Weather! We had rain, lots of rain. We got back into the mountains and started to gain elevation going into Steamboat Springs and the mountains definitely pull in the clouds. I am from Southern California and have never really experienced anything but mild weather so I was impressed. This section was a big change going from hot, dry, flat, with no water to mountains, flooding, and blow downs. I stayed warm in my sleeping bag and mostly dry during the day so that was a huge plus. The trails flooded and stream crossings turned into almost guaranteed wet feet which I would have loved to have about a week earlier. We got a hitch into town with spins and baboon with a couple guys from out of town. The two gentlemen who offered the ride also offered to take us all into town. The car was a Honda accord or a similar sized sedan... We fit all four packs in the trunk then jammed the four of us and two dogs into the back seat. We got into town and settled into the motel before running town errands including picking up a care package from Mr. Ortiz. Steamboat Springs was a good sized town with everything we needed: grocery store, outfitter, donut shop, and brewery. We also ran into some other sobos in town and learned about 8 hikers left town earlier that day and there was a hiker behind us. The hike is definitely not a race but its comforting to know your not too far from the pack. We left Steamboat Springs with a hitch from a man named Eric. We listened to some soothing reggae perfect for pre trail prepping. Eric was another person who reminds you that there are still positive, nice people out there. Once we got back to the trail we walked dirt road moving to the shoulder every so often for a hunter. It's very eerie hiking in areas with people hunting nearby and hearing single gun shots. The next morning we ran into a few more sobos (south bounders) on trail that we hasn't seen in over a month. We hit a 12,000 ft. pass and a couple 11,000 ft. passes that are kicking my butt back into shape. Welcome to Colorado! Because of the weather the Rocky Mountain national forest was closed and we got a ride down the road to Grand Lake from the forest service. We resupplied and picked up some packages from the post office including some MVP weight gainer from Tim (thank you!). We decided to take a zero to rest my sore muscles before hitting some more peaks and passes and getting back on trail. We are a little over half way to Mexico!
I hoped over the border singing Bon Jovi's half way there song
More road walks... But at least there are trees
Hey it's Toad from Mario Brothers...
12,000 footer. we were in a cloud on the ridge line
Clouds broke up for a quick view from the top
Even the dogs enjoy the views
Grizby the maligoat
Never Summer was very cold who would have thought?!
Rocky Mountain National Park
Getting back on trail dark and early tomorrow morning. And since I'm sure everyone has been on the edge of their seats I did loose my big toe nail while in Rawlins. Although the count is now -4 toe nails I am able to say my feet are now happy and healthy without blisters : ).
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