Epilog, July 23, 2022

I am now at home, resting 24 hours a day, trying to get my body back in working order. Below is an account of the convoluted trip home and the halting process of medical attention to get me on the road to recovery.

As told in the July 16th entry above, I purchased a ticket with Greyhound to ride from Rawlins to Fort Collins. Price, $62.99. My ride from Fort Collins to the Denver Airport was $40.00. My flight from Denver to Seattle was $296.96.  The Greyhound was to pick me up at the TA Travel Center 2.8 miles from my hotel in Rawlins, on the south side of I-80. All was arranged and I was excited to be going home to get more specific medical care as the 5 days sitting in the hotel room had not brought about the recovery I was hoping for. 

Sunday, July 17th At one point Monk and I were in the lobby and ran into Onion. She was sorting the hiker box, gleaning from it any food she could use. She is very thrifty and resupplies as much as possible from the hiker boxes. I spent the rest of the day as I had the days before, laying on the bed watching TV and taking Ibuprofen and Tylenol at 2 hour intervals for the pain. At some point I walked to City Market and bought apples and oranges for the trip home.

Monday, July 18th Monk and I went to breakfast at McDonalds. He was heading back out on the trail today, north across the Great Basin Divide toward South Pass City.  After we walked back from McDonald’s, he brought his pack to my room. We chatted as he prepared to go. About 10:00am Monk headed out the door, down the hall and was gone. I finished packing my pack and inspecting my room for items I might have left, then headed to the lobby with my pack. There I found Just Mary and Onion sitting and chatting. I let them know I was heading home to recover after my pole to the sternum incident and aching shoulders. They were surprised I was quitting, but understood after I explained the pain I was in.

About 11:00am I headed out the lobby door, walking to the bus pickup point at the TA Travel Center. I had hoped to score an ice cream cone on the way, but the little shop was closed. It took me about an hour to walk the distance. Once there I got a Subway sandwich and sat inside waiting for the 1:25pm pickup, catching up on the news and emails. About 1:00pm I noticed an email from Greyhound. It said there had been a change to my itinerary and I should call them. My stomach sank. My entire trip home depended on each leg of my journey staying intact. I called. My bus had been cancelled for the day. I moved to a bench outside the building so I could hear more clearly and not disturb the other people inside with my upcoming phone calls. I called Sally to let her know I was not going to make it today. She didn’t pick up so I texted her the news. Then, I immediately booked the Greyhound bus for the next day, then called Groome Transportation and changed my Fort Collins to Denver ride to Tuesday. While on the phone I asked if they could pick me up in Rawlins. They said the closest they got was the Hilton Gardens in Laramie. I checked the map and saw it was about 90 miles east on I-80. I then called Expedia and cancelled my flight and rebooked it for Tuesday night.  Then I got to thinking (probably should have done the thinking before I took all the previous actions). Why had Greyhound cancelled? A broken down bus? Unlikely. A COVID sick driver that couldn’t make the drive? More likely. And if s/he is sick Monday, s/he will probably be sick on Tuesday and the bus will be cancelled again. hmmmmm.  Maybe I should try to hitchhike to Fort Collins. Then I would not be dependent on Greyhound.

Sally called about this time. We discussed possibilities. She suggested I ask people at the travel center and at the pumps for a ride east.  I set my sights on Laramie as it was on I-80 and would be a one ride hitch. I shouldered my pack and started wandering around the parking lot looking for people about to leave. Earlier, there had been a lot of people coming in and out of the store. Now, there was no one.  I wandered over to the pumps to ask if people were traveling east and if I could have a ride. The first guy I asked was in a company truck (his door was open and I didn’t see the logo) and had to refuse. A Subaru had pulled in. The driver’s door opened and a pair of Teva Sandals poked out. A good sign. They were attached to a woman in her mid 60’s. I approached, explained my predicament and asked if they were going east and if I could have a ride. By this time her husband had gotten out on the passengers side and was taking in my story. She described me as a “trekker” and that they loved trekkers and yes, they were headed to Missouri and could give me a ride. Yahoo! 

Jim and Shelley were wonderful. Jim and I talked the whole way to Laramie. They were headed to a family reunion in Missouri. They drove me right to the Quality Inn parking lot. We exchanged contact information and they invited me to stop by their house in Logan, Utah if I was ever in the area.

Once inside my room, I called Groome and got my ride changed from a pick-up in Fort Collins to a pick-up in Laramie. They would pick me up right at the hotel. Sweet!! And, I was back in a hotel room again. Another night of pain, TV, hot showers and ice packs.

