Brian’s Microblog

August 06, 2026

We got up at 6:00 and had breakfast with my dad and stepmom. We got on the road a bit before 8:00.

There wasn’t too much traffic and we made good time to Poncha Springs. We headed up the road towards Monarch Pass and stopped to pick up our resupply box from the Butterfly House. It was there. The address label clearly shows the proper ZIP code and address, but one end of the box had been crushed on its long journey to Kansas, Alaska, and back to Colorado.

We continued on to the top of Monarch Pass and stopped at the gift shop to use the bathroom. We also split a big scoop of ice cream.

We got on the trail towards Boss Lake trailhead around 11:15. We skipped the segment of trail between Boss Lake and Monarch Pass - we had walked out the jeep road to the Butterfly House hostel. When our resupply box was in Kansas instead of being at the Butterfly House, and the hostel had no food cart this year, we had hitched into Salida so we could resupply. Then it was much easier to hitch to Monarch Pass than to get up to Boss Lake on the jeep road.

The trail climbs away from the highway and then follows the ridge through the Monarch Ski Resort.

We weren’t sure if the tree thinning is for fire mitigation or trying to collect more snow.

Once past the ski area the trail continues climbing along the ridge towards Bald Mountain. We stopped for lunch behind a few trees because there was a strong wind from the southwest. The trail skirts behind the top of Bald Mountain to a saddle above a lake.

The wind got really strong near the saddle so we were glad to descend into the valley. After going by the small lakes the trail follows a tiny creek steeply down past Hunt Lake towards Boss Lake Reservoir.

We got down to a jeep road and followed that a more than a mile out to the highway. We put our thumbs out and it didn’t take too long before we got a ride back up to the top of the pass from some young guys visiting from Texas.

We got back to the car and drove down to The Lodge at Poncha Springs. We checked in to our room and washed up a little, but we were hungry so we quickly headed over to Elevation Beer Company. We got some dinner from the “Patty Wagon” food cart there and tried some more of their beers. The beer really is good there, and we bought several varieties to take with us to New Mexico where we will be staying for a week.

August 01, 2026

Colorado Day - Colorado turned 150 years old!

Julie woke up early but read her book in bed while I slept until almost 6:30. A couple people hiked past the tent before we got up. It was windy off and on overnight but our tent was well sheltered. Someone woke up very early with the moon shining through the trees and casting shadows from the aspen on the tent.

We made hot drinks and ate some protein bars, then got on trail a bit before 8:30. The trail stays high above Junction Creek for miles, winding in and out of tributary canyons. At one ridge we could look back and barely make out where the trail crossed the big talus slope the day before.

Eventually the trail crosses a ridge and follows a different canyon on an old road bed, gradually working its way around some ridges back to the Junction Creek canyon. With it being Saturday there were a lot of mountain bikers on the trail and a few side trails.

We found where we had five miles of trail remaining and took another “1%” photo.

There is a bench above a cliff called Gudy’s Rest in honor of Gudy Gaskill, the woman who instigated the Colorado Trail. We stopped there for a bit and talked to a woman with a couple of cute dogs.

The trail switchbacks down to Junction Creek and crosses it on a bridge. Then it follows the creek on the east side down to a couple of trailheads, one near the large Junction Creek campground, and finally the one where the Colorado Trail ends.

11.5 miles of trail over a bit under six hours. We made it!

We talked with an older couple in the parking lot who were waiting for their son to finish the trail. They said they would give us a ride, but they were going up to the Junction Creek campground so it would be the wrong direction. We walked down the road towards Durango with our thumbs out. There wasn’t much traffic but before we made it a mile a man and his daughter and two dogs picked us up. They were really nice and took us straight to our hotel even though it was out of their way.

We checked in to the Fairfield Inn & Suites a bit before the 3:00 check in time with a very friendly desk person. They have a laundry room so we were able to get most of our clothes clean while we showered.

Afterwards we walked across the Animas River to the downtown area and went to Steamworks Brewing Company. It was busy but we got a tasting flight while we waited for a table. The beers are better than many, the food was tasty, and we came back with a 4-pack of their Lizard Head amber ale.

