84 miles and 17, 493 feet of ascent over three and a half days – this was probably the most physically challenging section of the CDT so far, and we loved it! When we were planning our resupply however, we just looked at the mileage and reckoned on doing our … Read More
Well, we were passing by, and it is the highest mountain in the Rockies, and the second highest mountain in the contiguous United States … At 14,440 feet high we did feel the altitude a bit as we got near the top! More worrying were the black clouds which had … Read More
Maybe days off are better spent resting up and rehydrating, rather than dashing up mountains. So there were some good challenging ascents and some beautiful views over the last 70 miles, but I think that after our ascent of Mount Elbert we were probably a bit too tired to fully … Read More
This section really has been Colorado hiking at its best! Following high mountain ridges, climbing some of its highest peaks, long days spent above the treeline – it’s been challenging, but we expected nothing less when we set out on this trail. Our first half day out from Breckenridge was … Read More
Well the big mountains couldn’t go on forever, and in the last two days we have dropped down from the relatively cool mountains to a warm and muggy 6700 feet above sea level – the lowest we’ve been in weeks. But before we left the mountains behind, we still had … Read More
We’ve finished Colorado! It’s been amazing, and amazingly challenging. We’ve loved spending day after day, week after week in the high mountains, but it must be said that we are now quite tired after such a tough five weeks. So it’s been good that over the last four days’ hiking, … Read More
In the 60 miles since we left Encampment on Tuesday morning, we have literally dropped out of one world and into another. After one last climb up through pine forest onto Vulcan Mountain on Tuesday afternoon, we started losing height. The forest became more patchy, with dense pines becoming interspersed … Read More
Hot, dry, windy. Flat and featureless. Boring hiking. Something to get over and done with as quickly as possible. We were prepared for the worst with the Great Divide Basin, after dreading it for weeks. But in fact, even though there were some stretches which matched some or all of … Read More
Wow. Just wow. This last section of trail through the Wind River Range has been totally amazing – some of the best scenery and the most exciting hiking of the trail so far. We’ve also had great company, hiking most of the last 150 miles with some or all of … Read More
What a mixed bag this section has been! The geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park were jaw-droppingly amazing, but other than that … well, no long distance hike is exciting all of the time, and we have also had many days of fairly routine plodding. Sometimes the paths were good, … Read More