Day zero at Pagosa was busy. Weasel bought a new sun hoodie, new trekking poles, and spare micro tips. I was able to replace my silver chain that broke a couple of weeks ago. We spent a lot of time hitchhiking back and forth around the city and met some really nice people.
Jr Lister was kind enough to take us to Walmart to resupply and then volunteered to take us back to the trail in the morning.
We’re entering the Weminuche Desert and I’m a little uneasy. The route reports are not very reassuring regarding the northern slope, so we have decided to take it day by day.
Day 1
Miles driven: 21.3 Originally planned: 17
Elevation Gain: 5,198 feet Elevation Decline: 4,409 feet
Hours between camps: 11 hours 6 minutes
Highest point: 13,108 feet
Weather: 72 F Cool at elevation, cloudy most of the day but no precipitation. Very windy on the ridges, I was having trouble staying upright.
People found: none on the way
Animals: trout in streams and ponds, brown marmots, pikas, larks, a couple of huge deer dressed in velvet.
Jr Lister picked us up early at 07:00 and gave us a wonderful tour of the city and informed us about the names of the peaks and who owns all the local ranches.
We immediately climbed 1000 feet in the first half mile and enjoyed a beautiful trail. Today there was minimal snow on the road. We only posted a hole about a tenth of a mile. Much less snow than we expected based on trip reports. Beautiful views today, the snow is less visible even on the north faces. We climbed to the highest elevation today of the trip. The air is a little thinner at 13,000 feet and it takes a little more energy to ascend.
We camped in a green, grassy valley next to a stream. It was beautiful. This was a great trail day today.
We saw a school of good sized trout in a shallow creek and pond. Maybe they’re spawning now. 
Today there were many miniature sunflowers along the trail.
Day 2
Miles driven: 19.56 Originally planned: 17
Elevation Gain: 5,093 feet Elevation Decline: 4,975 feet
Highest point: 12,577 feet
Hours between camps: 11 hours 31 feet
Weather: 73 F Sunny all day, very windy
Animals: Crows, birds, mule deer, marmots and pikas.
People found: none
Most of the trail today was single lane, about 80% snow free. A good portion of the trail was very muddy or just a trickle of water. That made my feet wet all day.
Today was the big push day towards the famous Knife Edge part of the trail. I’ve been worried about Knife Edge for over 10 days, ever since I read the first trip report. It was 3 in the afternoon and kilometer 15 of the day, we had a snack and discussed the plan. We would walk to the supposedly scary part and make a decision there.
The southern portion of the exposed trail was not concerning. We then curved toward the northern part of the trail. The trail was a very high, very steep, very high consequence, long traverse. We walked to the edge of the traverse and saw the pack of boots snaking across the snow. Weasel approached the traverse to assess the snow conditions and what equipment we needed. He dug a hole up to his knees, slipped in the mud under the snow, and sent an avalanche the size of a car down the mountain!
Last week the snow on the other crossings was thick and hard. When you hit the snow, your microspikes had a decisive grip and the ice ax had a good bite that you knew would hold you. This snow was different, it was soft and squishy with a thick layer of slippery mud underneath. There was no grip and the axes cut through the snow like a straw through a July 11 slush. In our opinion, conditions were definitely not safe. Some swear words were said about the trail design and we decided to find another way.
Back around the bend, we saw that we could go down a 500-foot loose rock slope. The slope was very steep, but mostly dry and snow-free. The slope was so steep that we came up with new lyrics for an old song, «doing the booty scoot boogie.» From the bottom of the slope we crossed a couple of long but minor snowfields and some much less steep traverses. On one of the crossings, due to the collapse of the snow, I fell from a height onto my chest and caused another fairly large avalanche. After navigating the lower traverses, we waded through ankle-deep swamp for about a half mile and then walked through a thicket that was taller than me for a quarter of a mile. Finally we found another path, hidden in the thicket. The new trail connected back to the CDT, thankfully long after all the high-impact snow traversals. The wet feet and scratches were worth not having to cross that traverse in soft snow.
The detour cost us a lot of time today, but we still traveled 30 kilometers. We were able to set up camp, have dinner, and get into the tent before it got dark. I consider it a victory.