We still have 11 miles to make up between Boss Lake and Monarch Pass, then we will have to come back next year to do the segments we missed due to the fire near Leadville, but it’s still quite a feeling of accomplishment. At the same time it is difficult to face “normal life“ again after living as full time hikers for over a month. I will try to write some summary thoughts soon.

July 31, 2026

We woke up a bit after 6:00 and the sun rose around 6:15. We made hot drinks and tried Farm to Summit’s oat milk and granola for breakfast. We got on trail a bit before 8:30. A buck deer came near the camp, I think it was trying to eat the plants I had urinated on the night before. I saw similar behavior with a doe a couple days before - I guess some of the salt in the electrolyte mixes I drink must not be fully utilized.

Later that buck joined three others for a morning visit to the top of the nearby hill. I didn’t think the bucks spent time together, but this was like a morning meeting.

The granola was tasty but didn’t keep us full for long - after less than two miles we were looking for snacks. Granted, it was a tough couple of miles: we had to climb up and down a couple of very steep hills on the ridge we were following, Indian Trail Ridge.

Finally we climbed down near Taylor Lake. We stopped at a cute, tiny waterfall to filter some water. A short walk from the tiny creek coming out of the lake brought us to a trailhead parking area. We walked a bit further and stopped for another snack.

The trail climbed up to Kennebec Pass where there was a side trail that continued to an old mine with what looked like a somewhat modern house. I think it is the Muldoon mine.

The trail descended steeply across a huge talus slope. Snowmelt had eroded some parts - it was one of the scariest parts of the whole Colorado Trail. It’s also a south-facing slope with the sun shining, and the day was hotter than we have been used to for the past couple of weeks. We got down to some trees and stopped for lunch.

The trail continued dropping, generally not as steeply, down to Junction Creek. It follows the creek for a couple miles through a steep canyon with cliffs.

We stopped to filter some more water and wash some undergarments. With the heat we were going through our water faster than we grown used to. Eventually the trail crosses the creek on a bridge and then climbs up side of the canyon. Some of the climb was steep, and the footing and the slopes were tougher than the previous day - we started getting tired.

We had leapfrogged a cheerful young man a few times during the day. He told us August 1st is Colorado Day, and Colorado will be 150 years old when we finish the trail.

We found a nice campsite but realized we didn’t have enough water, so we ended up hiking another almost two miles to cross a creek and get more water, then found a little site near an aspen grove in a little saddle around 6:15.

15 miles over ten hours.

July 30, 2026

There were some gusty winds overnight but otherwise fine weather. It felt nice to wake up to a completely dry tent. We got on trail a bit before 8:30.

Several people had passed by while we were setting up, eating dinner, and even some hiking with headlamps after we went to bed. However we passed only two tents in the morning - we (mostly me) are just slow in the morning compared to most through-hikers.

The trail follows down the Straight Creek Valley, crossing to the east side of the creek, then staying level along that side of the valley as the creek continues to fall. It crosses a small tributary stream and that is the last water source for almost 14 miles. Eventually, the trail leaves the valley and follows around the south side of a mountain. From there it follows along the top of a ridge, for several miles on an old road bed. A trail angel had left several gallons of water at a trailhead in this area but they were all empty.

The trail leaves the old road and begins skirting the eastern border of the Hermosa Creek Wilderness Area. The geology is interesting because the Hermosa Creek area seems to have eroded out of a different system of hills and valleys. For miles we walked with a steep drop to the left (west) and gently rolling country to the right. There is a forest road that also runs along the border of the Wilderness and some other trail angels left a couple other water caches where the trail meets the road. We took about half a gallon from one of these, although we ended up finally reaching Deer Creek still having about that amount - definitely better to have a little extra water than to run out - thank you anonymous trail angel! Although Deer Creek did not have a strong flow, it was flowing and we loaded up with a total of 5.5 liters.

We walked almost four more miles and found a really neat campsite tucked into some trees in a saddle, still having the big drop to the west.

The view to the northwest is fascinating to us because we can see distant mountains that we were on the other side of not that many days ago. Closer we can see Hermosa Peak and the ridge behind it - Cascade Creek and our thunderstorm night was behind that ridge. Further we can see the Needle Mountains - our descent down Elk Creek to the train was on the other side of those.

18.5 miles over almost 10 hours.