My pickup was scheduled for 8:55am. I went to the hotel’s continental breakfast, ate and brought two bagels back to my room to use as sandwiches for lunch. I had cheese and summer sausage for the trail and used them to prepare two sandwiches. I was out in the parking lot about 8:40am. The van arrived at 8:45am. Early.  A good sign.

Next, we were off to Cheyenne, WY to pick up 3 army guys. They had weapons cases and duffles and overwhelmed the driver. He hadn’t known about the number and size of their cases and it filled the van. He had to make phone calls to arrange other transportation for three people he could not longer fit in his van.

We rendezvoused at the Groome meeting point and switched to a larger bus, then off to the Denver Airport. TSA was busy, the line about half an hour. They wanted to go through my whole pack as I had forgotten about a jar of olive oil in my food bag at the bottom. After repacking I made my way to my Gate, B23 just in time to see the start of boarding.

The flight home was a little bumpy climbing out of Denver’s heat. Once at altitude it was smooth all the way to Seattle. I slept most of the flight. Sally was there and we headed for Urgent Care at Kaiser in Olympia. As luck would have it, I was seen by Dr. Fox, the same physician that saw me last time I was at Urgent Care. They took about 10 X-rays of my chest, found a cracked rib, did an EKG and found a slight irregularity which Dr. Fox attributed to bruising of my heart from falling on my trekking pole but the X-rays did not show anything in my shoulder. He scheduled the Imaging Lab for the next day to call me for an appointment for an MRI. For pain relief he put me on Tramadol. It worked, but it prevented me from urinating so I had to quickly stop using it.

I returned to Urgent Care Friday morning. This time they did a complete blood workup and found everything good. They started me on a 10 day steroid blast and gave me Tylenol with Codeine for the pain. Excellent! The steroids will calm all this crazy roving pain I am having.

So, here I am at home. My CDT bid ended. I would have loved to have finished the trail, but with the way I have felt the past two weeks I had lost all desire to be there. Every night in the tent was 12 hours of agony. Walking during the day my shoulders hurt and my wonky left foot took 3 miles to warm up in the mornings. Three miles of limping until I could get a steady, pain free gait.  Maybe if the ER doc at Rawlins had prescribed steroids I would still be on the trail. Who knows. Being home, I get to see and play with Robby, Junie, Izzy and Sam. I get to spend time with Sally at Cindy’s lake house. I get to go to the San Juan Islands and play with the grand kids, Jeff, Sally, Larry and Valerie. I can harvest our orchard, berry patches and garden. There are lots of things here I will enjoy.

Looking back, I got 3 months of hiking during the prime time of the season. April and a little bit of May in New Mexico, May, June and July in the Colorado Rockies. I hit the perfect year to hike northbound as the snow melted quickly out of the Rockies. As always, if you want to know an area, walk it. The intimate connection to the land and people is unmatched. The weather, the topography, the scenery. Amazing. I met wonderful, fun people on the trail. I lost 10-12 pounds in the three months and got back in good cardio shape.

A shout out to Sally. She maintained our place beautifully while I was gone. This is hard work and she did a great job. She put up with my “mid life crisis” of hiking the CDT and let me get it out of my system. She let me fulfill a teenage dream.

Then there is Andy, my resupply guru. Every package was on time to the right place. He bought and sent stuff as needed, like a Zpad and bear spray, replacement shoes and trekking poles. Always happy to help. I couldn’t have done it without him.

Rawlings is a trail town. They painted the CDT logo on their sidewalks to mark its route through town. 

The Main Street through Rawlins

Kid art in a tunnel under the railroad tracks in town. As you can see, Rawlins is over half way to Canada. 

Back in Washington! Green and beautiful. 

Weight loss during the hike. I’m pleased that it was just the right amount, not too much loss. 

Day 83 - Saturday, July 16, 2022 - 0.0 miles - 5052 steps - Zero Day in Rawlins - Vert Up - 0’ - Vert Dwn - 0’ - Total Miles to Date - 1267.0

I’m pulling the plug. The pain is not going away or even diminishing. Last night was just as bad as the night I got here. Contemplating nights in my tent with this continued pain level is nor acceptable. Where is the fun in that?  I can’t write because the pain goes all the way to my forearms. I can’t find a comfortable sleep position. I can’t keep hiking masking the pain with 12 ibuprofen a day. What am I doing to my body in the long term? It makes no sense to continue. Yes, I’d love to hike the Winds and Yellowstone, but not when I witness both through a haze of pain. So, I’m done. I texted Sally to say I’m coming home. I don’t want to interrupt her summer plans so I’ll have to take care in my actions once home. 

