Walking on Air: The High Altitude Highway to Salida

I’m sitting here just outside of Salida, CO at the Butterfly House Hiking Hostel, enjoying a relaxing zero day! Since my last update, I finished hiking San Juan, climbed my first 14er, and hiked 988.1 miles, almost a third of the way to Canada! Let’s dive into it!

Leaving the San Juans

It was surprisingly easy to hitchhike from Pagosa Springs. On our walk through town, two vehicles stopped to ask if we needed a ride to Wolf Creek Pass (quite a contrast to my 2 hour drive into town). I absolutely killed the first 16 miles, fueled to almost superhuman levels by city food and caffeine. Our goal for the first day was to position ourselves to face the knife edge towards the end of the next day.

Early on the second day we were greeted by what would become the defining feature of this stretch of trail: a steep, continuous elevation gain. Before the San Juans let us go, they would make sure we climbed over 5,000 feet in elevation every day. While this was physically exhausting, it provided some of the best views so far on the trail!

Relaxing on the ledge after a steep climb!

We decided to stay together during the knife-edge journey, as we had heard that it was a rather incomplete journey. Turns out it was. The knife edge was about half a mile from start to finish and featured a precipitous drop to the valley below. We arrived in the late afternoon, so the snow was pretty slushy. Journey was kind enough to lead our group of five (Journey, Joker, me, Joy, and Pac-man), meaning he had the honor of giving us steps as we slowly moved forward. About halfway down, the snow gave way under Joker’s feet, forcing him to self-stop, descend safely to the bottom of the slide, and then climb up and out to meet us at the end. I admit, it was a little creepy watching the guy in front of me slide down the mountain, but I was able to pull it together and finish it. In the end, we all managed to arrive safely!

A picture doesn’t convey how steep and intimidating the edge of the knife was!

The next few days had me struggling a bit with the elevation. At times I felt very weak while going up and down between 11,000 and 13,000 feet. Not only that, but I struggled a bit with gastrointestinal issues that I believe were hypoxic in nature. In one memorable case, I devoured about half a loaf of summer sausage and immediately began a steep climb. I had to very quickly find my way off the trail halfway up that climb to attend to an emergency situation. With four miles left in the day, I came to camp shuffling like a broken man.

The summer sausage offensive…

We only had one morning with bad weather, with rain, snow and graupel alternately. This did not deter wildlife however, as I saw my first moose fall in the rain on the marshes. I always love seeing those silly deer.

First moose sighting in the CDT!

Near the end of San Juan, Pac-man, who had been traveling with us from Pagosa, slipped on some ice and dislocated his shoulder (ouch!). Seriously, it looked like there was a shelf sticking out of his arm. Luckily, as I sat looking for the nearest trail out to Silverton, it appeared again! Even luckier, he ran into a couple of doctors later that day who quickly examined him and issued him a seal of approval to continue. He also continued: 22 more miles. I gave him the «badass of the day» award.

Lake City – Have a Nearo with friends

After a daunting week of hiking, we finally reached Spring Creek Pass, the conduit to Lake City. As a special treat, I was greeted by Steph, a good friend of mine from Wisconsin, who stopped by to hang out and bring some trail magic to us dirty hikers along our way. A big thank you to Steph for fulfilling our clients’ refreshment requests to the trailhead, transporting us, and making it through the day!

Follow the angel Steph, from Wisconsin!

In Lake City, we got an AirBnB, resupplied, visited the city and a nearby park, and went out to dinner as a group. The restaurant we went to even seemed to have a Wisconsin theme: The Cannibal Grill and Packer Saloon (ever heard of a cannibal sandwich?), although I later learned it was named after Alferd Packer, a wilderness guide who ate his fellow prospectors to survive a blizzard in 1864. I thought the food was excellent and was pretty sure it wasn’t human flesh.

A happy group of non-cannibalistic hikers in Lake City!

First fourteen and cruise towards Salida

Leaving Lake City towards Snow Mesa, for a moment it seemed like we took a wrong turn and ended up in North Dakota. It was a really easy hike though! I was excited to take on my first Colorado alt on the next section: a 1.3 mile side quest to San Luis Peak, which would be my first 14er! We camped not far from the base of the mountain so we could get up early and hike to the top to watch the sunrise.

Snow Mesa, also known as North Dakota Colorado.

San Luis Peak!

I woke up at 3:00 am to make sure I made it to the top before sunrise. Stumbling over loose scree, the eastern sky gradually bloomed with a soft, pink light as I watched the altimeter on my watch slowly rise. At the summit, I wrapped myself in my sleeping bag to stay warm as I watched the new day dawn. It was an incredible way to celebrate achieving a literal new height.

Sunrise in the mountains!

After St. Louis, the elevation quickly dropped to 10,000 feet, where we would hike for the next few days. We walked through the trees again, the path was surrounded by aspen and spruce trees. I covered the next three days with runs of 23.5, 28.2, and 32.8 miles. I was particularly impressed with how well the trail south of Monarch Pass was maintained. The trail was wide, free of large rocks, and also had decent switchbacks. It was great not having to walk vertically up the steep mountains!

Back among the trees!

Scott, Carine and their dog Ace also treated us to some star magic on this stretch. These trail angels came all the way from Omaha to set up a tent where they served snacks, refreshing drinks, hot chili, and great conversation for us very grateful hikers! It was one of the best setups I’ve seen on the trail. Thanks friends!

Magical trail south of Monarch Pass!

After a great day of hiking and some amazing views, I finally made it to the highway at 7:00 pm It was easy enough to get a ride down the road, where I decided to take a zero at Butterfly House. Of all the places I’ve stayed in the CDT, I found this lodge to be the most homey and reminded me a lot of many of the lodges I stayed in on the Appalachian Trail. I highly recommend staying here! I cooked a big batch of beef stroganoff (which I was happy to share with the other hikers here), soaked my feet in the hot tub, and relaxed most of the day.

Stroganoff Hostel!

Next Steps: The Collegiate West

Tomorrow I’ll head north toward Collegiate Peaks, Twin Lakes, and Leadville. This area includes the largest concentration of 14er on the trail and should have some fantastic views in exchange for some rigorous hiking. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to it! Next time I update, I’ll be in the four digits, having surpassed 1,000 miles on the road! Until next time, friends! Thanks for reading!