I'm Baaaack

Not to the AT, though. Not yet.

In a few days, I will be starting the Colorado Trail, a 486-mile hike from Denver to Durango. People say to allocate 4-6 weeks, so I'm giving myself just over 4, but anticipating around 4. It's wild to me to have a mental framework for what 486 miles feels like. That's not even 1/4 of the Appalachian Trail. That was basically Springer Mountain to Damascus, VA. I wonder if that means the hike will be fun the whole time without being mentally bogging, or if it will be like a continuous "town day" mentality ("ugh why am I not just there yet?"). It's pretty low-pressure, I think, especially since I can find a ride home at any point if I want/need, and if I don't finish before the school year starts back up, I can go back and finish sections on weekends. Definitely didn't have that luxury for the AT.

Aside from the distance and time, this trail experience will be so different for me. For starters, Mitch is staying home (except visiting some weekends!) because he has to work, so I'll be largely by myself. Mid-June through mid-August is the most popular time to hike the CT, as the average elevation is 10,000 feet, so people try to wait for most of the snow to melt, so I'm sure I'll meet plenty of people, but honestly, I'm not sure how much I want to. There was a guy we met on the AT, trail name Glacier, who didn't hike "with" anyone but became friends (or at least friendly) with all hikers in a 3 day radius, so he could hike on his own time and still always be around people he knew, even if he pushed extra miles or took an unexpected rest day. I want something like that (although I'm sure that kind of connection-building took about as long as this hike will be). Or maybe I'll be like another guy, trail name Super Bad, whose hiking schedule was basically determined by when he felt like stopping that day, not by trying to get to a certain point. Either way, I want to figure this hike out for myself.

Most of my gear is the same, but a few major things have changed. For one, I'll have to bring my own tent, so instead of lugging Mitch's 3-person tent for just myself, I got a lightweight solo tent that is held up by my trekking poles. Additionally, Wilson convinced me to get a trail chair so I can have back support when I sit down. My boots have been replaced by trail runners, my pump water filter has been replaced by a gravity filter system, and my cold-soaking tendencies have been replaced by Mitch's blessed cook system so I can have some warm meals after a long day of hiking. Even with the addition of so many items, I've been able to organize my gear in such a way that I can remove the brain from my backpack. I guess I was just using the space super inefficiently before for the sake of whatever organizational method I had going on.

I think I'm still going to keep journal entries along the way like I did with the AT and post them here, so if you're interested in following along, I know I'm going to have some amazing stuff for you! As with before, this is mostly for me, so won't be sad if you unfollow. I just read back on all my AT posts, and I can't believe y'all stuck with me for so many personal rambles, irritated rants, and tear-filled wonderings. (And typos, dang!) Fingers crossed for fewer of those this time around!