Sunday, August 16th, 2020
I woke up feeling a little nauseous. The sun exposure has got me a little messed up, and the altitude doesn’t help much either! I saw several marmots as we got moving. We didn’t go too far. After some mountain bikers passed us by, we waited for the others. They had no clue we were just ahead of them. We told them we were sleeping at the road and would catch up with them later. They didn’t realize we night hiked passed their camp!
First the guys crested the hill. Filter yelled, “Hikers!” at us, still not realizing it was us. Then the Babysitter’s Club followed after them. We laughed watching them looking at their surroundings and taking their time hiking. Frisbee and I are always in the “Go! Go! Go!” mindset. They banded together and took it all in. They had the right idea. I admired that. However, Frisbee and I get too antsy! Hatch was relieved to get her license back.
I was feeling tired and moving slower than I would have liked, but the terrain was pretty mellow. There were a lot of mountain bikers out and about. I caught a glimpse of a wild ferret, or a mink, or something else weasel-like in the forest before taking a break with the crew. We hydrated and ate lunch together on a hill on the side of the trail as dirt bikes went flying by. We yelled, “Woo!” and waved as they flew passed us. I was relieved we weren’t still on the trail. They were moving fast and I wasn’t looking to get run over during this trip.
Views were limited on the way to camp. Given the fact that we night hiked and the other didn’t, we cut our hike a little short. The camp site at mile 278.6 was pretty crowded. There were the eight of us, plus about eight others. Some of them stayed the night, while others were on mountain bikes and kept moving after their break. There were two hipster hikers that camped closer to us. I overheard the girl talk to her buddy about how she’s never touched a corded phone before and how weird dial-up must have been back in the day. I officially feel ancient! Thanks kiddo. A thunderstorm would eventually pass through, but all of us already had our tarps and tents set up for the night.
14.8 miles (23.8 km)
Jump Ahead to The Colorado Trail: Part 16
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Start from the Beginning: The Colorado Trail: Part 1
Stubbs Rambles On 