CDT Days 71-73 – Smoke

We spent these three days in northern Colorado’s Rabbit Ears and Park Ranges. The air was a bit smokey due to the Morgan Creek Fire burning just north of us. Day 71 – Mile 1397.8 – Low on water Today…
We are hiking the Continental Divide Trail: 3,000 miles through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

We spent these three days in northern Colorado’s Rabbit Ears and Park Ranges. The air was a bit smokey due to the Morgan Creek Fire burning just north of us. Day 71 – Mile 1397.8 – Low on water Today…

These three days took us above 13,000 feet for the last time. We enjoyed a surprising amount of trail magic, and we found ourselves surrounded by several other hikers. Day 68 – Mile 1313.0 – Trail Magic Today was a…

These three days took us really high. We were above 13,000′ many times and summited one of Colorado’s 14ers, Grays Peak. Day 65 – Mile 1239.2 – Back to reality Heavy rain woke us up at around 3am. We looked…

Here the trail weaved past Leadville, Breckenridge, and a few other populated towns. We didn’t have to hitch into any of them. Tim’s family hooked us up and we found an on trail option instead, which means more time hiking…

We took a couple of days off to relax with Tim’s family. They met us near the CDT for some car camping. Day 58 – Mile 1137.5 – To the lake Today our goal was to get to the lake…

This stretch of trail took us into the Collegiate Peaks, which are mountains names after colleges. We spent much of the time fighting inclement weather. Day 55 – Mile 1062.5 – Monarch Pass The goal for today was to make…

We left the San Juan Mountains behind and hiked through rolling, tree-covered, mountains during this stretch. Day 52 – Mile 985.0 – Marmots, pikas, & moose poop Today we woke up at the RV park and got bagels at the…

During this stretch of trail we joined the Colorado Trail, which shares the CDT route for the next few hundred miles. There are many more people out hiking than we have seen before now. Day 49 – Mile 921.4 –…

We resupplied in Pagosa Springs and then continued through the San Juan Mountains through snow and thunderstorms. Day 46 – Mile 852.9 – Pagosa Springs Resupply This morning we only had three or four miles to Wolf Creek Pass /…

This stretch of trail took us high into the San Juan Mountain Range. We traversed large snow fields and spent much of the time above 12,000 feet in elevation. Day 43 – Mile 797.5 – Views and snow Today we…