19th June
18.8 miles
Bushcamp (910.8) to Lake Camp (929.6)
My mood was low when I started hiking in the morning. It stayed low for most of the day. Colorado is beating me up, I’m alone and have nobody to talk to. People might read this and think, wow, everyday is so awesome. Well, I have bad days too. Just like that bad day at work. Although, a bad day hiking is still better than a good day at work.
It was 7am when I started hiking, and I was still tired. The trail continued its climb over the first pass of the day. Then descended to a trail head with many day hikers, it was a Sunday. I rested out of sight, I was still feeling down and didn’t want to speak with anybody.
For the second pass of the day I followed an old railway line. The gentle graded trail was kind to my tiring body. At the end of the old line I had to make it to the pass. Rather than follow the snow covered trail I made my own trail. I set a compass bearing to the pass. Lots of undergrowth, snow, large rocks steep slopes proved my choice to be a bad one. Exhausted I did make the second pass for lunch.
The third pass was not going to be fun. After a long drawn out descent I was faced with almost 2000 ft of climbing. It was slow going as my tired legs started to fail me. Ahead I saw another hiker. It was Big John. I put in some effort and caught him.
Together we crawled over the fourth pass and settled for a less than ideal camp near a stream. Big John nearly feel into the stream when a snow bridge collapsed. It could have been really nasty, he only ended up with wet feet. With no flat ground we suffered with sloping tents. Finally I was able to have an all too short chat before our eyes told us to go to sleep. Our camp is above 12000ft, I hope I can sleep tonight.
Next – Day 64 More Passes and No Water
Everything you need to know about hiking the CDT:
Complete Guide to Hiking the Continental Divide Trail
CDT Resupply Guide
CDT Gear List
The Best Hiking Gear at the Best Prices :
Backcountry.com | REI | Moosejaw.com | Amazon |
Hyperlite Mountain Gear | Patagonia | Feathered Friends |
Nemo | Vasque | Sea to Summit | Enlightened Equipment |
Snowys.com
Traveling Overseas to go Hiking?
World Nomads Travel Insurance
