21st June
19.2 miles
Bushcamp (947) to Bushcamp (966.2)
It’s world hike naked day. It’s also the summer solstice. The longest day of the year and a day to get your kit off and go for a hike.
My hiking mojo is back. I think. I hope. It disappeared somewhere early on in Colorado. In recent days and weeks my attitude about the trail has been rather average. More like a ‘glass half empty’, kinda mood. Long distance hiking is like that. It can be an emotional Rollercoaster. I think camping at a lower altitude has done wonders for my energy and mood.
My late sleep in saw me hiking alone for the first couple of hours. I caught Big John at the top of the first 1000ft climb of the morning. We continued along an undulating trail for several miles. A thick forest shaded us from any heat of the sun.
I set off up the long drawn out climb to the top of 12600ft Lake Ann Pass. As I climbed above the tree line I looked for Big John but couldn’t see him. Not ahead and not behind. Maybe he took a wrong turn, I thought.
It was after midday when I reached the top of pass. On route I stripped off and hiked to the top naked. It is hike naked day after all. But it was cool at the summit so I wasn’t naked very long. Well, I am from the tropics and suffer in the cold. My early enthusiasm for feeling great seems to have taken a turn. Nausea has returned. Seems I’m fine at low altitude and horrible above 12000ft. At least my attitude is better.
Big John did make it to the pass about 45 minutes behind me. He had an ablutions break while hidden away from the trail. I didn’t see him, thankfully.
We had a minor problem to deal with before we could safely descend. The was a large, unstable cornice of snow that blocked the descent. In places it was overhanging. Not conducive to safe hiking. I chose to take a long way around the corniced snow and descend on a rather sketchy route back to the trail. Big John traversed around the worst of the cornices sections and descended on the snow. We both made it down without incident. I chose to glissade some of the snow sections to make for a quicker descent.
It wasn’t long before we were on good trail making good time. The clouds were taking on a darker shade of grey every time I looked at them. Rain was coming. We set up camp on a small patch of flat ground, the best we could find. The place had previously been used as a hikers toilet, as evidenced by what was found under a rock.
The rain arrived just as I had my tent set up. I sat in my tent eating to the sound of raindrops beating on tent fly. It had a soothing affect. I was asleep before 8pm.
Next – Day 66 Into Twin Lakes for a Rest
Everything you need to know about hiking the CDT:
Complete Guide to Hiking the Continental Divide Trail
CDT Resupply Guide
CDT Gear List
Ablution, thanks for giving me a new word.
Use it in a sentence everyday for a week
With all the water around you I sure would be tossing in a fishing line and catching some wild trout for dinner…
I think you would have a lot of success. Plenty of bugs hitting the water and getting snapped up. Match the hatch and dinner would be a certainty
Well I must say I am unsure of whether Hike Naked Day will make much of a splash. Lets face it stripping off and charging through all manner of remote terrain, risking all manner of injuries, bites and of course rashes will unfortunately remain fairly uninteresting for the majority of the population.
It’s actually a well known thing among the thru hiking community. And the thru hiking community is rather small.
That’s quite a photo, Brad! I think that is how I will imagine you hiking whenever I read your posts from now on!
Haha. Only once a year.
Good to see your spirits are up. Thanks for sharing honestly what you’re feeling. It makes it more real for those who haven’t done what you’re doing. Hiking long distance is just like life, you have to weather the downs, but the highs make up for it.
Absolutely correct. Most people that quit the trail would do so right about now. I completely understand why, but I’m not quitting, I know things will get better.
Glad to see your spirit is back. High altitude surely does have an impact. And it looks like a really beautiful day for a nude hike, it was the day. Be Mindful.
Yes but it was too cold for me