June 1st & 2nd
Silver Pass(710.9)-Wolf Creek Pass(Pagosa Springs)(719.6)
8.7mi
We got going around 6:30am and were excited because it was town day! I think today was our shortest hike into town, but it still took awhile with mounds of snow in the treeline to get through.
We didn’t make it to the pass til 10:45am. The snow in the treeline was hard packed and I used my microspikes on the traverses cause they freak me out that I’ll slip!
Along this whole section, there have been these CDT posts. I knew the PCT was Trail 2000 and the CDT seems to be Trail 813.
Once we got through the annoying snow traverses, we climbed steeply and had a great view coming into the pass!
We climbed up and over a skiing area and I finally handed someone my camera to get a picture of me from this section. Stryder got this picture of me “skiing” a black diamond course, ha!
There was some confusion coming down to the road and we ended up popping out about 1/4mi down the road. The trail had snow on it and was difficult to find, so we thought the road might be the trail. It was a bit of a bummer because there were a bunch of tourists at the actual pass and there was this cool sign signifying the divide that everyone was pulling over to take pictures in front of and we somehow didn’t walk out on trail. We got a group shot at the sign. LoveNote is showing how much further we have to go!
It was GREAT!
The amazing Beacon was waiting for us at the pass and drove us the 22 miles to Pagosa Springs. Once again we just missed overlapping with Balls & Sunshine as they left town two hours before we arrived. So close! They are just in a zone and it doesn’t look like I will catch them. The plan was to hike out the next day, but we all couldn’t resist a zero here! Our group of six reunited and all got a little cottage space with a kitchen. To kick off our zero day, the group made an amazing breakfast in our kitchen. I had my laptop sent here and have spent 90% of the time sitting in the lobby uploading everything and catching up on emails and such. I know trail towns are part of the experience, but I can’t do everything and being Wired, I have a job to do. It is tiring, but it’s worth it and I enjoy documenting all of this. I’m excited that the videos from the last couple of weeks are up and loaded!
After 24hrs in town at lower elevation, the cough improved little…I don’t usually go to the doctor normally wouldn’t, but knowing I’m headed back out to difficult trail in high elevation, I couldn’t risk it. I paid a pretty penny to get to a doctor on a Sunday and they gave me an inhaler that will hopefully help. My oxygen level was 99%, which was awesome! The cough just seems to be due to the dry, cold air and wind, so hopefully with the warmer weather coming this week and the inhaler, it will pass. It is just annoying more than anything and I noticed how tired I was from all the coughing once I got to town. Hoping I did the right thing and better to be safe than sorry.
Now for the news I’ve been waiting for all trip…Rockin’ and her son Silly Chili have finally joined me! Rockin’ just finishing work as a teacher on Friday and Silly Chili is in grad school and even doing a summer online course right now.
Both have the summer to hike hopefully to Yellowstone and we will leave out together early tomorrow ahead of the rest of the crew who we are sure to still overlap with in town and possibly on trail. You never know how things will shake out in the future, but it will be nice to have a small group for the rest of the snowy sections. Many of you also follow Rockin’s blog, but if you haven’t here is the link, so check it out! She just posted on her flight here as it was her first plane ride in 18yrs! We met through our blogs when I did the PCT in 2011 and Rockin’ hosted me at her home in Tehachapi, CA when I hiked through. Then she joined me for some of my JMT hike last summer. and Rockin’ is basically my idol! I swear she is more wired than me! So I’m all charged up and ready to go!
**I didn’t get a picture, but I want to be sure to thank Jim & Olivia and Michael & Jenny for the wonderful care packages they sent in this resupply. THANK YOU for your thoughtful gifts!!!