We talked on the phone and cemented the deal. I bought a Greyhound ticket to Ft. Collins, arranged with Groome a shuttle to Denver’s airport and purchased tickets on United for the flight home. All on Monday. One more night in Rawlins after tonight. 

Monk and I took a taxi to the Post Office where he picked up a package and mailed food ahead. I mailed my knife, stove, tent stakes and scissors home; the items that would have prevented me from carrying my pack on the plane. Lunch at Bucks, then we walked back to the Econolodge. Another night of hot showers and ice packs and ibuprofen. 

Day 82 - Friday, July 15, 2022 - 0.0 miles - 3533 steps - Zero Day in Rawlins - Vert Up - 0’ - Vert Dwn - 0’ - Total Miles to Date - 1267.0

Dallas has hired a ride to the other side of the great divide basin. She leaves at nine this morning. We walk over to McDonalds for breakfast at 7:05am. Egg McMuffins and tea. Why not a more conventional breakfast? Not a restaurant within easy walking distance that serves one or I’d be there. We are back to the Econolodge by 8:30am so she can do last minute prep before she leaves. This will put her at least 6 days ahead of me, so I doubt we will hike together again. 

Monk got  into town and texted me at 1:45. We walked to mcDonalds so he could eat. I had already eaten lunch in my room so I just had a milk shake while we talked. 

Back to my room for the day, then out to dinner with Monk at the hotel. Salad bar and hamburger. Another tough, sleep interrupted night due to shoulder pain. Is it getting better?  Not really and if it is, it is in very small, unnoticeable increments. Thank goodness for a hot shower and an ice machine 20’ down the hall. 

Day 81 - Thursday, July 14, 2022 - 0.0 miles - 6,080 steps - Zero Day in Rawlins - Vert Up - 0’ - Vert Dwn - 0’ - Total Miles to Date - 1267.0

Another rough night. Why do my shoulders wait until evenings and night to bring the hurt. At least I had hot water and ice available to deaden the pain. 

I walked over to McDonalds with Dallas for breakfast. After we finished I caught the taxi from McDonalds to the hospital at the other end of town, 3.4 miles away. Let’s see if we can find a cause to this pain. 

The ER has no one being seen. I was welcomed in. The doc comes from Denver twice a week. He did a full blood analysis, probed both shoulders and checked for range of motion. I was given a chest x-ray. When all was said and done he really had no clue. Just a fatigued body screaming out for rest. I took the taxi back to the Econolodge. The rest of the day was spent laying around my room. Dinner again with Dallas at 5:00 with pork chops, mashed potatoes and the salad bar at the hotel again, then a walk to the City Market grocery store for food for the next few day. 

My goal. As little movement as possible. Good food. Rest and healing. I want to get back on the trail.  

Getting checked out at the ER. 

Day 80 - Wednesday, July 13, 2022 - 16.1 miles - 41,977 steps - Miller Creek on Hwy alternate to Rawlins, WY - Vert Up - 605’ - Vert Dwn - 925’ - Total Miles to Date - 1267.0

The magnetic draw of a town always amazes me. I have to admit, the vision of a hotel room bed and laying horizontal in air conditioned temperatures with ice and a hot shower available have been my inspiration these past three days. Being able to alternately ice and heat my aching body parts sounds like a little slice of heaven, and now it is only about 17 miles away. 

I was up a little early today, mostly because I couldn’t sleep due to the pain. I ate two helpings of granola, then packed up and was on the road (literally) at 4:53am. Dallas didn’t have the motivational pain to roust her from sleep and was a few minutes behind me. 

It was nice to walk in the predawn light and cool air. There was a surprising amount of traffic this morning. About 20 pickups passed going away from town, all within 20 minutes. Must be some place of work they were all heading to. 

It took Dallas about three miles to catch up with me. Man, does she walk fast on pavement. The road was straight and flat and it wasn’t long before she was just a speck on the horizon. I found that when I stop for a break, about every 5 or 6 miles, it helps to get my feet elevated and let the blood drain out, especially when walking on pavement. I use the marker posts along the road to prop my feet against while I take a break. 

