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CT day 13 - zero miles

It worked out that we got to Buena Vista ahead of schedule, so we were able to take a full day off. Nate and I planned to sit around and watch movies and eat ice cream during our day off, but between resupplying at the grocery store, catching up on emails, checking in with family, doing laundry, packing for our trip after this, and backing up our photos, we didn’t get much time to relax. The good thing is that sleeping in an actual bed under a real shelter gave us good rest.

It’s interesting to go from the relative solitude & quiet of all day on the trail, to the busy distractions of normal life. Time seems to pass so quickly. People have a million things to do. On the trail there is nothing but walking. It’s so simple. After the chaos of the day, Nate and I were looking forward to getting back to the simplicity of trail life.

#colorado #colorado trail #long-distance hiking

CT day 12 - 16.6 miles

Today we woke up pretty exhausted. I can't seem to sleep through the night because I’m anxious. I’ve never had this issue before when camping, and on the PCT it seemed like I slept through the night every single night because I was so tired from the day’s hike. I’m considering switching to a different pad or taking Benadryl at night just to get some rest.

We climbed up and over the ridge on the east side of Mount Harvard. It’s a really cool experience to hike through these mountains we can see from our house. The ridge went up and up and up, and it seemed like it had about 6 false summits. I counted my steps as I hiked, something I often do for fourteeners in order to keep myself going. Each false summit was a big disappointment after putting in so much effort. When we finally reached the real summit, I stopped, put down my poles, and cried for a bit. The first emotional breakdown of this trip, hah. It all just felt really overwhelming—the lack of sleep, the stress of the storms, the climbing. It all caught up to me at once. Nate sweetly rubbed my back and let me cry. I’m always grateful for that. That he doesn’t judge me even though I know I'm being unreasonably emotional.

One of the most impactful things about thru-hiking is the fact that you have to consciously make the decision to keep at it, even in the face of wanting to quit. My friend Andrew put it well, that you can’t be afraid of the desire to quit. Because it will happen. It’s the choice to continue on that’s empowering and extremely rewarding. In the end when you’ve finished your goal, and you know how much you’ve had to fight for it, it becomes even more fulfilling.

As we approached Buena Vista, we were tired and sluggishly walking down the trail. We finally got to the Silver Creek Trailhead where Nate’s parents picked us up. We waited for a bit in the parking lot when we saw our friend Matt! We weren’t sure if we’d see him again after Breck because he hiked faster than us. It seems we’ve caught up to him after he took a zero though. Hopefully we’ll see him again soon. Nate’s parents arrived and we climbed into the truck. We couldn’t wait to shower and do laundry and lay in a bed!

We drove home to BV, the mountains we’d just climbed getting smaller in the rearview mirror. Nate’s aunt, uncle, and cousins were at the house, and it was unexpectedly overwhelming to see everyone. You go from the solitude & silence of the trail to having to interact with others and talk about normal life things. I don’t know why I felt overwhelmed because I love these people a lot, but I retreated to our room for some quiet after a bit. We showered, changed into normal clothes, and napped for a bit. After dinner we met some friends at our favorite bar in town and swapped adventure stories. It was so good to see everyone and know they love and support us on the trail. It was almost 11 when we got home and I could barely keep my eyes open on the drive. We’ve been going to sleep around 8 every night on the trail, so this was well beyond our bedtime!

#colorado trail #mount harvard #buena vista #long distance hiking

CT day 11 - 23.4 miles

We woke up early this morning feeling excited and motivated to meet Nates parents for breakfast! We heard they might be making breakfast tacos for us. So we booked it down the trail and met them in Twin Lakes where the trail crosses the highway.

I love this area of Colorado. Twin Lakes is beautiful and we’ve spent lots of time here. It’s sorta become a special place for me, so to hike through it was pretty amazing. Nate’s family made the whole spread—breakfast tacos, potatoes, fresh fruit, coffee, and Nate’s sister even brought homemade scones. It was amazing. We hung out with them for two hours before getting back on trail.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by pretty quickly. Since the trail was relatively smoothly graded, we crushed miles fast. We passed by the day hikers complaining about the rocky trail, and past a few mountain bikers. As we approached Clear Creek, it started to storm. At one point the trail followed an access road for some power lines and when I saw lightning in the distance, I heard the power lines overhead buzz. It was very weird and creepy. We hiked quickly past them. We reached the ridge where the trees cleared to begin descending into Clear Creek and saw that there was a big front coming our way. We debated whether we should wait it out at the top where there were trees, or run down the exposed trail to lower ground. Neither were ideal in a lightning storm, but we decided to run down the trail in hopes of getting to the base where we could find shelter. We ran, our packs bouncing on our backs, hearing lightning & thunder only a couple miles behind us. Being exposed on a ridge like that makes you feel incredibly vulnerable. We finally got to the base and found shelter in the woods.

