15-06-25.   Day 75.   Company – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail
Mark Trail CDT 2015

I haven’t missed waking up with condensation on my sleeping bag since Colorado.  I should have known we would have dew since we were camping in a field next to Weasel Spring. I hiked a few minutes to the spring, pumped three liters and hiked back to have breakfast. Nothing special about our routine.

We were hiking by 7:00 and hiked 5 1/2 miles to Mormon Spring. There was a rock with shade which provided a perfect excuse for an early lunch. Moonwalker went for water while I solved all the problems of the day which meant-  I took a nap. Moonwalker made tsampa soup and I tried to eat everything in my pack. After an hour we hiked mostly west and a little south towards Sweet Water Creek.

We hiked the California, Oregon, and Seminole Cutoff trail. The trail signs came out of nowhere and we left them the same way. Maybe I can do some research about old trail routes that we pass.

The white BLM truck stopped ahead of us. Jim jumped out and asked us if we needed water or could he take our trash…Little things…. Very nice. We thanked him for the work the BLM had done fencing off water sources to keep the cows out.

Shortly we saw three bikers zoom by… We must be hiking the Great Divide Biking Trail. Then Alyson with her Bike Friday rode up behind us and stopped to day HI. She is riding from Mexico to Canada just like us except she will be in Canada way before me.

Then Sterling and Farmer hiked by going south. They are part of a group of veteran hiking the trail. They are the first hikers we have seen in four days. Farmer was helping another hiker mover her car and stopped and was the trail magic king.. Mountain Dew, String Cheese and Water.

At Sweetwater River crossing we had second lunch and worked on Doctoring Moonwalker’s Blister. Cleaning, sanitizing  running thread to help it drain. Hope for healing.

We dropped down to ford Willow Creek three times, made dinner, watched the sunset, and went to bed.

Willow Creek.   18 miles

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15-06-23.      Day 73.       Birthday Girl – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail
Mark Trail CDT 2015

It’s Moonwalker’s birthday.  We are going to have a party today. Complete with chocolate cake, candle, and coffee for breakfast.

We hiked six miles to Barrel spring along Cooks Creek and watched the Horses play in the distance. The spring was flowing so we stopped and filled up. It was hot and a short four mile hike to Barton Spring were we found some shade. I cranked the Beatles birthday song and we danced, ate lunch, took a long siesta.

After coffee, we hiked past Arapahoe spring with cows welcoming us but the bull through a fit.

The terrain was beautiful, with treed slopes and rolling hills. The Antelope ran this way and that way all day long. We came to a BLM fenced spring that was bone dry. A quarter mile down the hill there were two ponds with cows taking an evening swim. At 7:00 pm Moonwalker realized she dropped her camera about a mile back up the hill and ran to get it. At 8:45 it was getting dark so I packed up and started to hike back up the hill when The happy Moonwalker with camera appeared. We hiked up a side hill and found a great spot to cowboy camp..

Above Two Cow Ponds 17.5 Miles

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15-06-22.  Day 72.   20 Mile Line – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail

Mark Trail CDT 2015

After running out of water yesterday we slept in. We packed up and hiked ten minutes to Bull Spring. The solar powered pump was running and the water was flowing. We made breakfast and loaded up with water. Hiking the Great Divide Basin is very different. We hiked in one direction all day. Northwest… Thats it . We hiked on old dirt roads. Sometimes going up and sometimes going down but always going Northwest.

We hiked to the A and M Resorvour and had first lunch and took a much needed swim. As we hiked along the straight dirt road we found two new water sources that had nice cold, clean water. Quite refreshing in a desert.

Somewhere Near Bare Ring Slough. 20.5 Miles

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15-06-21 Day 71. Hike Naked or Carry Water – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail
Mark Trail CDT 2015

We watched the sun rise as we drank our coffee and ate oatmeal. Feels like 2012 hiking the PCT.

With an early start we were hoping to have a great first day. After seven miles we needed to get water at Fish Pond Spring and Reservoir.

It has been redone by an assortment of agencies and has a lot of tanks and a Solar panel but I couldn’t figure out where you were supposed to get the water. I found a pool and squeezed two liters. The next water was sixteen miles and that should be enough. We were crossing the Great Divide Basin and you would have thought that I would know that there were NO trees and NO shade. At 3:00 pm were we very low on water and had six miles to Bull Spring. We were walking along Mineral X Road and flagged down Jim and asked for water. Out of luck and I made a poor decision to continue hiking. It was 7:00 pm and Moonwalker was out of water and out of gas.

I went on and got to the spring at 8:00 pm. I filled two liters and headed back when Moonwalker walked up. Wow.. That sure saved me hiking back the two miles. We set the tent up and I quickly took two Advil and went to sleep.

Just before Bull Spring. 23.5 Miles

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15-06-20.  Day 70.   Back on the CDT – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail
Mark Trail CDT 2015

Up at 5:30, Start the coffee, get the paper, fry the bacon and the eggs… Humm. Bront and Shelly have been awesome Trail angels. I went to college with Bront and he has been the supply point man for me while I hike. After two weeks waiting for my hand to heal we finally came up with a plan. Take Greyhound to Rawlins, WY and hike north.