Dallas has made arrangements to meet Magic Mike at Buck’s Sports Bar when they opened at 11:00am.  That meant 16.5 miles in under 6 hours or an average speed of 2.75 mph. Dallas got there in 4.5 hours arriving at 10:00am. I got there with about 15 minutes to spare. 

Walking into downtown at 10:45am on a Wednesday I noticed about 6 or 7 people on the street. They were all carrying backpacks. There are a lot of through hikers in town. 

Bucks was good. I think I drank 5 large sodas to accompany my grilled chicken salad. After lunch Dallas and I hoofed it to the Post Office and thenthe 1.3 miles down to the Econolodge. In the lobby we found a crowd of hikers waiting for a room, Old Bag, Stix, Gib, and others I can’t remember. Off in the side room I found Kingo. I had not seen him since May 9th. He was now hiking with Grit. We got a chance to talk for a few minutes, then he and Grit headed out for the trail. 

It took over an hour for a room to become available. Once in the room I took a shower, sorted my pack contents  and rested. I met Dallas for dinner in the hotel restaurant. No one was there and the menu only had three choices, but I don’t have to walk anywhere to eat, it had a salad bar and the plate full of spaghetti was wonderful. 

Now for three or four days of rest, alternating icing and heating and getting this body back in shape to complete the second half of this trek. I’m looking forward to seeing the Wind River Range and walking into Yellowstone in the next couple weeks. Come on body, heal. 

That’s me walking the highway in the pre-dawn light. 

Letting the blood drain from my feet during a break from walking the highway. I took two breaks on the 16 miles into town. 

Day 79 - Tuesday, July 12, 2022 - 24.3 miles - 55,560 steps - MP 1539.6 (Aspen Grove just off trail) to Miller Creek on Hwy alternate - Vert Up - 1498’ - Vert Dwn - 1987’ - Total Miles to Date - 1250.9

The more I hike today, the shorter my distance tomorrow going into Rawlins. Oh, if it was only that simple. There is the issue of water. There are only three spots to get water today, at 3 miles, at 5 miles and at 24.3 miles. The first 2 1/2 miles are on dirt roads, the remaining ~22 miles are on Sage Creek Highway, a two lane asphalt road. We could follow the CDT on the redline, but it is also road, albeit dirt and 20 miles longer. I’ll take the shorter pavement route over the longer dirt road route. 

It felt cool this morning for the first couple miles. Of course, I was up and hiking about 5:30 am, a little earlier than usual. I passed an old cabin and then came upon Flow and Gib. They had found a flatbed trailer parked just off the road and slept on it along with Old Bag, and Sticks who were already up and gone. 

Upon reaching the highway I turned right. In about 1/2 a mile we hit our first water of the day and filled up. Blue Rabbit was just a couple hundred yards in front of me heading up the highway. No need to get water at the next stop as the morning was cool and I wasn’t go through any. Now it was just walking up the highway. After a few hours I was struck with what an immaculate highway this was. Asphalt not chip seal. Not a pot hole or flaw in the road surface. Edges well defined. And NO VEHICLES. Seriously.  I walked along this road for 7 hours and saw at most 15 cars. A super highway to nowhere. It was great for walking as it was super safe. A good wind blew all day long providing cooling in the sun. When I had walked about 20 total miles for the day a pickup coming at me pulled to the shoulder of the road and stopped. A man climbed out and asked if I wanted some water. He had a cooler in the back with water on ice. Of course I said yes and I poured out the water in my bottle because it was well over 100°, roasting in the sun all day and filled it with ice cold store bought bottled water. Then he offered me a soda. I downed an ice cold Pepsi. And then he drove off. 

I got a text from Dallas. Saying she was at the Miller Creek water source and was waiting for me. I checked my map (no FarOut on this part as we were off trail and not on an established alternate) and saw I was about a mile away. When I got to the creek I found Dallas tucked under some low bushes trying to avoid the sun. We decided to camp here for the night. There was a campground two miles up the road, but it was off the highway about half a mile and we didn’t want to add any extra distance to our walk. There was a luscious grassy area just a few steps away to set up tents. I soaked my feet for 40 minutes while Dallas set up, then I joined her. 

The sun was still high in the sky and there was no shade. We lay outside our tents in their shadows letting the breeze cool us. I used my umbrella to deepen the shade. It was awesome to spend an afternoon lying on my back, my pack my pillow and just relax. 