July 29, 2026

It rained and sometimes poured from 10:15 to 11:15 with a light show and sound effects. Because we had chosen an established campsite there was bare dirt all around the tent. With how hard it rained that dirt quickly became mud puddles that started splashing mud onto and a little bit into the tent. I moved some things around to try to mitigate it. It was very unpleasant but the tent did its job - despite puddles all around, water never came up from the floor and I don’t think the roof leaked, but the splashing made it hard to tell.

When we got up a bit before 6:00 almost everything we had that was not in a watertight bag was wet or damp, and a lot of it was muddy or at least dirty. We rinsed a few things off in the creek. Our neighbors left around 7:00 and we got on trail a little bit before 8:00.

The Cascade Creek valley was very pretty both the evening before and in the morning, but the lighting and angles never made for great photos.

We crossed the creek and climbed up out of that valley and followed a ridge across a few more creeks. Eventually we climbed up to a saddle and entered the valley where Bolam Pass and Hermosa Park are, and our first glimpse of Lizardhead Peak.

We had driven up a jeep road a couple years ago and hiked a few miles of the Colorado Trail below Hermosa Peak. We hiked across the wide valley and up to the base of Hermosa Peak and had lunch in the same spot where we had talked to a Colorado Trail hiker on that trip. The previous day we had hiked up to the base of Lizardhead Peak and the views from there were very memorable.

We continued around Hermosa Peak and then around a couple of red rock peaks. We stopped at the top of the valley formed by Silver Creek and filtered water. There was a fairly nice campsite there and the clouds were looking threatening off and on. Eventually we decided to go ahead and climb over Blackhawk Pass to the Straight Creek valley.

We found a number of the campsites taken. The trail crosses Straight Creek twice and a tributary as it climbs out of the canyon, but that is the last listed water source for over twelve miles, so this canyon is a very popular camp area.

We eventually chose a somewhat sloped site that looked like it might have been used before. We set the tent up and left it empty so the wet interior could dry for well over an hour. It turned out there was a tiny brook nearby so I was able to do some laundry while Julie made dinner. This time we tried Butternut Dahl curry from Peak and it was pretty good.

We filtered more water to get a head start on tomorrow’s load and then set up our sleeping bags.

14.2 miles over nine and a half hours.

July 28, 2026

We left the Avon Hotel at 7:00. We walked to the Whistlestop gas station at the south end of town. We got some sausage and egg bagel sandwiches for breakfast and ate them.

Then we went out to the highway to hitch a ride up to Molas Pass. Unfortunately very few vehicles were going south of town. Lots of people went to the gas station and then went north or back into the town. Eventually a truck with three Hispanic guys stopped and picked us up. It was a little bit different than our previous hitches because there was very little conversation, and what little there was took place mostly in Spanish. We arrived at the Molas Pass scenic overlook a little bit before 8:00.

Note that this hitch has us missing about 6 miles of trail from the train tracks up to Molas Pass. We had been told that there was a way to take the train back to the flag stop and continue the hike without any gaps. However, it turns out that we would have had to buy round-trip tickets from Silverton to Durango and back, then I think ride all the way from Silverton to Durango and then get dropped off on the way back to Silverton. Those round trip tickets are very expensive and it would take all day to ride the train back and forth, so we are missing six more miles of Colorado Trail.

We walked for a couple hours and then stopped and ate the leftover pizza from the night before at a fairly scenic spot.

We walked another hour and stopped around noon to eat the sandwich that we had gotten “to go” from the restaurant. As we ate, the skies darkened further and it started raining. We decided to sit out the rain since we already had a pad set up to sit on. We were also not going because we could hear thunder. It mostly seemed to be just cloud to cloud lightning since we did not see any strikes, but we were nearing a saddle and did not want to be exposed during the thunderstorm. The rain was heavy off and on for about half an hour.

Eventually, the rain stopped and the skies got a little brighter so we decided to get going again. We hiked up for another 20 minutes or so and it started hailing. We found a little place to put our sitting pad and sat out the brief hail storm.

Finally, the hail subsided to a light rain and we made it up to the saddle only to find that the trail followed around the shoulder of a mountain to a different saddle a couple hundred feet higher up and across the small valley. The clouds continued to look threatening, but it was only light rain off and on.

