20th June
17.4 miles
Lake Camp (929.6) to Bushcamp (947)
Considering that I’m camped above 12000ft (3635m)I slept well. But I had no appetite for breakfast. I forced the food down and felt nauseous. Altitude sickness has a grip on me again. Mental note to self, hike high and camp as low as possible.
It was slow going. My feet felt like they were made of lead. Each step worse than the last. Big John and I climbed a total of 4 passes, all at high elevation. And it was slow going. The first couple of passes were the most difficult. Patches of soft snow at high altitude made for hard work.
One problem we found with hiking so high and following ridges was the lack of water. We both went many hours with no drinking water. So we melted some snow. It was the best we could do.
Cottonwood Pass was our last pass for the day. From there it’s all downhill to camp. As we approached this popular pass day hikers appeared. They were so clean. They smelled like soap and shampoo. We must smell gross. We do smell gross.
At the pass a US Forestry volunteer approached us for information about the trail we’d just hiked. We told him of patchy snow but certainly passable to hikers. He also volunteers with the Colorado Trail (CT) so would pass on trail conditions for them. The hiking season for the CT is just starting now. But not many are on trail yet, I haven’t met any. I think I’ve already mentioned that the CT and CDT share the same trail for a lot of Colorado. Again we ran out of water and he gladly have us bottled water. I drank a litre almost without stopping, I was thirsty.
From cottonwood pass we dropped 2500ft of elevation. Our lungs and our bodies thanked us. For the first time in many miles I had a noticeable bounce in my step.
Our camp was near a small babbling stream. For the first time in many weeks we had a campfire. Not only did the smoke annoy us but it bought in the rain. Literally minutes after starting the fire it started to rain. Hopefully camping at the lower altitude helps me. Goodnight.
Next – Day 65 Hike Naked Day
Everything you need to know about hiking the CDT:
Complete Guide to Hiking the Continental Divide Trail
CDT Resupply Guide
CDT Gear List
Do u get my comments or r they lost in space? I see others comments to u but never mine. U r very inspiring believe it or not. U look strong even when u are so tired. Keep waling so I can follow. Take good care.
Yes Margaret I do get your messages. I just checked my message history and see that comments are certainly there. I do reply to every message I get. Thanks for the kind words. I shall struggle onwards and keep my story coming.