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Continental Divide TrailApril 7, 2021

CDT Bound!

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The Cirque of the Towers Route left me speechless. 😶 All the views. ⛰ All the #rainbows . 🌈 All the #lakes . 🏊🏼 The Winds have stolen my heart. 😍

Had a good time in #lander then a horrible time back on trail climbing over the worst blowdown section I’ve ever crossed through. 😖 Our group got separated in the mix. The days that followed would make up for the headache. The Cirque of the Towers Route was amaze balls! 😍

The Basin. Pretty much just vast nothingness, a few pronghorn, and lots of cows. It was mostly dry and hot, although we did experience some thunderstorms. Also, my oxen broke a leg 🐂 and I have died of dysentery on the Oregon Trail.🤠 These things happen. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We hitched back from Encampment and accidentally camped on private property. 😬 Fortunately, the guy wasn’t mad when he found out we were CDT hikers and let us stay. Our views were hazy due to the wildfire smoke. 🔥 We passed through the affected area two days prior! A road walk to Rawlins followed, and we found ourselves herding cattle and dodging cow diarrhea. 🐂 💩 I was relieved to lay in a bed after inhaling some town food. I’ve been battling some nasty sciatic pain and blisters. Hiking through the basin wasn’t going to be too helpful.

One more state complete! Colorado was a blast and it was great to spend the last few days there with fellow AT hikers. Thanks again for the trail magic and the hospitality, @robinurthoughts and @urmygirl_blue You guys rock! Our #tramily has grown from 4 to 8 and we’re ready to take over Wyoming! Hammer down! 🤘

We destroyed some food when we reached Grand Lake. The damage from last year’s wildfires caused us to miss out on the bulk of the Rocky Mountain National Park section, which sucked. We also had to maneuver through many blowdowns, but the views during the climb up and down Parkview Lookout were amazing! The next day, we tackled a 37.4 mile day and made it to Steamboat Springs for the holiday weekend! 💥🇺🇸 🍔 Next stop, the Colorado-Wyoming border! 🤘

Sooo… we had to hike out of Winter Park otherwise we were gonna have to apply for employment. It was time! We weren’t too keen on hiking on top of mountains during a lightning storm, nor were we thrilled about the “impassible” blowdown section ahead. So instead, we connected the road from Berthoud Pass to the Fraser River Trail to the Fraser-Granby Trail. There was a lot of cool art, signage and wildlife along the way.

The climb to #grayspeak #summit was brutal, especially while having some of the worst altitude sickness in my life. 😵‍💫 But I fought off the nausea, gave my legs a pep talk and conquered my second 14er. The views were motivating, and the knifes edge before the final climb was awesome aside from the wind blowing me around like a plastic bag. The icing on the cake was seeing mountain goats during the hike down! ❤️

I was stoked to finally leave the very groomed Colorado Trail section so I could experience some new terrain. We had some big climbs, but we were rewarded with great views!

Tag: July 4th

AT 2016 Flashbacks Pt. 19: Gettysburg, Independence Day & the Midpoint

Part 19 of my 2016 long distance hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Read More AT 2016 Flashbacks Pt. 19: Gettysburg, Independence Day & the Midpoint

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