Day 3
Miles driven: 22.5 Originally planned: 17
Elevation Gain: 1,694 feet Elevation Decline: 4,259 feet
Highest point: 12,570 feet
Hours between camps: 10 hours 25 minutes
Weather: Storm Graupel 80 F for the morning. Stormy wind above tree line. Alternating hot and cold through the valley
People encountered: A small group of teenagers and a guide. No CDT hikers allowed.
We had a dilemma in the morning. Do we continue along the Red Line knowing that at least one more treacherous journey awaited us or do we find another route? After creating two good-sized avalanches yesterday due to unstable snow conditions, Weasel searched GAIA for another route. If we went down the mountain a little bit and took the Grizzly Creek trail, we could hike to 30 Mile Campground. From the 30 mile campground, we could road hike to Spring Creek Pass. It was not an easy decision and we debated it for a while. Weasel is much faster and more confident than me. I’m always the rate limiter with a lower risk tolerance. I didn’t feel comfortable doing any more high-risk trips. The recommended way to cross the crossings is to do so first thing in the morning, when they are still frozen. The problem is that it doesn’t get very cold at night and with multiple runs spaced throughout the day, you can’t expect conditions to be perfect at all times. We would be left without food and without days. It feels like cheating to leave the Weminuche and skip Silverton. Silverton is one of our favorite trail towns and we previously backpacked to Weminuche last summer. The snow here is quite scarce and is really only dangerous on a couple of crossings. In the end, we decided that, due to yesterday’s difficult situations and my lower risk tolerance, we would take the hike to Lake City.
We headed down the mountain to Grizzly Creek, which is a wonderful forest trail that leads to a spectacular valley. I enjoyed the views of the valley and wildflowers all day.
We crossed the Rio Grande and followed a dirt road for many miles until we found a nice two-site campground with a stream next to one of the sites. We had a nice dinner with a swarm of mosquitoes to make it interesting. Something special happened just before we went to bed: a young moose was walking right next to our tent. I think he was as surprised to see us as we were to him. I took a couple of photos and then he walked away. He definitely wasn’t afraid of us.
Day 4
Miles Traveled: 16 Originally Planned: 17
Elevation Gain: 2,179 feet Elevation Decline: 419 feet
Highest point: 11,307 feet
Hours between camps: 6 hours
Weather: 80 F Beautiful, sunny, breezy
People found: No hikers
We walked down the dirt road towards Lake City. I alternated feeling good about the decision to take a shortcut for safety versus feeling guilty about leaving the red line. Weasel is a strong climber and has a lot of stamina. I’m sure I could have completed the Weminuche, no problem. The concern I have is that it is not known what the conditions are ahead and whether it is even possible to avoid the dangerous areas. Also, I’m a much slower and weaker climber and I’m not sure I can climb with a heavy backpack. We have a pretty narrow window to get to Canada before it starts snowing. 
Ester stopped us on the way and gave us some fantastic magic cookies. She was also a CDT hiker this year, but abandoned the trail near Cumbres Pass because she felt uncomfortable hiking alone. Now he is an angel walking along the routes. After our talk with Ester we continued along the Silver Thread Highway to Spring Creek Pass. We saw many beautiful summer cabins and another moose grazing in a wetland.
We arrived at Spring Creek Pass and only waited 20 minutes before taking a ride with a wonderful couple and their dog Jack from Farmington, New Mexico. We stopped and read all the interpretive signs along the road.
Day Zero in Lake City
We stayed at the North Face Lodge, it’s a lovely place with lots of thoughtful details. The local Country Store is well stocked with many new treats to try. We are delighted with a bit of food variety. We ate at the Euphoria restaurant and enjoyed their French-inspired cuisine.
We read a little about avalanches and snow conditions on the Colorado Avalanche Information Center website. The conditions we encountered at Knife Edge are called wet sediment and are some of the most dangerous conditions for injuries and massive avalanches. I am very glad to have avoided that journey.
Josh from Littleton CO gave us some magic and we had a great chat about life and raising teenagers.
The good thing about the decision is that we are back with our friends from the trail who left a day before us in Chama.