As soon as we crossed this higher saddle we looked out on a sunny valley, and the weather looked much better on that side. We walked a couple hundred feet down from the pass and took all our rain gear off. We continued hiking down and within 10 minutes we had to put our rain gear back on because, despite the sun shining, it began raining again. It rained for a surprisingly long time all while the sun shone on us.

We finished listening to the audiobook Listen for the Lie. It was enjoyable - the writing is good and the personalities of the characters are interesting, but the mystery hinges on a sort of hard to believe event.

Eventually, the rain stopped and we stopped for a snack and to let some of the rain gear dry out.

The valley was pretty and we descended quite a way before following around a mountainside to Cascade Creek. There are a number of good campsites near a bridge that crosses the creek, but the best sites were already taken when we arrived at 4:00. We found a less-sheltered site and set up the tent just before another rain shower.

After pumping up our air mattresses we laid down and read for a while. The rain ended and we kept relaxing until we realized we should probably make dinner. We got out of the tent and found “Lifer” talking to our new neighbors. He was camped just a little further upstream. We talked to him while Julie made some Italian split pea soup she’d found at the Silverton grocery. It tasted good but maybe a bit too salty. We split a giant rice crispy treat for dessert.

We’d used the last of our water to make the soup so we had to go filter more from the creek. We talked to Lifer a bit more since he was close to where we got the water. Then we went to bed - neither of us had slept very well the second night in Silverton.

14 miles in eight hours.

July 27, 2026

We slept in until 6:30. We managed to get some hot drinks from the bar/kitchen downstairs, but I had to use my camping mug and a tea bag because Julie found the last mug in the kitchen. For the price we are paying at the Avon Hotel the amenities seem lacking.

It was really foggy in the morning. We walked several blocks up to the Kendall Mountain Cafe and had really nice breakfasts. Julie got the huevos rancheros and ended up with lots left over and I got a “Monte Cristo” breakfast sandwich of French toast with eggs, ham, and cheese. Their French toast is really good!

We stopped in a shop on the way back to the room and each bought a fourth pair of Darn Tough merino wool socks. We really like these socks but they take so long to dry when we wash them on trail, and it looks like we are going to see more rain, that we decided it is worth carrying a few ounces more to have dry socks.

Back at the hotel I worked on the blog a bit and Julie organized our food and finalized our shopping list. She went out and found that the bike shop had some trekking poles so I joined her and picked out some - another $100. We also found some good protein bars and drink mixes at the hardware store.

Back at the room I tried to drown my inflatable mattress in the bathtub because it has a slow leak. Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything definitive, although it might be leaking from the valve.

We ate our leftover pizza and Julie’s breakfast for lunch. “Lifer” and his brother, who hiked up to meet him on the trail, showed up and talked with us for quite a while. Interesting guys but boy do they talk a lot!

I worked on the blog and Julie researched water and camping options on the last few segments. There was a huge thunderstorm around 4:30 that went on until almost 5:30. Torrential rain with occasional blasts of hail and some major wind gusts. We were very grateful not to be out on the trail, but we thought about some of the hikers like Bright Side who had headed back up to the trail after riding the train into town and doing a quick resupply - hopefully it was not as bad up on the mountains above town.

We walked back to the Golden Block Brewery again. We got a very tasty “Chinese Laundry” pizza for dinner and a sandwich “to go” for lunch on the trail tomorrow.

July 26, 2026

We got up a little after 6:00. It was cloudy, the first cloudy morning in a long time. Our socks and underwear were still damp even though we had left one of the tent vestibule doors open overnight.

We made hot drinks and instant oatmeal for breakfast.

We delayed putting on the damp socks and wet shoes for as long as possible - it was unpleasant.

We got on trail a little bit before 9:00. We dropped a bunch of elevation in the first mile but then the trail alternated between being down by the creek and going up the side of the valley to avoid cliffs. At one point the trail was just large rocks in the creek.

Erosion is definitely still happening in this canyon, and we passed a couple places where avalanches had piled a bunch of trees in the bottom of the canyon. The slopes of the valley sides are impressively steep.

