August 24th, 2024
Mile Marker: 1539.3
Miles Hiked: 31
I woke up this morning groggy and not wanting to hike. Last night we were on a slope and I kept sliding to the outside of our tent. Eventually I padded it with my clothes bag to help balance out. Regardless… I woke up tired. However, a beautiful sunrise was happening before us.
We got around quickly knowing that we had a big day ahead of us. Over 6,000 feet of climbing with majority of it all at the beginning of the day and staying above 11,000 feet for over half the day.
We got out around 7 AM and started the climb. I decided early on that I was going to listen to podcasts or books for majority of the day. I needed distraction from my worried thoughts about altitude. So I listened to podcasts ranging from Joe Rogan to Jay Shetty, all over the place.
Sometimes my worried anxious thoughts feel like they can’t be pushed aside and I start to hyperventilate. When I am playing a podcast or audiobook, I can force myself to pay attention to what is being said so I can distance myself from the thoughts.
My anxiety about altitude is new. I have no problem going up high then coming back down to sleep, however the trail in Colorado frequently goes up high and stays up high. The anxiety has come from learning of a girl who died on the PCT a couple years ago from high altitude pulmonary edema. She did have symptoms but either people didn’t notice and/or she didn’t say anything to anyone. It’s an incredibly sad story, and one that has wormed its way into my thoughts.
The rain started early today and was constantly on and off all morning. We were hopeful we could make it up and over the big climb before it really came down. When we got above tree line the wind was almost blowing us over. We had to put our heads down and be very intentional with our foot placement. This made getting over the last part of the climb a struggle and incredibly cold.
Journey and I kept a constant pace all morning trying our best to keep moving until we got back down in the trees.
Finally after one o’clock we decided to stop and have lunch behind some trees. The sun started to come out more and we were finally warming up.
As the clouds lifted we could look around more at the beautiful views. I felt like I had been staring at my feet all day with the rocky terrain and wind so it was nice to finally start taking in the views for the second half of the day.
We didn’t see any thru hikers today but saw a couple weekend backpackers and at a trailhead saw quite a few weekend people out enjoying the mountains for the day.
While taking a break at a trailhead, a guy asked us what we were doing and when we told him about the CDT and taking time off, he asked how we afforded it and claimed “yall must be rich.” We both laughed.
That was definitely not the case. 😅
I felt like the day flew by as I constantly had either a book or podcast playing. I am finding myself really enjoying listening to books on this trail which is a first for thru hiking! The miles just fly by as my mind drifts to the book. If anyone has a good book recommendation please let me know!
We made it to camp around 7:45 and hustled to eat and get set up. Our tent is still wet from last night so we tried to wipe it down as best as we could.
It’s getting darker around 8:30 now so our hiking time is bound to get shorter unless we keep hiking into the night… We will see.
Ready for sleep and town day tomorrow, much much needed.
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 