September 12th, 2024
Mile Marker: 1926.4
Miles Hiked: 24
This morning was quite an eventful one.
We woke up with the outside of our sleeping bags soaked and frost covering the inside and outside of our tent. As I peered under our closed vestibule I could see frost covering the grass and everything around.
Oh boy, it’s cold outside.
Thankfully I was nice and toasty in my sleeping bag. Eventually around 6:30 all of us started getting around, we had a big day ahead of us and would need to get out sooner than later.
Plus, as soon as the sun hit our tent it would be raining on us. So we made breakfast and started packing. Right before we completely got out we could feel rain drops on us, we may have waited just a smidge too long.
Journey shook out the tent to try and get some of the water weight to come off. It was impressive how much water was on it.
The morning consisted of 2 climbs next to each other over 12,000 feet. I was happy we had a climb first thing in the morning to warm us up. As we hiked back into the forest it was rather chilly and also even when we came out into the sunshine as the wind was blowing hard.
I kept my fleece and rain gear on way longer than usual, trying to warm up.
The morning ridge was stunning. I plugged in music and thought about what a privilege it was to be out here seeing this beauty. I was also grateful for a clear blue sky and no rain. It’s wild how much our moods change with the weather.
We then descended into a valley and saw some signs with info about a train that used to go through this area. We found ourselves walking on old pieces of wood from the tracks.
After the valley we started a gradual uphill climb. We came to a beautiful lake that was surrounded by mountains and quickly noticed where we would be climbing to get over the pass to the next set of mountains.
It was stunning. The wind was outrageous however, so we decided we would get up and over before having lunch.
My legs felt great the first part of the day but on this climb I suddenly hit a wall and felt so lethargic. I moved slow and steady and once at the top, was thrilled for a long downhill descent.
We stopped around 1 to eat lunch and set out all our gear to dry. We figured it was going to take some time for things to fully dry out. I felt incredibly tired and should have tried to close my eyes for a few but found myself doing other things instead, like planning the next section with Aster.
Around 2 we headed out again with around 11 miles to get to camp.
We had to descend a little more then would have our biggest climb of the day back to over 12,000 feet and along a ridge for a while.
While working our way up we crossed a “Danger!” sign and what looked to be a fence barrier that was not fully up yet. Aster and I stayed back and Journey and Whatever went around to look at the hole.
I was shaking my head, this is why women live longer than men. 😁
We then continued up, I felt my legs becoming heavier and was so ready to be done climbing for the day but kept trucking.
We eventually got to our last water source for the day and had to camel up for the climb and camp.
Our packs gained an extra 5ish pounds and we continued up .7 to the top of the ridge.
It was breathtaking. Just incredible. I could feel myself mentally being fatigued and struggled more than the morning of keeping the gremlins out but did my best to stay focused on the music and practice gratitude for being here.
The wind was forceful and cold so we didn’t hang around long and kept moving. It was stunning the whole way around.
I felt like I couldn’t stop since if I did, the wind would start to freeze me to my core. Eventually we hid behind a tree to put more layers on.
We made it to camp around 6:30 with plenty of daylight left. Thank goodness! We set up our tent in some trees that looked alive, made dinner, and got in bed.
It’s the highest elevation I have slept at yet so I am hopeful things go well.
My sleeping pad is leaking air again so I may have to purchase a new one if it can’t cooperate.
12 more hard, high, hiking days left in Colorado. Just gotta make it through it!
Goodnight.
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 