CDT JOY: Hot Springs and NoBo Miles


Day 96: 0 miles

Featured: Hitching from Durango to Pagosa Springs.

In the morning, Medianoche and I enjoyed coffee at the hotel and dried our shelters in the morning sun. We had some trail plans to make this morning and took our time finding all possible options to create a continuous or nearly continuous trail from where we left the trail. The thought of hiking 12 miles and over 4,000 feet of elevation gain directly back to the trail the same way we hiked yesterday was not my idea of ​​a good time.

After much discussion, we agreed that the best plan would be to reach Wolf Creek Pass near Pagosa Springs and hike north to reconnect our trail, or hike north to Williams Creek Reservoir for a shorter downhill hike to a road. So the plan for the day became to pack my bags, have breakfast in town, have some electrolyte drinks for my little headache, and then start hitchhiking or Ubering to Pagosa Springs, the closest town to Wolf Creek Pass.

Chicken and Waffles with Cinnamon Roll for Breakfast

We hitched a ride to a gas station near City Market and about 5 minutes later they picked us up and took us to the outskirts of town near Walmart while the driver headed in that direction. From Walmart we waited another five minutes and an off-duty Uber driver took us to Pagosa Springs as a way to be kind and give back.

He dropped us off at his favorite restaurant and we went in to eat tacos. We then booked a room at the Quality Inn and walked over to check in. I did laundry, planned the next 3 days of hiking to camp near the trees, and watched some TV. Dinner was pizza and on the way back we ran into Supernoods and helped him charge his phone. The lightning cable broke on his iPhone and it wouldn’t charge. We tried some of my charging cables, but no luck. Tomorrow he will go to Walmart to buy a MagSafe charger to charge his phone wirelessly since the charging port on his phone was not working.

Harry Potter was on TV and I had the best shower on the trail as the shower had a waterfall mode, a rain mode, and a chest and lower body mode.

Day 97: 15.6 miles

Highlights: Leaving Pagosa Springs. See free samples.

I slept until 8 in the morning, happy about the blackout curtains in the hotel room. I enjoyed a continental breakfast with waffles, biscuits and gravy, fruit loops, banana, coffee and black tea.

Back in the room, I took my time repacking all my gear. My new pants took up space in my stuff bag and I’m trying a new way to pack all these extra winter clothes. One stuff sack will have my exclusive sleepwear and will be wrapped in a trash compactor bag along with my sleeping bag. In the other garment bag I will keep extra layers that I may need during the day and have it wrapped in a grocery bag for an extra waterproof layer. Finally, in my front pocket, I have a small garbage bag in which I have stored my hat, beanie, and gloves.

Midnight and I went hitchhiking shortly after 10 in the morning. We walk to the main road out of town, where there is construction going on. We found a spot near a thrift store parking lot where we thought cars would have a chance to stop. Within 5 minutes, a hunter going to Creed to help process an elk brought us to the pass. He said he told himself yesterday, after seeing people hitchhiking, that if he could help today he would.

We returned to the trail shortly after 11am and less than 1 mile into the day when we met up with our friend who we hiked a large part of Wyoming with, Free Samples. We exchanged hugs and gave him information about the town before continuing on our way.

Free samples, Midnight and I near Wolf Creek Pass

The trail climbed for most of the day, but became enjoyable due to the switchbacks. It rained from time to time, and I put on my orange poncho and purple dishwashing gloves as an extra layer of protection from the rain. I had lunch briefly in some trees before continuing today’s hike.

We also ran into some hikers rushing ahead of us who didn’t give up and were in good spirits, but mentioned that it was pretty miserable at times. Having shoes, tents, and other gear that don’t dry out would make the hiking experience less fun.

At the end of the day, we walked 10 yards off the trail to a spring and then camped again near the trail in a tree-protected area. I had bacon flavored Spam for the first time today and I must say it’s not much different from the original and has 10 fewer calories. Hot and spicy spam, on the other hand, was bom.com and I hope to find it again on the road for dinner.

Midnight and I watched the twilight sky while we ate dinner and could see a thunderstorm in the distance in the distance. Then the stars came out and I headed to the tent for the night.

