Saturday, August 1st, 2020
Our morning started with a gorgeous sunrise and interesting rock formations. We had a Disney princess moment when we found ourselves surrounded by curious, and fearless Mule deer. We managed to knock out “12 miles before 12”, but I was lagging.
We were in such a hurry to get the ball rolling that we never acclimated in town. That would have been the wiser decision. Instead we flew from Maryland (living at 600 feet above sea level), into mile-high Denver, Colorado! To no ones surprise, I was starting to feel the effects of altitude sickness. My head was throbbing!
We decided to meet at the North Fork Fire Station to hydrate and take a short break. While there, we ran into Mr. Clean again. We snacked and exchanged hiker tales for a while before we pushed onward.
We passed through a labyrinth of boulders, then found ourselves in mountain bike territory. It was the weekend, so the trail was extremely congested. We frequently had to dip out of the way of high speed mountain bikers. Most of them were friendly, however they would always take me by surprise. The whizzing of the tires sounded way too similar to the stridulating sound of locusts. It was often hard to tell the difference.
We entered Lost Creek Wilderness and were surrounded by beautiful, white Aspen trees. Shortly after, we decided to call it a day. There was a nice camp site up ahead according to the NOBO thru hiker we met at the water source. We congratulated him on his finish before we parted ways. He was practically done!
It drizzled a little as we set up our tarps next to a teepee made from tree limbs by mile 45.2. Right before catching some shuteye, another hiker set up his tent by the trail several yards away from where we were. It would rain all night long, but we would remain dry. Mostly.
24.9 miles (40.1 km)
Jump Ahead to The Colorado Trail: Part 3
or
Jump Back to The Colorado Trail: Part 1
Stubbs Rambles On 