Day 63: Blazing through the Cochetopa Hills

Mileage: 34.4 miles (923.1-957.5)

It was a clear and even almost brisk morning as the rain had finally passed through last night. As I was getting my things together and ready for the day I realized a mouse had chewed through my tent, ground sheet, and a ziploc bag which contained a few nuts and raisins. I wouldn't have cared if he hadn't put a hole in the mesh floor of my tent, but apparentally, it was one hungry mouse! I realized the soft chewing noise I kept hearing overnight wasn't, in fact, my imagination.

I repaired the holes with some tape and vowed no more prepping food the night before and leaving it out. I didn't even like the raisins. I packed everything up and looked out at the beautiful morning. What stood out most was how green it all was. It was the first morning on trail without snow in close to month. I watched mule deer in the meadows trotting and sauntered down the 4WD roads without a worry in the world.

Yeah, I was taking pics of dandelions, haha

And then came the rain without clouds. WTF! Literally there was one cloud in the sky and it was raining on me. Just my luck. I've had pretty much the worst weather ever on this trip. I literally can't remember last day without some kind of precipitation - types of precipitation I didn't even know existed, groppel, anyone? My last day which was devoid of water falling from the sky had to be in New Mexico. I'm not so much complaining (ok, I am complaining) as expressing my astonishment by how much water I've seen in a year where all I've heard about is drought. Well, there is drought everywhere else. Just not northern New Mexico and the southern Rockies.

I followed footprints through the wet trail and before I knew it had covered seventeen miles by noon. When I started out this leg I needed to do over 100 miles in 3 1/2 days to meet my friends, Margi and Alex, at Monarch pass so I could get a ride to our five-year College reunion in New Hampshire. It felt weird to be getting off-trail for an extended break but I was ready to let the snow melt. And I really wanted to reconnect with friends I hadn't seen in so long. College was a pretty formative experience and I think I'd regret not going back when I had the opportunity to see so many people I cared about. Anyways, that's why I was in a rush.

Here's a note I wrote myself today: "Don't forget to grab box at monarch crest store - discard all contents, except candy bars"

Haha, that shows you how sick I am of everything I carefully packed and prepared. If I ever hike another long trail, I wouldn't do it like this again. I'd rather resupply in a gas station with only candy bars than eat another homemade Lara bar or burnt bean mush.

No aliens. Best sign on the trail, hands down.

It started raining again in the early afternoon but it was mostly a good day, just cloudy. Then it started freezing rain. And then the snow showed up again on the trail, agh! It was okay walking though, pretty much zero post-holing, but it was more the psychological defeat of thinking I was going to be snow-free for a few days, just to see it show right back up on the northern slopes.

As I reached the summit of Mt Baldy I saw the Sangres to the East, which were framed perfectly by the rain clouds. The jagged peaks were probably more than fifty miles away, but they shimmered brightly in the sun. I'd been seeing them off and on since New Mexico, but this might be the last glimpse I get of them on my walk. These 13,000 and 14,000 foot peaks were what we confused initially with the San Juan's way back near Chama. I could also see the San Juan's to south, and was thankful I wasn't there anymore!

I began getting tired and achy with a few miles to go, so I had two of my magic 'pastel peanuts' (I'm in Colorado!), which did make me forget the pain some, but also got me immediately lost - as usual. Or more politely, 'taking a non-traditional route which is longer'. I eventually bushwhacked to the CDT after accidentally following a different trail which ran perpendicular to it for a 1/2 mile.

I didn't catch up to the folks today, but their prints were getting fresher and fresher. Their tracks were full of freezing rain so they were just a few hours ahead, if not less. I think I'll find 'em tomorrow if they aren't asleep. I ate beef flavored ramen, love cooking twice in a day (three times if you count coffee ... I've turned soft!) Beef is infinitely better than lime-shrimp spicy flavor - I added the whole packet last night and it was nearly inedible it was so salty. And then spicy in a weird way that just made me cough. 

Anyways, time for bed.