Moonwalker, who I hiked the PCT with me, is joining me to hike till the 20th of July. Hopefully we will make it to Yellowstone National Park before then.

Bront and I mailed the last box at the UPS store and we left for Ft. Collins to meet the Greyhound bus. We said our goodbys knowing I would be back to finish Colorado this fall. The bus ride went by quickly and we arrived in Rawlings at 4:30 pm. After a few pack adjustments we were soon hiking north. As we were leaving town, Jerry Brown walked up and asked if we needed a place to stay….Wow… Trail Magic strikes again. Since we were all ready to hike and eager to get back on the trail we said we were hiking on. We talked about the trail and thanked him for all he does for the CDT.  We hiked 5.75 miles out of town and at 8:00 we set up the Zpacks Heximid Plus for the first time.

Just out of Rawlins. 5.75 Miles

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15-06-08/19  Day 58/69 Boulder – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail
Mark Trail CDT 2015

I went to college with Bront. He is my supply point man and trail angel. Dave and Shelly graciously provided me with a wonderful room and a great environment to rest and recuperate. I did a few chores like line trim all the native grass in their garden. Oops. I put all the dishes in the wrong places so Shelly would have to rearrange the kitchen when she came home. All in all it was a great visit.

What to do? was the question. Bus to Rawlins, WY and hike south?…..hike north?

Moonwalker was coming to hike so we needed to get somewhere so she could fly to Denver and catch her flight back home on July 20th.

After much debate it was decided we would hike north to Yellowstone and catch a plane from Bozeman on the 20th. Leaving Boulder was bittersweet. It was nice to be getting back on the trail but sad to leave the Petroy’s lap of luxury. Again. THANKS so much

Boulder  0 miles

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15-06-06/07 Day 56/57 Gunnison

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail

Mark Trail CDT 2015

The critter would not give up. It was brown and squirrel like but no fluffy tail. I shined my headlamp, swung aimlessly my hiking poles, and screamed. When I awoke I assessed the damage. Another animal attracted to the salt on the pack straps.  Please not the shoulder straps. Luckily only a bite but a side strap completely chewed off. Cut as clean as a knife. Luckily not a bite on me.

The right hand was crusting over nicely but the left was beginning to swell. I loosened the bandage and pushed on it. It was sore but no feelings like it was infected.

I packed up and started hiking, looking for someone to help me get to Gunnison for some medical treatment. As I walked the rain pelted the umbrella. I walked on dirt roads with no luck. When I reached Hwy 114 I was filled with relief.  Traffic yes!

Debbie Phillis stopped and gave me a ride into Gunnison. I tried to go the a clinic but they couldn’t fit me in. “The emergency room is right next door”. I explained what happened to Carol, the triage nurse.  “Let’s look at your hand”. As I unwrapped the bandage you could see the missing skin. No infection. “How about you wash your hand in the bathroom and I will get some Neosporin and a few bandages.” “Ok”… I said.  Jay, the Dr. looked at it and said, ” Treat it like a burn”. “So do you want to be admitted?” Carol asked and at the same time said I would be fine.  NO charge… Amazing Trail Magic…

The next hurdle was to find a place to stay till I could arrange transportation to Boulder.

I contacted Kim through the bicycling community and she let me stay in her garage for two nights. I found a bus to Denver and made reservations…. Thanks Carol and Kim, The best Trail Angels!

Gunnison.    15 Miles

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15-06-05.      Day 55.   The Slide – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail

Mark Trail CDT 2015

I wanted to get an early start to avoid the post-holing. I put on the snowshoes and was hiking by 6:20 am. Crunch, crunch as I traversed along the slope. I could see where trees were freshly snapped off and bent over. I looked down and could see the pile of greenery… Humm…. Avalanche? Well at least I’m not post-holing…. As I made my way I could see I had two traverses to cross at the start of Spring Creek drainage. As I looked at the map I could see the first was below a 13,285 ft peak with relatively wide contour lines. It meant that it wasn’t too steep above me, so I wasn’t too worried about avalanche. I could feel my hiking boots dig into the sides of the snowshoes as I crossed the approximately 60 degree slope. I gasped in relief when I passed into the next drainage at 12,400 ft. I only had one more to go before I dropped down below snow line. I began to cross and could see the “trail” crossed tight to the 12,935 and 13,155 ft peaks.

The contour lines were very tight and I could see snow above me. I came to one drift facing me with a six foot wall of snow. I dug in the snowshoes and they did quite well and with the Black Diamond Whippet Ice Axe, I pulled myself up. I was snowshoeing on top of the next obstacle when BOOM………my heart was wailing… Not Good…. Nothing moved, just the snow settling….

Then I had a twenty foot cornice to get down. I found a dip that had the least amount of drop. I sat down with my snowshoes on thinking it was just a short slide. With my Ice axe on my side I gave a wiggle. The ice axe was too deep in the ice crust and lifted it to slide. In a second, I was off to the races. I was spinning as the snowshoes dug into the ice. I had to get onto my stomach and get the whippet into the ice. It was all a blur. By the time I stopped, the skin on the back of my left hand and three chunks on my right had been scraped off by the ice.