When I finally crawled into my tent and set up my bed the discomfort of shoulders, neck and arms settled in and kept me from getting a good night’s sleep. I was awake 3/4 of the night trying to find a position where the pain was minimal. I don’t know what is causing this pain. It’s been a week since my COVID booster. Is it just fatigue? Or some kind of neuropathy?  I don’t know, but it turns every night into a nightmare. 

I probably slept 4 hours during the night, in 2 hour segments. It would have been great to blog during my awake time but the pain took all my attention and my arms hurt to much to handle the phone and type. I am planning to visit the ER in Rawlins and find a solution to this. 

Within the first mile this morning I passed this old cabin. 

Ah . . . Wyoming. 

Gib turns after shooting into some landscape shots of Wyoming sagebrush. You can see our lack of caution on the road. There just aren’t any vehicles. 

🎶“The Long and Winding Road”🎶


If you look close you can see real horse riding cowboys herding cattle in the bottom of the draw. 

Hiding from the sun under tent and umbrella, resting in the afternoon. The tent was to warm to enter. 

Sunset and our two tents are finally out of the heat of the sun and habitable. It will be about 11:00pm before it cools down enough to throw my quilt over me. 

Day 78 - Monday, July 11, 2022 - 19.5 miles - 51,582 steps - MP 1519.5 (Battle Pass) to MP 1539.6 (Aspen Grove just off trail) - Vert Up - 2477’ - Vert Dwn - 4170’ - Total Miles to Date - 1226.6

Being in a cabin last night I had the opportunity to sit in a chair and roll my foot on a ball between icing it. That might account for its quicker than usual warm up this morning on the trail. It felt good to almost be normal from the get go. 

We were up early, as usual and hung around the cabin until 7:00 when the store opened. I grabbed an ice cream bar and a bottle of ibuprofen as I was running through my supply. 

It was a mile walk to the post office. A beautiful clear morning with blue skies. Dallas has a set pace she walks which is about 1/2 a mile an hour faster than mine so she is always way ahead. We arrived at the Post Office at about 7:30 and plopped down on the entry sidewalk to wait until 8:30 for opening. At about 7:40 the Post Mistress came out to check something. I said good morning and let her know there was a lot of people coming by this morning to get packages. She said she had a lot inside. I said we could get two packages off her hands early and she said great!  Really?  45 minutes before opening?  Guess so!  

We collected our resupply boxes and quickly sorted our food, eliminating a days worth. The trail to Rawlins is 82 miles, a four day trek. It is all road save about 5 miles of single track. All but 2 miles of road is dirt. The redline follows Sage Creek Road, a two lane paved highway for 2 miles before turning off on a dirt road. If one stays on the highway, the  route to Rawlins is only about 61 miles. A 20 mile savings. As one person posted on FarOut:

 

We picked the paved poison. 20 less miles means one day less food, hence the sorting and eliminating at the Post Office. 

Once we had our food in our packs we walked along the street in town that is highway 70 going to Battle Pass, thumbing the few cars that came by. About a block from the Post Office someone in town built a bench for CDT hikers to sit on while trying to secure a ride. We stood in front of the bench on the shoulder waiting for a car. A truck stopped. The driver apologized that he couldn’t take us to the pass as he was turning off before the pass. Really? Stopping to apologize because he was going somewhere else? The next truck stopped and had us throw our packs in the back. Dallas took the front seat, I jumped in the back seat. A retired guy was driving. “Patriot” radio was on. He was as misinformed as would be expected from a guy that listens to “Patriot” radio. Vocalized the question why investigate Jan 6 but not the “riots” in Seattle. Luckily he got off politics and started explaining the history of the area. Very interesting. He let us out at the trailhead at 8:45, full 3 hours earlier than I had expected to get here. 

The trail was an old road, for the first 10 miles. They mined copper here for years. Had a gravity powered tram that carried the ore from up here on the mountain all the way to Encampment, about 17 miles long. The road ran along the ridge line for the most part and trended slightly downhill. At 9.7 the trail began, leaving the road to the right. I missed it and hiked 0.4 miles before I checked FarOut and saw I was off trail. I knew Dallas and a few other hikers were eating lunch at the first water of the day down that trail and I wanted to be there. Missing the junction and overshooting by 0.4 miles means a 20 minute delay. I hustled back up to the junction then down the trail toward the water. I was moving as fast as I could. I tripped. At that speed I couldn’t catch myself and literally face planted in the dirt on the side of the trail. Bent my glasses and lost one of the nose pads. Scratches on my forehead. Bruises on my nose where the glasses sans nose pad dug in. I was right, they were all at the creek eating lunch, or just finishing up, Raider, Pitch, Stormtrooper and Dallas. I ate a hasty lunch while they all left, then continued on. 

