15-05-23.    Day 42.   Snow Shoes ? – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail
Mark Trail CDT 2015

Eight of us hikers slept in a small cabin with no snoring…Amazing. Everyone was packing up so we could be at the opening day of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.  The town was also recognized as a CDT gateway community. It was another magic moment of being in the right place at the right time.  Singing, Praying and Boy Scouts. A big community event. At 10:00 am the conductor said ” All aboard” . The train whistles, black smoke blasted from the steam engine, and off it went.

We got our packs and headed up to Cumbres Pass to start hiking to Pagosa Springs. It wasn’t long until we were at 10,500 ft and we were on snow. Andy put on snowshoes and broke trail, Grits packed it down and Birddog and I brought up the rear. We climbed from 10,015 ft to 11,500. The highest point on the trail so far.. At 6:00 pm we began to look for a Campsite blocked from the wind. We hiked down looking for a pond since we were low on water. It was frozen over so Alex and I built a fire to melt snow….. IT was fun and enough for the day. I tried to boil water on my alcohol stove but no luck. Sausage and crackers for dinner.

Near Flat Trail Intersection 9 miles