The storm passed and we hiked another mile and a half up the next ridge and camped in the trees. I had signal there so I FaceTimed my friend Wang who we hiked the PCT with. After that I crawled into the tent and researched lightning safety. Another sleepless night for me. Even though it wasn’t storming, I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking of storms and all the ridiculous running from storms we’ve been doing over the past few days. I just need to sleep. It’s hard to do big miles when you haven’t had a good nights rest in over a week.

#Colorado #colorado trail #backpacking #long distance hiking #buena vista colorado #twin lakes colorado

CT Day 10 - 20 miles

After last night’s barrage of hail and thunder, we woke up exhausted. We pressed snooze several times before finally sitting up and beginning to organize our things for the day. I got out of the tent and saw that the entire valley was covered in thick fog and the peaks were gleaming with alpenglow. The calm after a crazy storm like the previous night can be so beautiful.

We hiked up and up, stepping on piles of hail from the night before. We were mentally & physically so tired. The steep uphills felt relentless. This section of trail is so stunning though. We walked by high alpine lakes flanked by big granite walls, walked on boulders and stepped over creeks. It all reminded me a lot of the high Sierra, specifically the area of Kings Canyon we walked through on the PCT.

The Colorado Trail, in general, seems a lot less crowded than the PCT was. Maybe it’s because there’s a bigger window of time to do it and not everyone has to hike at the same rate. On the CT you can go a full day without seeing anyone—in fact, we haven’t seen any CT hikers in a couple days. It’s interesting that way. Sometimes I wish we could make some friends to hike with!

The day seemed to trudge on. We were so tired from yesterday’s long day, plus not sleeping through the night. We planned to do 22 miles, but couldn’t find the motivation to keep going once we hit 20 and found a good campsite. We set up our tent at the trailhead to Mount Massive. Tomorrow we’ll hike 7 miles to Twin Lakes where we’ll meet Nate’s parents for breakfast and we’ll pick up some food for the next few days. We’re so excited to see a familiar face! Then we’ll do another 15ish to get us closer to Buena Vista. We’re thinking if we hike fast we may actually be able to take a full zero in BV and still stay on schedule.

#Colorado Trail #Colorado #Colorado backpacking #long distance hiking #holy cross wilderness #mount of the holy cross

CT Day 9 - 25 miles

I kinda cant believe we did 25 miles today, especially since yesterday we only did 15. We woke up at 4:30 this morning and started hiking in the dark to go over Searle & Kokomo Pass. The sunrise above treeline is always gorgeous, and this one was especially beautiful. We hiked for 6 miles above the trees with the most stunning view of the surrounding peaks. Yesterday we crossed the 10 Mile range, today we cross the Elk range.

After cresting Kokomo Pass, we descended for what seemed like forever, until we passed by a waterfall and ended up on a dirt road coming from Leadville. We continued hiking, crossed highway 24, then Tennessee Pass, and climbed a bit into the Holy Cross Wilderness. The miles went by pretty quickly until the very end, when the last 4 miles to camp seemed to stretch on forever. I plugged my headphones into my ears and trudged onward while listening to podcasts. It’s amazing how much something so simple can distract you from the pain in your feet and make the time pass by quicker.

We set up camp in the trees near a meadow flanked on all sides by the rugged and prominent cliff sides that make up the Holy Cross Wilderness. I’ve heard people talk about how beautiful this area of Colorado is, but I’d never seen it myself until now. It’s quite stunning.