Day 98: 22 miles

Highlights: Knife Edge, Fall Colors

This morning we set off at 7:30 p.m. Why wake up before dawn when we had a good day of mileage planned and didn’t need to take a long break to dry our gear? It was so nice to watch the sun rise from the comfort of my sleeping bag and boil water for breakfast mud without needing a headlamp.

From the camp we climbed above the tree line and up and down the San Juan Peaks. The sun came out there. 8:30 am over the mountains and I was able to remove all the extra layers of clothing.

We stopped for lunch near a stream and filtered water. After lunch we continued walking and saw friends from the Basin with whom we walked the 69 miles to Rawlins. They also ended up in Durango for 3 zero days visiting friends and will be in town at the same time as us.

In the late afternoon, the sun set behind the peaks and shaded the side of the mountain we were hiking up. I put my layers back on and moved on. On a curve, I was hit by all the things that fell. The red rock, the yellowish willows, the straw like grass, the red tones of the foliage on the ground. All of this together was impressive. Being from southern Arizona, I don’t often see evidence of the changing seasons, but here, in this moment, I felt fall engulf me.

Autumn views in the late afternoon

From this view, we climbed up to what is called the Razor’s Edge, walking along the top of the mountain before descending towards another epic view of the fall. Shortly after this, we arrive at the Williams Creek crossing, where we will hike to the Williams Creek trailhead and stop at Pagosa Springs.

We found a campsite near a lake and set up just after dark. I dined by lamplight and had Mexican knorr rice with refried beans, hot sauce, and Doritos. After dinner, I had chamomile tea with some honey whiskey and then went to bed for the night.

Day 99: 10.2 miles

Highlights: Williams Creek Reservoir. Pagosa sprouts again.

I woke up at 6:00 am and listened to a meditation while I was in bed. I started Davidji’s Insight Timer 40 Days of Transformation course and I’m really connecting with the themes while I’m here in nature.

After meditating, I deflated my air mattress to avoid lying down again and made a Midnight Chili Mocha and then started packing my things. There was a layer of frost on my tent due to overnight condensation and our proximity to the lake.

As I’ve learned, when it’s freezing I won’t be able to pack my tent into its bag due to the extra volume of the frozen layer of ice on the tent, and it will melt a little as I walk, making everything it comes into contact with wet as well.

After packing up camp, Midnight and I descended the lake following Williams Creek. We saw and heard several elk and deer, and even saw some horses near a campground.

The weather today was sunny and as we descended it even felt a little warm, which was a welcome change to the cold weather at 12,000 feet. The fall colors formed a beautiful contrast to the gray rock walls we passed on our way to the Williams Creek trailhead.

Williams Lake Reservoir Midnight Hike

Once we reached the dirt road we expected to walk several kilometers to the reservoir where there might be more traffic and people. We saw a car, but it was heading towards the trailhead and we thought they were going for a walk. When a few minutes later we heard and saw the same car, we stuck out our thumbs for a hitch.

The car stopped and asked if we really needed a ride. We explained that we needed to get to Pagosa Springs to resupply food. They said they were heading there and cautiously offered us a ride. Once driving we connected with the couple who were looking at the fall colors. They have come every year from Oklahoma to visit us for 50 years. It was great to hear about their adventures and they were very kind to drop us off at Walmart on the outskirts of town so we could resupply.

It’s about 3 days to Chama, our next resupply town, and then 3 days to Ghost Ranch. We also picked up another 3 day supply to mail to the ghost ranch for the trip to Cuba.

Outside Walmart was a stop for the city shuttle that leaves every hour. When it was 10 minutes late, I checked the website and found that the free shuttle service ended on September 28th. While we were packing up to try and hitchhike into town, the shuttle stopped, picked us up for a $2 fee, and took us to our hotel.

At the hotel we dropped off our bags and then headed back to Kips for some margaritas and nachos. I also had a drink called Mexican 75, which is like a French 75 but with tequila and lime instead of gin and orange.

After our late lunch, I took a shower and went back to packing my food. We put on another Harry Potter movie in the background and blasted out our backpacks. Before I knew it, it was after 7pm and time to eat again. We walked to Riff Raff Brewery and I had a Cobb salad with beer-brined eggs and a raspberry wheat beer. From there I returned to the room and went to bed around 10:30 p.m.





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