I was alive but now had a new challenge. I climbed the 200 ft. back up to the original planned stop and found a spot where I could take my pack off and get something to cover the open wound on my left hand. I put a large band-aid on it and wrapped it with elastic bandage. My main concern was infection and to get some medical help.

I hiked on hoping I might run into someone on the dirt roads that I could see ahead on the map. It started snowing as I descended and dropped below the snow line. The notes on the map noted that there was a bridge crossing the Cochetopa Creek but someone forgot about the snow melt now two feet above the bridge that only went half way across the creek. Be Safe, Be Safe rolled through my head as I entered the rushing water. The freezing ford only went up to the bottom of my pack and the feeling of being swept away quickly passed as I crawled up the opposite bank.

No one crossed my path so I hiked till 6:30. Found a spot in some trees, set up the tarp, ate some cheese and sausage and went to sleep.

Wow… To much excitement for one day on the CDT.

Past Quemado Creek.  22.5 miles

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15-06-04   Day 54   Now There’s One – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking the Continental Divide Trail

Mark Trail CDT 2015

We slept in next to the mining train in the Veterans Memorial Park in the center of Creede. She-ra made drip coffee while we waited for the grocery to open. I needed five days of food to make it to Monarch Crest where the road to Salida crosses. I went to the PO to pick up my snowshoes and when I returned,  She-ra was ready to hike to Stony Pass to get back on the divide. We hugged and off she hiked, skis and all.

I stopped by the Creede Museum and learned all about the Silver Mines that were the main industry for the town. Now it’s tourism that is the main economic activity. As I hiked up to San Luis Pass from 8,800 ft to 12,000 ft , I passed as to what’s left of the mines. I wondered what it would have been like back in the day.

As I approached the pass, I could see the snow a mile ahead. At first I tried to hike it without the snowshoes, going from grassy area to grassy areas. I soon began to post hole up to my knees so I put on my snowshoes. Even with the snowshoes, I post-holed deep into the snow. I climbed up to 12,300 ft before the trail dropped along some trees. It was 6:30 pm and the trail was above treeline for the next four miles so I decided to camp.

A Mile North of San Luis Pass  11 Miles

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15-06-03.  Day 53.   Why? – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail

Mark Trail CDT 2015

Woke up at 5:15 am and my sleeping bag was dry. This is the first time cowboy camping where the condensation didn’t form on the top of the bag. I cowboy-ed on the PCT all but a few nights with no condensation. What a difference.

I made coffee mocha to start off the day of the road walk to South Fork then Creede. As She-ra and I walked, we hoped the guys were doing well as they hiked along the ridge. I questioned my decision as to walking the road. All the options and ramifications. All I know is that I don’t want to put myself in the same position as I did five days ago. One slip or one slide and it would have been over…

We stopped in South Fork for second breakfast and Wagon Wheel Gap for second lunch. We were now following the Rio Grande upstream. When I bicycled across the country with Moonwalker, we crossed a dry Rio Grand. This time it was filled to the top with snow melt.

As we walked, we had to pick unique trash. It’s just the right thing to do. The game is to find something unique and give it to your hiking partner to carry.  I think She-ra won by carrying the most trash including an explosive sign.

We walked into Creede worn out after 25 miles at 6:30 pm in time to hit Tommy Knockers for a sandwich and beer. I was to dehydrated to drink my beer and She-ra was so gracious to help me out. We walked to the Veterans Memorial Park and Cowboy-ed behind the mining train……in the center of town….

Creede 25 miles

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15-06-02.   Day 52.   Choosing the Road – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail

Mark Trail CDT 2015

It was time to get back on the trail. I packed up with to much food for the 40 mile road walk to Creed. We said our goodbyes to Rusty as he left for work. First Man and I walked to town for coffee to blow some time before Whip Tail came to drive us back to Wolf Creek Pass. We left Durango at 10:30 am for Pagosa Springs where we dropped off First Man and picked up Lott.

Wagon Wheel, Vanilla Face and Andy were there. We spent some time catching up and it was time to drive back to the pass. Once again we hugged and said goodbye not knowing when or if we would see each other again. At  Wolf Creek Pass, Restless, #2, and Lott hiked north while She-ra and I walked the road to South Fork.

We stopped at Highway Springs campground and found a great Campsite under pines with lots of soft needles. It was a clear night so we could cowboy camp away from the road near the South Fork of the Rio Grand River. It was churning with a lots of snow melt. Melt baby Melt.

Stealth at Highway Springs CG. 9.5 Miles

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15-06-01.       Day 51.     Melting – Mark Trail CDT

Hiking The Continental Divide Trail

Mark Trail CDT 2015

A repeat of yesterday’s breakfast with salsa and tortillas…  First Man and I walked back to Jean-pierre’s for a few hours. He left to walk the river while I did the tourist thing. Train musems and Fish Hatchery. A perfect day to enjoy the snow melt. I walked back to Rusty’s and First Man started cooking dinner. Garlic Chicken and Fried Plantains.

Rusty’s.   0 Miles

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