Just after crawling into the tent after our longest day (by far) yet, it started to rain and thunder. There seems to be a pattern of thunderstorms every night around sunset. This one was loud and busy and long. The rain turned to small hail, and the small hail turned to bigger hail, which kept getting bigger and louder and scarier. It piled up around the edges of our tent and made us question if our tent could survive the ambush of ice pellets. Nate and I cuddled in the tent, hoping and praying for it to stop. Finally, all at once, it stopped. Then it started up again 10 minutes later. The lightning was so close you could feel the ground rumble as it struck. The hail started up again. I closed my eyes and blocked my ears and for some reason that made it all feel less scary. The storm lasted for hours. I didn’t sleep much at all. Have I mentioned how much I hate these storms??

#Colorado Trail #colorado trail 2018 #backpacking #Colorado backpacking #long distance hiking

CT Day 8 - 15.3 miles (minus 1) We woke up this morning and climbed the relentlessly steep trail to the summit between Breckenridge and Copper Mountain. The pass was beyond beautiful. There’s a smoky haze in the air from the Lake Christine fire near Aspen, which is unfortunate, but I can’t deny the fact that it makes for pretty incredible sunrise light. We crossed the pass and went down the equally (if not more) steep trail down to highway 91. My feet ached from the repeated pounding on the rocky trail. We crossed the highway and hiked into Copper Mountain where there was a big bike festival going on. Since we can’t do as many miles today as we originally intended, we stopped into a convenience store at the resort to grab some extra food. It was weird walking through the crowds of people at this festival, drinking beer and paying for their kids to bungee jump and zip line. Normal vacation things. The next two miles skirted the edges of the resort, where we could hear the music and laughing. Mountain bikers zoomed past us all day in their matching jerseys, most times unannounced. It was all very weird. When we finally switchbacked into the forest and away from the noise, I was relieved. Despite only doing 15 miles today, we feel incredibly exhausted. I’m not sure why. I’m nervous we won’t be physically capable to up the miles in the next few days. I’m hoping after Searle & Kokomo Pass the elevation will ease up a bit. At the end of the day, we turned a switchback and suddenly we reached treeline. I wasn’t expecting to be up that high so quickly, but we continued anyways. We set up our tent in a patch of trees. The sky was clear, there wasnt any wind, so I was stoked to be up that high in clear weather. We did our normal camp chores, made dinner, and went to sleep. Just as we were falling asleep, it started to rain. We looked outside the tent to see the half the sky lit up orange as the sun was setting under some low hanging heavy thunder clouds. We could hear thunder & lightning in the distance. We questioned whether or not our campsite choice was safe, and after a few terrified looks exchanged and hearing thunder & lightning less than three miles away, we made the executive decision to pack up and book it down the trail below treeline. We packed up faster than ever and literally ran down the trail in the rain with our headlamps lighting the way until we made it well into the trees. We set up camp again in the dark beneath the shelter of the pine forest, relieved. I hate these Colorado thunderstorms so much.

CT Day 7 - 13.3 miles (resupply) This morning we woke up excited to start the day. We had 7 miles to Frisco where we could get breakfast! We hiked fast and made it in about 2 hours. I guess we feel pretty motivated when there’s eggs benedict waiting for us. We arrived at the trail crossing at the highway where there was a bus station. There’s a free shuttle around summit county, which is so nice! We hopped on the shuttle and got off in downtown Frisco where we picked a breakfast spot. As we walked in, a couple sitting on the patio saw us and asked what trail we were doing. We told them about the Colorado Trail and they told us to sit down with them and they’d buy our meal in exchange for adventure stories. We were completely surprised and humbled. Dale & Glenda were in the area on vacation from Kansas and had plans to bike around summit county. We told them about our adventures and they told us about theirs. I’m amazed at the kindness & generosity of complete strangers. I want to be more like Glenda & Dale. After breakfast we got on the shuttle to Walmart and bought food & supplies for the next few days. Then we went back to downtown to do laundry and charge our phones & batteries while answering emails and updating family. Town days always seem like they’re going to be relaxing, but in reality it’s just a bunch of chores. I didnt have time to get to all of our pending emails, but I guess that stuff can wait. We took this time for a reason and I dont want to sacrifice our experience on the trail because I’m too caught up in work. It’s hard to do that when you’re self employed and you run a business though. After we finished laundry, we grabbed some pizza and edited photos. We got back on the shuttle to the trailhead, and just as we got off, it started torrentially raining. We started hiking, but it was cold and windy, so we decided to wait it out for a bit and found shelter underneath a bridge. After 5 minutes or so, the rain slowed and we continued on. Our packs were heavy and uncomfortable. It’s always hard to hike out of town. Morale is low when you’re leaving the comforts of town with a big heavy pack full of the next section’s food. We hiked a super steep section for 6 miles and set up camp below treeline. Our plan was to bump the miles up to 20+ this section so we could make it to Twin Lakes in three days. I’m kind of not sure that we’ll be able to do that though. If we were to do 20 miles tomorrow, we’d be crossing two passes, one of which would be mid-afternoon and they’re predicting afternoon storms. The trail over the second pass is about 6 miles above treeline, and I dont want to get caught up there in a storm. It may mean doing only 15 or so tomorrow, which would leave the other two days to be around 25 miles long, which I’m not sure is worth it. We’ll see what happens, but there’s a good chance we’ll have to resupply in Leadville, because at this point we don’t have enough food for an extra day to Twin Lakes. Colorado is weird. The weather in the mountains here is so unpredictable. I know we have to be flexible with what the trail gives us, but it’s hard not to be frustrated when your plans change due to something beyond your control. We’re on kind of a deadline, so hopefully we can make up the miles further down the trail and still finish on time.