The trail flowed from Aspen forest to open field to conifer forest. In the open fields the flowers were in full bloom. It was amazing. 

We were nearing 20 miles and needed to find a place to camp. Too many dead trees to camp

In the forested parts and too hot in the sun in the meadows and no level ground.  Looking at the contours on the map we saw a level spot up a side road that was in the green part of the map, meaning the trees. It was less than a quarter mile off the trail. It was perfect. Shady from a stand of healthy aspens, grassy carpet and level with a view. We still had a few hours of daylight to enjoy. I prepared for another night of shoulder and neck pain and was not disappointed. Luckily, Dallas’ tent was far enough away my moaning didn’t disturb her. I got a few hours sleep when the Ibu was at its maximum, but I was up early the next morning and out before she had her tent down. 

We are at much lower altitude and it is July so the daytime temps are hot (high 80°s) and the nights only cool down to about 59°. 

Sitting on the Post Office “porch” in Encampment waiting for them to open. We beat the crowds. 

Dallas thumbs a ride in Encampment near the hikers bench. 

The trail is a road for most of the day. The double track is nice. You can pick which rut to walk in and the grades are usually less steep. 

Me walking the trail near the top of Bridger peak

Flowers were amazing!

Camping on the edge of the Aspen forest in the grass. 

Dallas’s tent 

Day 77 - Sunday, July 10, 2022 - 17.6 miles - 44,779 steps - MP 1502.1 (Gravel Rd 3 miles into Wyoming) to MP 1519.5 (Battle Pass) - Vert Up - 3689’ - Vert Dwn - 2843’ - Total Miles to Date - 1207.1

Day 77 - Sunday, July 10, 2022 - 17.6 miles - 44,779 steps - MP 1502.1 (Gravel Rd 3 miles into Wyoming) to MP 1519.5 (Battle Pass) - Vert Up - 3689’ - Vert Dwn - 2843’ - Total Miles to Date - 1207.1

Last night was a little scary.  We were camped in the forest because we couldn't find anyplace else good to camp, nothing level, or cleared or dry.  But, we were camped in the middle of a totally dead, standing forest. Many of the dead trees were leaning. And these are full sized 100' trees looming above us. Dallas, in particular, had a tree with a yellow ribbon on it, as if marked for cutting, leaning about 20 degrees just off to the side of her.  About an hour after I set up my tent a dead branch fell on my tent, startling me. Thank goodness it wasn't very big, but there were many more hanging up above me with the potential of falling, but it was a totally calm night and we made it through.

In the morning my foot was very stiff. The fact that we started on a hardpacked gravel road didn't do it any favors. It took over 3 miles for it to loosen up enough that I could get back to a normal gate. By this time Dallas had to be a mile in front of me.

The trail followed the ridge nearly exactly. This meant it went up and down every bump on the ridge. The ups were straight up the fall line, the downs the same. These were very steep chunks of trail. This made the going very slow for me as the steep stuff just wears me down. Old Bag, Short Sticks, and a few others passed me. The other factor that slowed me down besides my foot were my shoulders.  I would expect my left shoulder, the one I got the COVID booster in, to hurt, but not my right one. In fact, from left deltoid to right deltoid across my spine and shoulders my body just ached. At night, the pain in the tent was all enveloping, as if crawling into the tent was crawling into a cocoon of pain. I popped Ibuprofen as often as common sense and kidneys would allow and it would keep it somewhat at bay, but I have begun to really dread the nights.

I sat down along the trail for lunch and Gib stopped by and joined me. As we ate and talked Short Sticks passed by. Gib took off ahead of me after eating. I didn't see anybody else for the rest of day.

Did I mention this is a town day? Yes! We are headed for the small town of Encampment, WY, about the size of Vader. The last 5 or 6 miles of trail passed through open meadows 60 acres or bigger in size, separated by tracts of forests. These meadows were beautiful, but incredibly soggy. Many times I was sloshing through mud right up to the top of my shoes and leaping flows of water in the low points of the fields.

