See friends and so many surprises at the CDT

This morning when I woke up, it was freezing cold. I had intentions of getting up early and well. And I got up early, but I didn’t pack. I stayed there and used the service to load some things. Then I finally got up and moved. My hope is to cover a little over 40 miles a day. Ideally I’d do about 43 miles, setting myself up for a pretty reasonable day tomorrow.

I finally left camp and it was definitely later than I expected. It’s been really hard to get up when it’s cold lately. Plus, I’m exhausted all the time. Taking a short day the other day was great. But one day of rest isn’t going to rectify an entire year of exhaustion. As I got moving, I realized it was going to be one of those days. I just felt like I was going in slow motion and for some reason I couldn’t set a good pace.

A handful of miles into the day, I passed Strider, who I met the other day at the trailhead with Fizz and Sprinter. I talked to her for a while and then continued. He told me there was another hiker ahead of me, Burger King. And I didn’t end up catching it for another hour or two. Suddenly I saw a hiker in the distance and I also saw a vehicle. And for some reason, the vehicle looked quite familiar to me.

I could have sworn it was Tripod’s truck. Tripod and I have known each other for years. We hiked the Appalachian Trail together briefly in 2023. He then picked me up in Key West at the end of my ECT hike. And last year we started the CDT together. Fresh Ground had told me that he was going to be providing some path magic to Sprinkle. Another hiker I’ve known for years. I actually saw it in Yellowstone last year when I was in the CDT. But I didn’t expect to run into him.

The foliage improves every day.

As I got closer, I realized it was definitely Tripod. And the other hiker, Burger King, was also with him. I approached him and he told me that I missed dinner and breakfast. Apparently Sprinkle and his crew camped here last night and enjoyed some amazing trail magic! Sprinkle is on a hike with another girl named Lemon. I met Lemon on the AT in 2023 and then saw her in the Keys earlier this year. Tripod said they had only left a couple of hours earlier, so he would definitely catch them today. That was very exciting to hear!

At this point I had only covered 10 miles during the day and was looking down on over 30 more miles. But I was still there with Tripod and Burger King for a while. Tripod gave me a Dr Pepper coffee drink and Dunkin’ donuts. And he had a leftover piece of cheesecake that he offered to me too. I ate and hung out with everyone and while we were sitting there, Strider arrived. I stayed too long, but it was a good time.

Still technically on the Colorado trail, for now!

When I got out of there, I needed to get water basically immediately. Yesterday I entered a 20 mile water haul without realizing it. In fact, I didn’t realize it until I was about 15 miles from the next water source. I looked quickly and just didn’t notice. Fortunately last night was cold and I felt hydrated. But it was a shame because I couldn’t make coffee this morning. I literally had no water. So now, 10 miles into the day, I finally had a chance to get some water and I couldn’t miss it.

Once I did that, I put my head down and kept pushing for the next few hours. I felt like I was already way behind in the day. Eventually the trail led out onto a dirt road, which was nice. That always makes things a little easier. And almost as soon as my feet hit the dirt road, the Sprinter passed by. Which is crazy to think about because if it had literally happened a minute earlier, he wouldn’t have seen me. And he wasn’t necessarily looking for me. He really likes driving all these back roads and looking for hikers.

If all road rides could be like this, they wouldn’t even be so bad!

When he arrived, he offered me a drink and something to eat. And I let him know that I had run into a friend who told me there were numerous hikers up ahead. In his car, he could probably catch up to them much faster than I could. And it looks like I’ll be on dirt roads for much of the rest of the day. Possibly all day today.

I didn’t stay long before continuing down the path. And Sprinter drove his van down the road in hopes of finding these hikers. But as I continue walking, I realize how crazy the road was. Some of the roads you will travel in your vehicle are wild. Sometimes one side of the road was much higher than the other! It was crazy. I walked another mile or two and finally I could hear something in the distance and could see the top of the truck. Then I turned a corner and there was a group of hikers sitting in camping chairs next to the truck. It was Sprinkle, Lemon and their gang!

Sprinkle ran over and gave me the biggest hug. I’m dying for a big hug. Then I got to hug and see Lemon too. It really warmed my heart to see those two. They were also hiking with two other hikers named Fruitfly and Dad. They are also hiking with their dog, Dixie. Who was an absolute angel. Dixie was super friendly and I was able to pet her. I joined them and drank a Coca-Cola. Then he sat there and had a banana, some snacks, and an ice cream sandwich. I stayed there even longer than the last stop. It was really difficult to leave.