CT day 6 - 19.2 This morning we climbed up Georgia Pass and it was stunning. I actually teared up a bit as we reached the summit. There’s something significant about walking 80+ miles to see a view like this one. Yes you can drive up a pass or hike only a short distance to see something similar, but traveling on foot the full way from Denver is an experience all of its own. Passing through low-altitude forest and seeing it change as you go higher, seeing the wildflowers evolve, seeing the grasses and different types of rock through various alpine zones - it’s such an immersive personal experience. By the time you reach 12,000 ft, you’re brought to tears by how beautiful it is that life can survive at such conditions. Through wind, snow, daily thunderstorms, and low oxygen, somehow these delicate little grasses & wildflowers can thrive. Today was long, but good. We stopped for a midday break and took a nap in the sun, then got up and hiked some more. We planned to camp at a ridge and have a shorter day, but when we got up there it was exposed with lots of dead trees standing and it didn’t seem like a good place to camp. So we hiked a few miles further. Despite today being the longest we’ve hiked so far, we feel good. Our packs are light and morale is high. I remember this point on the PCT around 100 miles, feeling completely haggard and hobbling into town. We actually feel really good this time around, probably due to lightening our pack load significantly. I think those hikers are right when they say “the lighter the pack, the bigger the smile”. Tomorrow will only be 7 miles to Frisco where we’ll resupply. I’m looking forward to getting breakfast in town!

#colorado trail 2018 #colorado trail #thru hiking #backpacking #Colorado backpacking

CT Day 5 - 17.9 miles I listened to a really interesting podcast today while hiking where the interviewee talked about why it’s good to pursue things that are uncomfortable. There’s so much about long distance hiking that’s not comfortable in the least bit, and I constantly question why I’m out here. The pain in my feet, the weight of my pack, the hot sun in the middle of the day, and the overall boredom that comes with hiking long distances. Why am I doing this during my time off? Pushing through all of those things is kind of what makes it all mean something though. It’s not just about the physical feat of hiking a long way, but the mental battle of dealing with pain and boredom and continuing anyways. Nothing good comes from pursuing a life of comfort. I’m glad we’re doing this, I’m proud of us for choosing to do this. Hiking is a type of meditation for me. After so many miles, my thoughts become so clear. The rhythm of my breathing matched with my steps and the sound of my poles clinking on rocks all becomes methodical and everything else goes quiet. There’s nothing but me and the trail. And as for pain, it only brings me back to the present. In a way, pain can be a gift. Today was good. We woke up early and hiked out of camp by 6am. It’s always nice to start in the early morning when it’s cool and there are fewer people out. It’s quiet and I have energy, so the miles seem to fly by unnoticed. On the PCT we woke up around 3:30-4am everyday - either to beat the desert heat, or to make it over a pass before afternoon storms. Out here it seems like most others don’t start till way later in the morning, but maybe that will change as we approach bigger mountains and monsoon storms come in. Regardless, right now it’s nice to take our mornings easy and not stress out about being out before the sun. By noon, we crossed Kenosha Pass. We’ve driven through here probably a hundred times on our way to and from Denver, and it’s so crazy to walk there on foot. This hike is only going to feel more like a walk through our backyard as we continue. We got water at the campground at the pass and laid beneath a tree for some shade while we ate lunch and took a brief siesta. Not long after we dove into our lunches, the campground host came out and told us we couldn’t sit there and if we were going to be here we needed to pay the day use fee (mind you, this campground is RIGHT next to the trail). So we got up quickly, packed our things and hiked down the trail. You never know how people will perceive you as a hiker. Some people are kind and generous and inspired by the long haul you’re choosing to take on, others view hikers as freeloaders who have no jobs and no better place to be. It’s kind of sad to be considered that way, but it’s also teaching me a lot about the inherent privilege I have in my normal life. We hiked another several miles before setting up camp near a creek. Today was the longest day we’ve had so far, and my body is definitely feeling it. My hips are starting to get sore, and I think I have some kind of possible tendinitis in my leg. My feet feel better than yesterday though, so that’s a plus. We’ve got a big climb and a long day tomorrow, then we’ll resupply in Frisco the next day. I’m pretty excited to get some kind of real meal when we get to town. The thought of town makes us hike faster, which is good.

