Colorado Trail Days 7-11: Frisco to Buena Vista
Hi from mile 216.5! We’re actually staying in Salida since it’s tourist season and hotel rooms are hard to come by, but we had a great dinner in BV last night. We’re relaxing and enjoying 2 (two!!!) days off to recuperate from our long days of challenging (yet amazing) hiking!
Week 2: what’s been different
Since leaving Frisco, the terrain has gotten more challenging: we have consistently been hiking up above 10,000 feet, and we have crossed the Continental Divide several times. The climbs have been steeper and longer, but the views at the top have been worth it. My favorite spot so far has been Searle Pass, sitting at just over 12,000 feet. We reached the pass in the morning and got stunning views of the wildflower meadow across Elk Ridge against the backdrop of high peaks. I’ve been lucky enough to get to experience the high alpine views of Colorado before, but never so consistently and frequently. I once again feel lucky for the chance to explore my very special home state!
Logistically, since saying bye to Blackbeard and Committee and setting out on our own, Welcome and I have been adapting to hiking the two of us. For me, it has in many ways been a return to my Appalachian Trail routine—where I did all of my camp chores myself. I definitely miss Blackbeard’s company and support during the hard times, and his generosity in blowing up my sleeping pad at night and grabbing my food bag in the morning. I would definitely have him with me if I could. But, it’s also nice to do everything on my own schedule, and have a little extra room in my tent (even though I switched from Blackbeard’s 2 person tent to my one person one, it still feels roomy without 2 backpacks and 2 sets of clothes. I do like the reminder that I have the ability to be a totally independent hiker, and don’t need to rely on other people. Welcome has been so fun to hike with, though! We pace each other well, are down to hike the same miles, and she is a great source of entertainment. We’ve been enjoying playing Head’s Up at camp in the evenings and analyzing Harry Potter (she’s listening through for the first time!).
Trolls under the bridge
Week one hiking with the boys we had pretty much perfect hiking conditions: with the exception of a quick thunderstorm once we had crawled into our tents on our first night, we had no rain. Of course, that couldn’t last. Maybe it was the higher elevation we were walking into or maybe it was just time, but this week the Colorado weather I know of scattered rain storms daily started up. On our first day out of Frisco, our timing was just off. We were just reaching our planned lunch spot when the rain started. In a moment of instinct, we scuttled under the bridge atop which we had been planning on eating. I know that bridges are the wrong place to be during storms due to flash flooding, but it just happened. We quickly checked our phones and realized that if we hiked only 2 miles farther, we could walk into the Copper Mountain ski village and eat lunch at a Starbucks. So we took a few pictures and left the bridge goodbye. Copper turned out to be exactly what we were hoping for—I drank a hot chocolate and we sat under the cover of the building (not inside because COVID of course) and waited out the rain. But as we headed off we decided our collective trail name for our duo should be the Trolls. Catch us under your nearest bridge.
Al-Pack-as?
On day 9 we headed up into the Holy Cross Wilderness. Usually the first hour or so of hiking I am in a bit of a daze: a combination of early-morning grogginess and the morning chill. So naturally, I had my head down and was focusing on the climb: getting my breathing steady and warming my core. We passed a field and I stopped in shock. Staring straight at me was an alpaca. It was standing up and looked posed. My bewilderment gave way to fascination as I surveyed the scene and saw that there were in fact 3 alpacas, secured to trees near a pair of tents. We deduced that the alpacas must be this sleeping hiking group’s pack animals. A convenient solution to wilderness area rules, which prohibit all mechanized vehicles. We were hoping that the alpacas might pass us later in the day so we could get the full story, but unfortunately we never saw them again. I hope they made it up the climb okay!
Back to my Alma mater
My first Colorado 14er was Mount Harvard, back in 2015. I picked the mountain based on name alone—I was excited to stand at the top of the peak wearing my Harvard sweatshirt and holding the sign—it would make an awesome profile picture. What I didn’t pay attention to was the difficulty of the climb. I huffed and puffed up the challenging trail, 7 miles each way. I thought I would never get to the top.
Flash forward to yesterday, when Welcome and I hiked over ridges in the shadow of Harvard throughout the course of our 25 mile day into town. Standing underneath Harvard made me realize how much more skilled, capable, and confident I have become as a hiker over the past couple of years. It felt amazing to come back full circle.
The instance reminded me a similar time on the AT last year, when I sailed through the challenging mile of the Mahoosuc Notch, which had taken me many hours years (sailed through being a relative term—it took me an hour and 40 minutes). Check out my AT blog posts for more on that. Both times were explicit reminders of the strides I have taken (literally and mentally) and the growth I’ve made. I’m really proud of that. How far I’ve come.
Coming up…
I’m excited to head further south toward Lake City and head into the San Juan’s. I’ve never hiked south of Buena Vista, so I’m excited to see some new terrain. Erin will also be joining us in a couple of days! I can’t wait to see her.