Finishing the Colorado Trail

The last 74 miles were quite an experience!  Monika headed back to Indiana and I finished by myself. I drove my car to Durango so that it would be there when I was done, and took the train back up to Silverton.  Riding the train was super fun!  Definitely a cool experience.

It took me 4.5 days to do 74 miles.  The first night I camped completely by myself--there was no one else around.  This was also my first time camping totally alone!  In the past I've always had a friend nearby, or at least had Tucker with me.  

The view was pretty nice :)

Day 2 was a high-mileage day; I finished Segment 25 and camped about 6 miles into Segment 26, for about 18 miles total.  Some day hikers said they saw a herd of about 200 elk, but I didn't find them before stopping to camp for the night.  I did here coyotes, several times throughout the night!  

  

I saw lots of wildlife!  The usual marmot/pika, and also a ptarmigan family!  I almost stepped on the babies, they were camped out right in the middle of the trail.

Later that day, I rounded a corner and startled a moose.  I think he scared me as much as I scared him!  I just saw his butt as he bolted away from the trail.  

The black flies were HORRIBLE!  I hid in my tent for awhile to avoid them.  

Day 3 finished Segment 26 and got into Segment 27.  This includes the longest stretch of the CT without a reliable source of water; so my pack was extra heavy!  4 liters of water weighs a LOT.  I did a lot of miles (for me) again this day, camping on the Scenic Overlook in Segment 27.  It was gorgeous!

I was able to follow a sketchy, mosquito infested puddle to find a small spring off the trail, so after rationing water all day while hiking, I didn't have to worry about dry camping and running out of water.  

Day 4 was the most scenic, in my opinion!  The weather was sketchy--there were dark clouds and T storms following me all day.  Lightning is one of the biggest safety risks on the trail, and I got lucky to get over the ridge before the storms.

Sketchy clouds!!

Hiking up to/past this viewpoint was gorgeous :)

This day was my 1 month trail anniversary!

About lunchtime, I got to Taylor Lake.  It was beautiful!  I wanted to stay and camp here, but it was only 1 pm--way too early to stop.

I hiked about 7 miles into Segment 28, the last segment, and set up camp with 3 other people who were just starting their hike NOBO from Durango.  One of the guys had a boxer!  She looked like a cross between Tucker and Cinder--so cute.  I fed her all my leftover summer sausage and she was my new best friend.  

I didn't sleep well that night--the next campsite was a mile basically straight uphill, and by the time I reached this one I knew I was maxed out for the day.  However I found a deer carcass about 0.1 miles away from where I set up my tent.  I think I saw my first bear-poop (I believe it's called "scat"), as it was definitely not any kind of poo I'd seen before on the trail!  (And we saw a LOT of animal poo).

I gambled and took my chances--with 4 adults and a dog, at a VERY "well used" campsite, I thought it would be OK.  All night I kept waking up, waiting for a bear/mountain lion/coyote to eat me.  I survived the night without being eaten, though.

The next morning, I got an early start.  The trail was pretty narrow, winding through an old-growth forest.  It was basically straight up on one side of the trail and straight down on the other.  Not the best landscape for viewing wildlife--you couldn't see too far through the growth to either side of the trail.  I rounded a corner and heard a loud crashing noise up above me, maybe 100 feet off the trail.  After spending over a month in the woods, I knew this wasn't a small animal noise.  I froze and listened, then heard the noise again.  I really hate to turn around and do "bonus miles" so I banged my trekking poles together and hiked on...fast.  About 15 minutes later, I came upon 2 guys hiking that I'd met about ten days prior.  They informed me that the couple hiking right ahead of them had just treed a bear cub.  Pretty sure the animal I heard was either mama or the baby!  Yikes.  Close call, glad it wasn't me...

I finished the trail by 1 pm--14 miles in 6 hours!  I was very motivated (beer and cheeseburger awaited my finish).  

I hiked a total of 309.3 miles of the 484 mile Colorado Trail.  I plan to go back, at some point, and hike some of the segments that I skipped due to snow and scheduling.  I'd really love to hike a segment with a llama, on horseback, and via mountain bike.  I think it would be cool to experience the trail in as many was as possible!  

It was a fantastic experience--I met kind, dedicated, friendly people.  I saw amazing scenery, plant, and animal life.  I have a deep respect for thru-hikers.  There is something deeply satisfying about knowing you can fit everything you need to survive in a 25 lb backpack (Ok, 30 lb...I carried WAY too much food).  I lost 9 lbs, despite eating as many calories as I wanted to!  I'm in the best shape of my life right now.  

I learned a lot about myself, what's important to me, and what I want out of life.  This pretty much sums it up:

"I've climbed mountains, crossed a hundred streams, and walked through fields of wildflowers...yet my favorite view of this world is still from the back of a horse."