#colorado trail 2018 #colorado trail #thru hiking #long distance hiking #backpacking

CT Day 4 - 17.1 miles We woke up this morning after a somewhat sleepless night. The rain & thunder stopped as soon as it came last night, but the wind blowing all night kept me awake worrying about falling trees. Our alarm was set for 4:30, but I don’t think we actually got up until 5:30. It was cold and I sat in my sleeping bag for a while before packing up my things. We argued a bit this morning, Nate wanted me to be faster at getting ready so he didn’t have to stand in the cold waiting, I wanted him to be more patient with me. The good thing about the trail is there’s no escaping each other, so the only option is just to talk it out. Which, actually makes the miles go by pretty fast. We did a steep climb and at the top we met Mike, who hiked the Appalachian Trail 20 years ago and since then has hiked all the fourteeners. He hiked with us for the next few miles, then passed us. He’s a pretty fast hiker. It was nice to have the company for a bit. A few miles later, we met up with Riley, Debbie, and Courtney. Riley & Courtney are around our age, Debbie is older, maybe 60s, and she’s hiking with two small stuffed animals her grandkids gave her. She’s been taking photos of them at various parts of the trail to send to her grandkids, which is super cute. I have a lot of respect for the older people we meet on trail, because if this is hard for me, I cant imagine how hard it might be for someone with a lot more years than me. It’s also so inspiring, I hope to take my mom backpacking with me sometime. Debbie, Riley, & Courtney have been hiking together the past few days and plan to stick together through Breck. They’re an eclectic little group - Debbie the grandmother, Riley the marijuana trimmer, and Courtney the grad student. Why or how they decided to stick together is beyond me, but I love the way that the trail brings people from all different parts of life together. The day was relatively easy, not too much up and down. I keep waiting for the day when the soreness in my feet will ease up. I know the first few days of any backpacking trip always make your feet hurt, but man, I just want them to stop throbbing so much. I remember this pain from the PCT though, and I know it gets better. We set up camp nearby a water source. At some point in the day we passed Mike while he was napping probably. He came by and hung out at our camp for a bit. While we were all laying around talking, I looked down and saw something gold and shiny on the ground. I picked it up and brushed it off to find a Sacajawea dollar. What are the odds?! Who would hike with a Sacajawea dollar?? Hah. I finally got a trail name: Snackajawea (because, well, snacks). I’m considering shortening it to just “Snack” though, because as much as Sacajawea is an inspiration, I’m not sure I could bear her name without feeling like I’m appropriating something that could be disrespectful to others. Today was longer miles, but still seemed relatively easy. We got to camp by 4pm, and hiked at a pretty leisurely pace with several breaks including a midday nap. I’m glad we’re taking this first week easy and not pushing too much. I dont want to get injured or too worn out before we get to the real climbs. We’ll keep increasing our mileage slowly until we’re averaging around 20-22 miles a day or so. Until then, I’m gonna enjoy these lower mileage days.

