshine, a German guy who joined us for the hitch out of Bishop, California on the PCT. It was great running into hikers again, especially from other trails! The sun kept beating down all day and I crushed miles all the way to the Spring Creek Pass Trailhead. I met John and Cris, an old French couple who were heading South to Creede but insisted on giving me a lift North to Lake City. I thanked them a bunch because it was a long way down and completely out of their way. John had been an OG cross-country skier and created some routes through the Colorado Rockies. I checked in at Raven’s Rest Hostel, overpaid at the small grocery across the road, and cooked up a feast. The hostel was packed with CT hikers who were feeling great about being ~3/4 finished their 500-mile trail and most were in party mode. I was not. I was exhausted after my 120-mile section with many cold and wet days.
Left: my cabin. Right: another cabin with a roof that is ready to collapse.
Abandoned mining machinery.
13,271 feet elevation is the highest point on the CT…but not the CDT! Grey’s Peak is still ahead.
The trail winding down from the high point.