Tales Between Trails: Colorado to California

Thursday, August 27th – Sunday, August 30th, 2020

A zero was due! The bulk of the morning involved lounging around. We ate at Denny’s and grabbed coffee in town while we waited for the crew to show up. They all splurged on rooms at the DoubleTree, so we met them there. They were all in the process of doing laundry and getting showered off. Eventually we headed into town to eat. We went to “11th Street Station” since they had several food trucks to choose from. There was something for everyone. It took a little bit of time to get our food, but it didn’t matter. I was just happy to spend time with Dr. Thunder, Filter, Bang, and the Babysitter’s Club (Baby G, Hatch, Nala & Skid). Nala had a friend who lived in the area and she joined us for the evening shenanigans too.

The next day, the crew had their first zero day while we enjoyed our second. Filter’s Dad is a “diamond member” at the Hilton, so he was able to get an additional night. Filter being a diamond would be an ongoing reference. We would all cram in there later that night. But first, we stocked up on food at the grocery store and explored town. A lot of the time was spent in the room watching “Goonie’s” and enjoying other forms of random entertainment. For example, the crew made a “Blinding Lights” Tik Tok video, which was super amusing. Then the Pizza Hut delivery guy and Domino’s delivery guys showed up at the room at the same time, which was awkward and also super amusing.

All good things must come to an end. It was time for us all to part ways. We said goodbye to Bang, who was catching a flight out of Durango. Bang currently lives in Maryland, so we were hoping we’d catch up with him later. The rest of us were hitting the road with Dr. Thunder. The winding, mountain roads caused massive nausea in the back of the van, and I was on the verge of peeing my pants, so we took a brief break on the side of the road.

Our road trip would take us to Ouray, which turned out to be an awesome small town. We ate, then explored the town a little before meeting back at the van to continue our road trip. We parted ways with Filter and the Babysitter’s Club at Grand Junction. They were sharing a rental car to make their way back to Denver. Thunder, Frisbee and I still had a ways to go. Frisbee and I were going to hike the Tahoe Rim Trail and Thunder was planning to hike the John Muir Trail, so we were all California bound.

The drive continued. Our next destination was Salt Lake City, Utah. We were going to stay the night at our buddy’s place. Gumby is a member of our trail family from the Appalachian Trail (AT). We hiked most of the AT with him in 2017. We were excited to see him again. We got there at night. Thunder slept in his van, while Frisbee and I took over Gumby’s couches. We spent some time catching up before going to sleep. It’s been a long time since we’ve stayed up after sunset.

The next morning, we all grabbed coffee and breakfast down the street and took a walk around Gumby’s neighborhood. Then we took a ride to REI. Dr. Thunder needed a bear canister for his hike. We were persistent in convincing Thunder to hike the Tahoe Rim with us. We were excited when he gave in! He’d save the bear can for another hike. We cruised around Salt Lake City before returning to Gumby’s place. It was time to hit the road again.

We got McDonald’s and gas before we drove by the salt flats and the lake. Some people created art in the flats. We were now in Nevada and if you’ve ever driven through this state, you’d know that there isn’t much to look at. Excluding Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada is mostly barren nothingness.

It was a long journey. We didn’t arrive in California until 7 in the evening. But we were in one of our favorite towns, Truckee, California! We took moment of silence for the many butterflies that were now imbedded in the grill of the van, then wandered around town. Frisbee and I set up in the bushes next to Thunder’s van. The trains passed by near our heads, so I didn’t sleep too well. But I was so, so happy to be here. Another adventure was about to begin!

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Jump Ahead to The Tahoe Rim Trail: Part 1

Jump Back to The Colorado Trail: Part 25

or

Start from the Beginning: The Colorado Trail: Part 1