When I finally emerged at Battle Pass where Hwy 70 crosses the divide my feet were wet, my body hurt and there was no one there, everyone before me had caught a ride to Encampment.  I walked through the parking lot down to the highway and set up to hitchhike.  After 5 minutes and not a car a vehicle approached from the opposite direction.  In the back seat I saw Feel Good and Caddie Shack and Lemon Hope. They pulled into the parking area.  Lemon Hope's mom was up from Utah and had brought them back to the pass so they could start northward this afternoon.  She was not heading back down for an hour or so. I stood on the highway hoping for a ride. I stood there for 45 minutes. Not a single car came by.  Finally, she was ready to return to Encampment and gave me a ride down. Dallas texted me that she had gotten the last cabin for rent in Riverside, the town right next to Encampment (only a mile apart). They dropped me off there.

Imagine the shack that the Joads lived in upon arriving in California from the midwest in the Grapes of Wrath. Built in the 40's, furnished with furniture and art of the same vintage. Linoleum floors. Only one power outlet in the place, a light above the sink with a three way plugged into it and extension cords running to the fridge, to a fan in the living room and to a fan in the beddroom. Basic, but out of the wind and rain.  Dallas took the bedroom with its "Deep Valley" bed. I slept on the hide-a-bed. We had dinner at the Bear Trap Cafe.  It was good. Bought a few supplies at the grocery/hardware/autoparts/outdoor store (think Olsen Brothers only 10 steps down), iced and rolled my foot and then spent another near sleepless night fighting pain in my shoulders and neck. 

The post office opens tomorrow morning at 8:30am. There must be 20 of us needing to get our resupply packages from there and then needing to hitch back to the pass. Dallas and I decided to get to the Post Office at 7:30am and wait there for it to open rather than wait in our shack.  This way we are first in line.

Looking from the highway up to the parking area at Battle Pass. Lemon Hope’s mom’s car is  the only one in the lot. 

Caddie Shack, Lemon Hope, mom, Feel Good, ?? And me at Battle Pass

Our cabin, the “Prospector”. Not much, but it had a shower a bed and a hide-a-bed and a place to charge devices. That’s enough. 

Dallas writing her Facebook post inside the cabin. 

Day 76 - Saturday, July 9, 2022 - 20.3 miles - 57,096 steps - MP 1482.1 (1.5 miles up North Fork Elk Creek) to MP (Gravel Rd 3 miles into Wyoming) - Vert Up - 3740’ - Vert Dwn - 2677’ - Total Miles to Date - 1189.5

Today is the day we leave Colorado and enter Wyoming. I have been in Colorado since May 26. A long time to traverse its mountain ranges. It has been challenging and beautiful, but time to move north into the next state.

We started up the trail. Poor Dallas. She takes off like a shot while I limp along for the first couple of miles waiting for my foot to warm up. Then she has to wait for me to confer about a route decision. She has taken to waiting to eat breakfast until her first stop while she waits. This morning we decided to take a road rather than the redline (trail) due to comments we read in FarOut about the poor trail conditions.

As it turned out, most of the trail today is old road winding through the woods. A few vehicles passed as the day wore on, but mostly it was walking double track dirt road all the way to the border, except the last couple of miles which turned to trail.

Dallas waited patiently at the border for me, probably in excess of half an hour. She was there to video me crossing out of Colorado and into Wyoming. The border is well marked. Dred Pirate, Ranger and Arrow were at the border and I got a chance to talk with them for a while. Dallas scooted ahead to our destination for the night, a road crossing 3 miles further up the trail.

Lemmings. Where one goes we all go. Very near the road the trail makes a left hand turn on the edge of a wet marshy meadow. Someone missed that turn and walked across the meadow, leaving a very distinct trail of mashed grasses and weeds. Every successive hiker followed that beaten route, making it more visible and distinct. By the time I arrived it looked like the route to take so off I went. When ankle deep in water 200' into the meadow the trail petered out. I looked at FarOut to see I was off trail to the right. Now, I slogged through the wetland until I regained the trail. At the point I regained the trail stood Dallas, her tent up, cheering me into camp. I cleared sticks and pine cones to create a place to pitch my tent and did so. Then, I looked around and saw we were surrounded by dead trees.  A night of russian roulette with the trees.  Too tired to care (a bad sign). Another productive day of travel. Tomorrow with leave Colorado and enter Wyoming. Dreams of easier terrain filled my thoughts as I relaxed on my mattress. We shall see.

Trail or road. Sometimes it is hard to tell, but the scenery is always gorgeous. 

The border crossing between Colorado and Wyoming. 

Looking back at Colorado from Wyoming. 