We arrived at the Durango & Silverton train stop on the Animas River at about 10:00 after a bit over two miles of hiking. The train is scheduled to arrive at 11:04, so we had plenty of time to eat some snacks and chat with other hikers and climbers - climbing Vestal and Arrow peaks is popular, and the train offers a shorter way to get close to the base of the mountains.

The train arrived on time and we paid $35 each for the half hour ride into Silverton. The tracks follow the Animas River through some narrow and scenic parts of the canyon. The track is pretty bumpy and walking around while the train is moving is challenging. We got some sodas and were happy to sit down with them.

In Silverton the train just parks on 12th Street - there is no train station or anything formal. We retrieved our packs from the baggage car and walked over to the Avon Hotel where we had reserved a room.

It was a bit before noon and check in wasn’t until 3:00. No-one was working at the hotel except a cleaner. We texted the owner as instructed to ask about leaving our packs but never received a reply. We, along with several other hikers who had arrived on the train, just left our packs in the second floor common area.

We walked to El Bandito Mexican restaurant and had lunch. The waitress had recently arrived from Peru and we practiced our Spanish with her. The food and drinks were good.

Then we went to the grocery store to see what kinds of meals we could get. We found some of what we were looking for, but couldn’t find many things we wanted. Very limited choices. We picked up a few things we knew we needed and it was $100 - resupply days are surprisingly expensive.

We walked around town looking for places to buy new trekking poles and other supplies. Unfortunately the stores that might have trekking poles were closed because it was Sunday. We ended up going to the Golden Block Brewery. We got a tasting flight plus a glass of their barrel aged beer and a cheese pizza. The beers were very good and they manage to impart clear, interesting flavors to their beers - recommended. We brought half of the pizza back with us.

Finally it was 3:00 and we returned to the hotel and checked in by phone call. We showered and then put our dirty clothes (everything except what we were wearing) in a bag and I went to the laundromat. Julie returned to the grocery store and got a bottle of wine and some hummus and carrots.

We ate the hummus and carrots in the room for a while before deciding that we really were still hungry. We walked to The Eureka Station and split a salad and some very tasty sweet potato fritters, then split a peach cobbler for dessert.

July 25, 2026

It was chilly but not as cold as the night before. We still woke up with the inside and outside of the tent wet. However, we stayed in bed until almost 6:30 and the sun began hitting the tent - lucky positioning! We got up and pulled our sleeping bags out and put them on a large rock that was dry (and freshly cleaned from the rain last night!) so that they could dry in the sun since they were a bit damp as well.

With the shortage of water, we decided to hike a little way and get more water before making hot drinks. There was a creek in a bit less than a mile and then we stopped after another 3/4 mile or so when we found a flat rock with a bit of a view.

Shortly afterwards the trail crested a ridge and the views started being epic.

For about three miles the trail goes up and down small ridges that are all on this high, large ridge. There are no trees and bushes only near ponds or tiny streams, but the ground is green with grass and little flowers. There are mountains all around - it’s a very different landscape.

We stopped at the top of a hill to make a video. If this isn’t the most scenic spot on the trail it’s definitely a strong candidate.

YouTube Video

Somewhere in here, the tip of one of my trekking poles broke off

After another half mile the Continental Divide Trail diverges from the Colorado Trail - the Colorado Trail turns west and stays inside the Winemuche Wilderness while the Continental Divide Trail continues south. After climbing up a ridge the trail reaches a saddle at the top of the Elk Creek canyon.

The trail switchbacks down into the valley, initially with a view of a couple of hanging lakes. Then down into a steep-sided canyon with some old mines.

Finally it reaches a tiny creek and follows it down. We dropped 2800 feet in six miles before finding a campsite.

The scenery, especially near the upper end of the canyon, is spectacular. Huge rocky peaks on the south side of the canyon and steep slopes (and sometimes cliffs) on the north.

There was another pika that wanted to check out Julie’s shoe.

And a marmot watching the trail.

We stopped for lunch and it started sprinkling. We managed to finish lunch just under an umbrella, but afterwards it started raining. It rained for over an hour, then stopped for a while before starting again.

We passed a massive collection of downed trees, like a log jam. Apparently there was an avalanche here a couple years ago.

We passed the 400 mile mark in this valley.

YouTube Video

We had a hard time choosing a campsite. We almost stopped at a pretty nice one but it seemed a bit early so we continued on. It started raining lightly shortly afterwards which caused some regrets.

