The Collegiate Peaks – Leadville to Salida (Days 90-95)

MC: we are slowly realizing that too much time off is not a good thing. We double zeroed in Leadville, and followed that up with a 17 mile hike to Twin Lakes where we got to sleep in another lodge and have dinner. That put us at 4 days in a row where we had a comfy bed, shower, and town food, and that resulted in the worst mood we have had while on trail when we had to really start hiking again. I almost started crying in the Twin Lakes lodge when we had leave. Too much of a good thing is not good at all on trail. Hannon and I have decided that we will no longer have any more planned double zeroes as we head towards New Mexico; our new plan is to try and get into town early for a nero (near zero), then zero, and head out again the day after that, because we need to stay focused. The idea of quitting floated around our brains a few too many times over this last stretch, and we need to bury those feelings down deep if we are going to be successful.

I’m really hoping as progress into this adventure that the multi 1,000ft elevation ascents will come to a close; our first day after leaving Twin Lakes we climbed 3,500ft in 3.9 miles, which frankly is unacceptable. It’s like a multi hour torture event as you slowly move your way up the mountain, eventually coming to the pass you get to walk through, only to be greeted again by 60mph winds. One quick photo, and down the backside of the mountain you go!

Moose count is up to 11, we saw three ladies the other day all in a one hour span and during the day, which is a first for us. Usually our moose encounters are in the wee morning or late evening, so it was neat to experience them when we were actually awake or not exhausted.

Right before we got to Monarch Pass which leads to Salida, we stayed in our first hostel of the trip. Most thru hikers would have stayed in a hostel for many nights prior to this, but we are a bit bougie and tend to stay in Hiltons as we progress through our hike; however, it was a lovely experience and we got to meet new hikers we somehow hadn’t met in the last three months of walking in the same directions. They also had community eggs, so we got to have ramen and eggs for breakfast, which is a guilty pleasure of mine. We slept in a warm bed, had a hot shower, and a hot dinner, all for the low price of $50 total. Would recommend and do again as needed.

New Mexico, you are so close and yet so far. I will look to appreciate the aspens’ changing leaves and the beautiful mountains they reside on, but I do long for the high desert that bleeds into a descending landscape.

HD: It was very difficult to leave from Leadville. Too difficult, in fact. We cannot take two days off in a row anymore or we risk losing motivation to continue this excursion.

The 100 mile section through the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch mountains included dozens of high passes surrounded by 14,000’ mountains. Fortunately for us, the weather behaved and we only had rain on the first day. But the climbs were gigantic, including the first one to Hope Pass, which was 3,500 feet of ascent in under 4 miles. The downhill was even steeper at over 1,300 feet per mile.

The views were often amazing, especially with the Aspens in full fall foliage. The mountains here have great depth – when you are able to view east or west towards the horizon at the passes, there are just more mountain ranges. They are seemingly endless.

Besides the extreme daily elevation ascent, our greatest change continues to be the decrease in daylight. In essence, we lose one mile of daily hiking in daylight every week. Even with waking up in the dark and walking at first daylight, we’re lucky to hike 20 miles without setting up camp in the dark. We’re going to adjust our planning over the next three weeks to account for this. Hiking into the night every day is a real drag.

My cousin Ryan and his partner Amy met us in Salida and then took us to dinner in Buena Vista at the end of this section. We tried to set up a time to hike together on the trail, but apparently most people have jobs and commitments! It was cool to hang out with Ryan as an adult; the last time I remember him was a visit to Tennessee a week before my first deployment to Afghanistan. So a lifetime ago.

Tomorrow we head out again, this time to the west from Salida and into the San Juan Mountains. This is our last serious mountain obstacle before things begin to get lower and less steep; this 200-mile long mountain range makes a big “C” from Salida all the way to the  New Mexico border. We are unsure of our exact path and plans due to weather and timing, so it may be a couple of weeks before we post again.

Let’s go New Mexico!!