September 23rd, 2024
Mile Marker: Green Line to Platoro to Alamosa
Miles Hiked: 15
We woke up this morning close to 7 AM. There was frost covering our tent and everything outside. Our shoes frozen solid. During the night last night we heard wild screaming noises. Once I woke up I realized it was a cow or a few cows but not sure why they were making such a commotion.
We slowly started getting ready, hoping for the sun to shine and thaw our tent. Eventually it did and we took our sweet time wiping it down. We left camp around 9 AM, our latest start in a while.
There was clear skies as we left but the forecast projected thunderstorms later in the day.
As we were walking out, Journey received messages on his Garmin’s inreach from his brother about their father. He was not well. It was clear that we needed to get off trail and to his family as quick as we could.
We flew down the green line alternate 15 miles to Platoro, Colorado. We were so lucky that this was an option we were already on and that we could get into a civilized place the same day.
The gravel road was also incredibly gorgeous. We both took moments taking in the beauty. Both knowing, we might not come back.
We made it down to the “town” and went into the cafe. We asked people where the nearest airport was and if anyone was headed that way.
No luck.
We also met Ace inside who was taking the green line alternate. She had wanted to camp with us the night before but due to a lack of service when hiking, we missed her. Turns out she camped very close to us last night but she got in late so we didn’t see her headlamp. I felt terrible because she said she was nervous to be alone especially when we heard all the animal noises during the night.
Regardless, it felt good to see her and tell her there were others on the redline she could meet in Chama.
We ordered food as we waited for the owner of the store to get back to us about a ride and enjoyed their dog Winston who has quite the personality.
While eating, a septic truck driver came in and Ace overheard his conversation about heading back to town. Journey stopped him before leaving to ask for a ride and he agreed to take us down the road 18 miles where another lodge was. The current store owner told us those owners would be able to get us into Alamosa. Perfect!
So we hopped into the front cab of the septic truck and took off down the gravel road. The man was kind and had many questions about our thru hike. It was a bittersweet feeling to tell him about what we had experienced, reminiscing on the good and difficult times. It’s hard to leave trail unexpectedly but we were motivated to get to family.
We arrived at the other lodge called Red Bear and thanked the driver many times for taking us.
Here we went inside and the owner told us that if she couldn’t find anyone to take us, that she could take us to town at 6 PM.
We agreed and sat in the dining hall and tried to figure out flights to get home. Time passed slow but we tried to stay focused on things we needed to do.
6 PM arrived and we rode with the lady and her husband to Alamosa. I was instantly shocked as the husband drove like a cop chasing someone. The wife seemed relaxed as if this was normal but I couldn’t help but wonder why he was zooming and passing cars like this.
The couple was incredibly nice though and we enjoyed their conversations about living in a small area and motorcycling around the US.
We arrived in Alamosa an hour later and thanked the couple for such a generous ride.
We walked into our Super 8 motel, dropped gear, and walked to the nearby grocery store for dinner. Once back at the hotel we did laundry so we wouldn’t stink out the passengers next to us on the plane and tried to downsize our packs as much as we could. We found ourselves having to leave a lot of the food we just purchased so we could fit everything inside our bags to check in.
Finally around 11 we were able to get in bed. It was a whirlwind of a day. I felt sad for a variety of reasons but mostly out of concern for Journey and his family. We held each other tight trying to calm our swirling thoughts.
The unknown is the hardest part of life.
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 