When I first heard that my friends were nearby, I was so excited. But I really don’t know why I was so excited. Because now the idea of ​​having to leave seemed very sad to me. It’s very nice to see people and I feel like it’s worth it. But being able to see someone for only such a short period of time and then having to move on is really difficult. Honestly, there is nothing easier. If anything, I think it’s actually gotten more difficult as the year has gone on. My heart is much softer these days.

The Sprinter van at the bottom of the hill, surrounded by all my friends.

The only hiker in the group named Fruitfly gave me a cute four-leaf clover clip for my hat. It was the most adorable thing and I put it on immediately. Finally I had no choice but to move on. At this point, I had already covered about 20 miles during the day and planned to do 20 more miles if I could. It was going to be a pretty long day. But tomorrow I’ll take the Creede cut. So my hope would be to go as far as possible tonight to allow me to break through and overtake Creede. Then I might be lining up to stay in South Fork tomorrow night, which is a gateway community to the CDT.

The clouds moved in as the sun began to set.

I felt sad when I left the magical path. The trail took me up a hill and when I reached the top everyone cheered from below. Then I greeted my friends one last time and left. I love this mission I’m on. But sometimes I miss the feeling of being on a “real” hike. The kind of walk where you leave your plans and ambitions out the window to spend the day with friends you haven’t seen in months. I haven’t seen Lemon since January! But unfortunately that’s not the path I’m currently on.

I love my sprout! Thanks Fruitfly!

When I got out of there, I tried to concentrate as much as I could. And luckily, the dirt roads made walking really nice and easy. The kilometers passed quickly and so did those last hours of light. I wish I had appreciated the long summer days more than before. If I could go back, maybe I would have gotten up even earlier and walked later. I miss those long, bright days. Now the sun sets around 7 pm At 7:30 pm I definitely need a headlamp, even on an open section of trail. And in the morning it is dark until almost 6:30 am or later!

Walking down a dirt road as the sun slowly set.

The combination of the aggravated fatigue of my mission, plus the fleeting daylight, has definitely been one of the most difficult aspects of these last two months. Nothing about these last 2 months has been easy. I’ll have some final stats to share with everyone very soon, regarding my daily mileage and averages from these past few months of effort. But there certainly couldn’t be a harder time of year to average 37~ miles a day for 2 months straight. Except maybe in the dead of winter! If I ever decide on an FKT, I think I’ll try to do it during a time of year with a little more natural light.

A beautiful open field.

Finally the sun started to set and it started to get cooler. I didn’t have much more climbing to do during the day, so I decided to stop briefly and bundle up. Instead of waiting until you feel uncomfortably cold! I sat for a few minutes and also watched the most exquisite sunset. She was radiant as those last rays of light danced across the yellow foliage along the nearby hills. These fall sunsets in Colorado have been exceptional. Every day is a new favorite for me. How lucky am I?

I love my little sprout and will wear it forever.

It wasn’t long until the last rays of light disappeared from the sky. Then, I slowly began to continue into the endless darkness. I was just grateful to be on a dirt road. At least I wouldn’t have to navigate too much in the dark. Sometimes it can be very slow depending on trail conditions. There are particular sections of certain trails that I would never consider doing in the dark, just to save myself the irritation.

Another exceptional sunset in the making.

Puffy, shiny clouds.

Once the sun had completely set, I continued in the dark for another hour or two. My ultimate goal was to go 40-43 miles today. That would make my walk tomorrow pretty reasonable. And it would mean getting to town early. But I was feeling exhausted when I arrived at a trailhead shortly after 10 p.m. I had almost 39 miles into the day and it was already cold.

This was one of my favorite views. The way the sunset hits these bright yellow hills is unreal.

I had read some Far Out comments about the trailhead outhouse. Apparently it was incredibly clean and some hikers had slept there before. I started to consider my options and think about how cold it was last night. If I stopped early tonight, I would have to stop early tomorrow. Which would be hard to do if it was really cold outside.

Even with many night walks in my future, I was happy to end the day in my favorite way.

I literally stood there outside the toilet for 5-10 minutes debating what to do. I had never slept in a toilet before, no matter how clean it looked. But I had never done a hike like this before. It seemed like the benefits outweighed the costs. Spending the night warm and waking up warm meant I could cover more miles. And that seems to be the most important factor to consider these days.

So there I was at 10 at night, popping my air pillow inside a toilet. I set up my tent on the ground to have some protection. I no longer carry a floor sheet and I certainly wouldn’t have put my pad on the bare floor. I had everything situated and was very happy to be warm for a change. Almost immediately I knew I had made the right decision. Inside the bathroom I made hot chocolate and wrote a little. Then the night ended.

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