Colorado Trail 2: Electric Boogaloo

Almost a full year from my unexpected departure from the Colorado Trail, I am coming back to finish what I started. I want to be able to say that I'm exclusively excited to finish it, especially because this section is supposed to be the most beautiful part of the whole trail and I get to spend the next week doing something I love to do, but I can't say that and be telling the whole truth.

Honestly, I'm angry that I have to do this right now. I should have finished this last year. I should have been able to call it a thruhike instead of a section hike. I should have finished with my friends, but I'm heading into the last section not knowing anybody. When I do finish, I'll have 2 days to relax before my summer break is over. And I'm anxious because what if my body, which I used to trust completely, fails on me again?

In an attempt to reacclimatize to the altitude, my friend Katie (aka Double Dip) is joining me for a few nights of camping before I get back on trail. We decided to stay in/near Creede instead of Lake City, which are the two town options around this part of the trail, because Lake City kinda freaks me out now, and also we wanted to see if Creede deserves all the hype it gets as a trail town. (It does.) This is valuable information for next year's hike... 😉

Camping last night was gorgeous. We tried to cowboy camp but were forced to put up our tents around midnight when it started drizzling, and it's bad for the down in our quilts to get wet. The few hours we did have outside of our tents allowed us the most amazing stargazing, since there was no moon in the sky and almost no nearby light pollution. The sunrise this morning was also wonderful to watch, even if it woke me up earlier than I wanted. Hopefully it's just as peaceful tonight.

Starting tomorrow, I'm aiming to hike the remaining ~130 miles in the next 8 days - a task that wouldn't have given me a second of pause at this time last year, but one that makes me nervous with the altitude difference now. Hopefully this camping, along with the ability to hike from sunrise to sundown if need be, will allow me to hike the 16.25 miles per day average that I need to do to finish by Saturday evening. Wish me luck, and as always, thank you for following along.