Cool view of the valley from my tent that morning.Walking through Huston Park Wilderness (Medicine Bow NF)Uhoh, heavy smoke just to the west.Double uh-oh, another one on the east. Hiking faster…Goodbye Wyoming, hello Colorado!Rock art is always popular
Day 75: (September 12th) 29.1 miles
Someone is caching…hay?!Colorado mountains are getting bigger!Bridge to nowhere. Well, nowhere dry. Took me awhile to find a good ford spot.One of the original Wilderness areas created by congress in 1964.
Day 76: (September 13th) 32.0 miles
Sunrise from the trail. I started at 6am, to make it to town tonight!Another cool high ridgewalk10am, it’s still cold at 11,500ft.
And then, just as I came down from the ridge, a storm moved in. I was near a trailhead, so I hid in a bathroom building to stay dry. And since it was lunchtime anyway, I also ate…in the bathroom.
https://youtu.be/3NcvzHlB7jg
It started raining, then snowing, then hailing. It stopped after 20 minutes, so….onward!
Rabbit ears peak & pass is well-named.I hitched into steamboat with a nice guy from Utah. Got to the Rabbit Ears Inn, just as it started to rain hard!
Day 77: (September 14th) Zero miles
A zero day! I avoided some bad weather, did some food shopping, sampled a local brewery, and had a meal at DQ*. A good day.
*not recommended.
9:04pm?I got new shoes in the mail! The old ones had almost 800 miles on them.This place was all about the hops.
Day 78: (September 15th) 25.0 miles
Colorado has autumn! The aspens are turning very colorful.This is a big NF. The A-Basin ski area is still waaay to the south.I wonder what happened to make them post these signs everywhere.
Day 79: (September 16th) 27.2 miles
Very cold this morning!Colorful ColoradoThey have no information. (Also, it was an easy pass, not troublesome)Summit hut on Parkview Mountain, elevation 12,300ft.View from Parkview. The trail climbed 1,200ft in less than a mile!
Day 80: (September 17th) 27.7 miles
Looking down from Bowen PassThis is my favorite name yet for a Wilderness.Getting close to Rocky Mountain NP.The trail descends directly into the town of Grand Lake, CO. The largest natural lake in Colorado!And because it was Constitution week, the town had a parade & fireworks show!
Colorado definitely has a very different feel than any previous hiking. Higher elevations, fall colors, occasional frozen precipitation, and….marmots!
In terms of route options, I skipped the RMNP loop (would’ve added 18 miles), in order to get through Colorado a little faster before winter comes. I can always come back and do it as a dayhike!
Next week – hiking the front range, and a couple of 14ers!