#colorado trail 2018 #colorado trail #thru hiking #long distance hiking #backpacking

Colorado Trail day 3 - 15.4 miles We woke up this morning to a pink glow coming through the trees as the sun came up. We hiked a relatively flat day, with a steep climb at the end. Towards the middle of the day I started feeling sort of sick. I’m not sure if it’s from the heat or from my body getting used to the preservative-filled, carb-loaded sustenance that is backpacking food. It’s hard to say. A few hours into the afternoon it cooled off with some clouds and light rain and I felt a lot better. After 13ish miles, we made it to the trailhead to hitchhike into Bailey where we’d get our first resupply. We were a little nervous about the hitch because it’s 8 miles down a dirt road and we weren’t sure how often people drive it. Within 10 minutes a few cars rode by, and a couple with their dog pulled over to give us a ride. Us and a friend we made earlier in the day stacked our packs in the back and crawled into the back seat. The whole way to Bailey the couple’s dog kept climbing over the seat and licking our faces uncontrollably. He basically laid across all of our laps and kept switching from licking one persons face to the next. Eventually I had to hold onto his collar to keep him still. I guess we aren’t too smelly for the dog not to lick us. We made it to Bailey and picked up our resupply at the outfitter, then walked to a place called Cutthroat Cafe for some food. I never drink soda, but for some reason while backpacking, Dr Pepper always sounds so good. I ordered soda and it tasted incredible. We charged our devices while we ate and updated family about our whereabouts. Afterwards, we walked back to the patio by the outfitter and organized our food, which we realized we sent WAYYYYY too much of. We walked back to the road that goes back to the trailhead and stuck our thumbs out for several cars that passed by, but no luck. By this point it was almost 5 and I was worried it might be too late to catch anyone going up to the trailhead. We waited 20 minutes until finally an older woman who lived down the road picked us up and took us to the trailhead. We walked an agonizingly steep 2 miles with our heavy packs full of the week’s food before finally finding a campsite beneath pine trees. We set up camp, ate dinner, and crawled into our tent just before it started raining. I’m sitting here writing and it’s thundering and lightning and raining pretty heavy. I kind of hate camping in weather like this because I cant sleep at all. I’m constantly worried about lightning or falling trees or our tent losing its water repellency. Hopefully it lets up soon.

#colorado trail 2018 #colorado trail #thru hiking #long distance hiking #rocky mountains

Colorado Trail day 2 - 15.3 This morning our alarm went off at 5 and we squirmed around in our sleeping bags for a bit before having to wake up. During one such squirm, I adjusted my sleeping pad under me and all of a sudden the air leaked quickly and I was on the ground. My brand new sleeping pad popped. I found a 1 inch gash on the bottom side where a sharp rock cut right into it. Feels pretty defeating for your pad to pop on the first night. We have another night before our first resupply and I hope I dont have to sleep on the ground for it. After packing up, our neighbor Talus asked if he could interview us for his documentary he’s making about the Colorado Trail. Nate agreed and made some insightful remarks about why were hiking the CT. The first five miles this morning were easy. It was a slow & steady descent down the the South Platte river. We crossed a bridge there that felt familiar. I realized it was the same spot we shot an engagement session two years ago when we first moved here and were living in our car. Crazy how things happen like that. It’s interesting to me how familiar this all feels. The routine Nate and I have is done efficiently and quietly, we’ve both figured out the jobs we are responsible for and we do them without having to discuss it. The pain in my feet, the soreness in my hips, the blisters, all of this feels so normal. We’ve done this so much over the past few years, this all just feels like just a part of our everyday life. The day was mostly dry and hot and long. We hiked through a three mile section of a burned area where it was crazy exposed and we both got severely sunburned, despite the 45 SPF we put all over our bodies. The sun at altitude is no joke. We camped in an area just off the trail with tall pine trees overhead. We got to camp relatively early and we napped for a bit before making dinner. I patched the gash in my pad with some gear tape and it surprisingly held. Hopefully it will last till Buena Vista where I can swap it out for my old one.