Eventually we found a fairly nice site, although a huge fallen tree about five feet off the ground made it a little awkward.

We were both out of clean socks and underwear so we rinsed some in a creek a quarter mile before the campsite, but we weren’t set up to actually wash them. It’s not clear anything will dry before the morning, anyway.

Julie found a tick on her pants while filtering water, but that’s only the second tick that we’ve seen on the whole trail.

We made an “add boiling water” macaroni and cheese dinner. We added some turkey sausages and Cholula salsa to try to jazz up the fairly plain Mountain House meal. We had some brownies we bought in Lake City from a girl raising money for some charity for dessert along with hot cocoa.

There were a lot of flies at this camp, but they weren’t always active.

While we were finishing the cocoa a rabbit came into camp. It was very interested in something near the tent - maybe a previous camper spilled something? We were excited to take photos but then it suddenly came over to my very wet shoes and started nibbling on them. I shooed it away and looked for a safe place to put my shoes and then a moment later the rabbit started nosing my pack. We hung the packs on broken branches of a big tree with a dry spot underneath, and my shoes in a different tree.

The sun briefly shone on the canyon wall before setting.

10 miles over about eight and a half hours. It sounds slow but we took so many photos and stopped to look in an old mine, talk to other hikers, and examine campsites - it felt like a very full day.

July 24, 2026

Julie got up a little before 6:00, just in time to say “good morning” to the couple of guys we’d camped near the night before as they headed back up to the trail. I got up a little later. Once again the tent was wet inside and out. I tried again to wipe it down with a microfiber towel but water kept condensing on it - next time a different strategy.

We made hot drinks and had pumpkin bread and poppyseed cake from the Lake City Bakery for breakfast. We got on trail at 8:40.

We hiked up a small but pretty valley with a small waterfall. It was a steep climb up to a saddle. Instead of going down on the other side we followed a ridge around to another saddle and came out on the side of a big, beautiful valley underneath some cliffs. We stopped at this amazing view and ate some Fillo’s Walking Tamales. We’d never tried them before but we will buy them again - a nice change from protein bars.

The trail follows up the big valley, which is a tributary to Cuba Gulch, for a half mile before diving down to cross the valley and climb the other side.

Crossing that saddle brought us to the main Cuba Gulch valley. We could look down the valley to a steep mountainside with a number of old mines on it.

We stopped for lunch on the climb up out of the top of Cuba Gulch. A marmot came out to check on us as we finished lunch.

We walked along a sort of plateau or flat ridge for a bit, then dropped into another valley only to climb steeply up another ridge.

We dropped into another valley with a couple mountains that looked like they had serrated tops along the west side and found a beautiful little creek to filter water from. It turns out this is the headwaters of the Rio Grande River.

We followed down the side of the Rio Grande valley and continued along the foot of one of the serrated topped mountains and came out on Stony Pass Road. The trail follows the road almost up to Stony Pass, but there is a trailhead to the Weminuche Wilderness just before the top.

The trail skirts the mountain south of the pass and climbs a ridge over to Deep Creek valley. Unfortunately a big thunderstorm arrived just before we got up the ridge. We found a tiny canyon and hunkered down with our raincoats and umbrellas for over 45 minutes while lightning struck the ridge above Cuba Gulch several times.

Finally the storm pushed on to the north enough that we could go the last tenth of a mile over to the valley to the south. We were relieved to get down and off the ridge, and eventually it stopped raining.

Far Out said there were campsites and water near a trail junction. We saw some other people camped there but they were coming from the south and had collected water from the other side of a ridge that we didn’t want to go over since the thunderstorm was still close. We found a sloped spot for the tent and set it up not a moment too soon because it started raining again.

We huddled in the tent and made a cold-soaked dinner with couscous and dehydrated vegetables. We watched an episode of Rizzoli and Isles while the couscous soaked, and then while we ate it. It rained for over an hour - luckily the show had subtitles because the rain was noisy. Finally it stopped a bit before 8:00 so we could brush our teeth and pee before going to bed.

13 miles over about nine hours. It was an interesting day because we were literally high on the scenery for most of the day, and then chilled and worried for the last few hours.