#colorado trail 2018 #colorado trail #thru hiking #Denver to Durango

Colorado trail day 1 - 12.2 miles The first day of any backpacking trip is always hard. I’m always reminded that it’s not just a walk, it’s long miles, achey feet, and a slow and consistent hunger that never really goes away. But even in that, with backpacking there’s a sense of self that’s called forward. The nagging pains and time seemingly passing by slower than normal causes this awareness of your whole body and its surroundings. Today it rained for most of the day. We hiked through a cool foggy mist that was really beautiful. Listening to the rain drops hit the leaves was peaceful. The fog made it all feel pretty magical, and it sort of didn’t feel like Colorado anymore. It reminded me a lot of hiking in BC. I love backpacking because of its simplicity. Yes you can get technical with your gear, you can make it into a game with comparing weights, you can hike fast and crush miles. But overall, no matter the gear you have or the weight of your pack, it’s all the same—it’s just walking. It’s the simplest act and it’s so natural to do, and pretty much anyone can do it. Beyond setting up your camp & cooking, most of the day is spent just walking. I worked up until the last hour before we left for the trail. I hit send on an email right before walking out the door. We went from packing and sorting everything and getting work in a place that we could leave it for the next month to the quiet, slow life of hiking. The contrast was surprising to me. After the first half hour of hiking, the excitement settled into a feeling of “okay we’re really doing this”. It’s so nice to be away from the daily habits of constantly checking our phones & social media & emails for a bit. After 12 miles, we camped in a rock outcropping with a few other hikers. One was named Talus and he was hiking with his dog, Pablo. It’s kind of fun to be on a multi-use trail like this with dogs and bikes. After snuggling Pablo for a bit, I did our camp chores and Nate hung our first ever bear bag. We retreated to the tent where we fell asleep to the sound of the rain hitting the tent.

#colorado trail 2018 #colorado trail #thru hiking

Colorado Trail - Day 0

Its been a bit since I’ve updated on this blog, and now seems like a good time. Nate and I are headed out tomorrow for another thru hike! This time with more experience and lighter packs. We’re hitting the Colorado Trail.

Our goal is to hike all 485 miles from Denver to Durango in three and a half weeks. We’ve been told this is ambitious, but when I look at the daily mileage & elevation, it looks easier than what we did on the Pacific Crest Trail. The fact that we live in Colorado and have family & friends here only makes it simpler - resupplies and showers will be provided by our best buds! We aren’t planning on taking any zeros (zero mile days = days off), so our plan is to start slow and build the mileage up as we go. We may have a few neros (near zero days = like a half day of hiking) as we get into towns, but overall, so long as we don’t have injuries, the plan is to hike straight through starting in Denver on the 15th and ending in Durango sometime around early-mid August.

Just like on the PCT, I’ll be writing everyday and posting it along with photos. I will most likely not be in cell service everyday, so I’ll post multiple days when we get to town!

Feel free to follow along on instagram as well! instagram.com/megan.kantor

#colorado trail #thru hiking #Denver to durango #sobo #colorado trail 2018

A couple of months ago we started thinking about where we were going to live after our current lease was up. We started looking into apartments in Denver and talking to a few friends who live there and realized how much a decent apartment in a decent area would cost us. To be totally honest, we’re pretty cheap. We’ve always lived in the absolute cheapest apartments we could find, and a few times we’ve lived in a car and a tent to avoid paying lots of money in rent. We’ve always struggled to justify paying tons of money for a place we don’t own and can’t do much in. We calculated out how much we’d pay in rent over the course of the next 3-5 years and were shocked by the number. We realized we could easily buy a van or RV for way less and started looking into it. Ultimately we decided to go with a trailer because we like having a bathroom (so much respect for all you #vanlifers but I’ve lived on the road and Idk how you deal with the bathroom situation). A FaceTime date with our friends @thefoxesphotography a few weeks ago and we were convinced. Last week we found an insane deal on a partially renovated ‘74 Airstream Overlander and decided to jump on it. 3000 miles and 50+ hours of driving later and she’s ours! We know very little about wiring and plumbing and solar, but we’re pretty good at YouTube research and have lots of friends who are handy, so I think we’ll be set. I’m so excited to get started making our dream home and then get on the road! Our goal is to be finished by late summer/early fall and be able to take her to our weddings in California, Arizona, and Utah this fall. We’re still figuring out logistics, but we’re stoked to be on the road full time in 2019! We’ll still be loosely based in Colorado/Utah cause it’s awesome and there’s lots of BLM for us to live on, but we’re stoked to travel all over the West next year. If anyone has good beta on RV-friendly camping along the West, we’d gladly take your suggestions! And if you know of any Airstream/RV renovation accounts we should follow, let us know! We’re so stoked for the coming months. (at Colorado)

#vanlifers

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