Day 75 - Friday, July 8, 2022 - 24.3 miles - 54,181 steps - MP 1458.0 (Beautiful Campsite above the cliffs) to MP 1482.1 (1.5 miles up North Fork Elk Creek)- Vert Up - 3252’ - Vert Dwn - 5627’ - Total Miles to Date - 1169.2

It is amazing what sleep can do! Last night I didn’t have the strength to boil water. Now I am up, packed and hiking down the trail. Amazing. I still feel absolutely terrible, but at least I am more than a horizontal zombie. The trail is running the ridge through the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area and it is beautiful. The ridge top views are amazing. Rock outcrops on the tops of the ridges with encircling meadows below. Beautiful. 

At mile 8.7 for the day the trail starts dropping, like 5000’ of dropping, taking us back into the timber and blowdowns to the West Fork of Elk Creek. On the way down we run into a crew of older men with Forest Service Volunteer shirts on. They are clearing the smaller blowdowns off the trail with hand saws. Anything bigger than 10” they can’t cut, but they saw all the limbs off the big ones making it easier for us to negotiate climbing over them. Another mile or two down the way I run into a horse packing company coming up the trail. The lead horse and rider has three mules strung behind as does the second horse and rider. I step off the trail to the downhill side to let them pass. As I do, I trip. I plant my pole with my left hand to catch myself but my weight carries me forward and down. My sternum catches my full weight on the end of the pole with such force that my trekking pole bows and bends, taking up the force of my impact. Of course, my sternum got the full force as well. The rider asks me if I’m okay. I can’t speak for a few seconds as I catch my breath and absorb the pain of the impact. I’m okay I tell him although my chest really hurts. They pass and I continue down the trail. 

The distance to Encampment, WY from Steamboat Springs is a little more than 80 miles. We are trying to do it in four days, extending the first three days by a mile or two over 20 so the last day is a little short of 20 getting us into Encampment in the early afternoon. Today we are aiming for a water source at 24.7 up the North Fork of Elk Creek. It requires about 2-3 miles of gravel road walking to get to the trail that goes up the north fork. The road crosses the Middle Fork of Elk Creek. Here I find a few families camping near the river on the meadows and fields. I am hot, thirsty and wanting to be done for the day, but I have about 2.5 miles left. I spot a cooler in the back of a Subaru station wagon. I want to yell and ask if he has a cold soda in his cooler I could have, but I don’t and keep moving. 

The creek near where we are camping is perfect for soaking feet. Dallas has found a shade tree to camp next to that is right on the trail about 100 yards further up. I stop and soak my feet, 20 in, 20 out for 80 minutes then move up to set up my tent. My fatigue today is greater than yesterday. I lie motionless on the floor of my tent for 30 minutes trying to regain some strength. I cook dinner, then crawl (literally) out of my tent to go to the bathroom, then realize I am too tired to go. I climb back in and wonder how I will have any energy for tomorrows hike. We are now camping at about 8200 feet and it is warm. I have my down quilt out, but I don’t pull it over me until long after dark. Sleep, the great restorer comes quickly, although my chest is a little painful with each breath. 

Sunrise from my tent poised atop the east facing cliffs

The trail through the meadows of Zirkel Wilderness 

Beautiful early morning light on the trail, meadows and peaks



The meadow wildflowers are in bloom

Flowers!

I iced this bugger for an hour, rolled it on the ball and then applied the strap to calm the Plantars. Still talking at me. 

Day 74 - Thursday, July 7, 2022 - 20.1 miles - 49,004 steps - MP 1437.8 (Where trail leaves highway 40) to MP 1458.0 (Beautiful Campsite above the cliffs) - Vert Up - 3146’ - Vert Dwn - 1403’ - Total Miles to Date - 1144.9

Jon offered a bagel, cream cheese, a banana and a cup of tea for breakfast. I heartily accepted. Then we loaded into his Subaru and headed for Rabbit Ears Pass. We picked up D’Anne at the Quality Inn, and Quiet hitching on the highway. We dropped Quiet first, he had already hiked some of the trail, then he dropped Dallas and I at the location where the CDT leaves the highway and ducks into the woods and meadows. 

Luckily for me, the trail was not too difficult today. I was still reacting to the COVID vaccine I got Tuesday afternoon and was really sick. The first few miles of the trail were the old Rabbit Ears Pass highway, still paved. That was wonderful because I could close my eyes and walk without fear of tripping. It felt like too much energy output to look and walk at the same time. My left arm was killing me and I was drained of all energy. I was hiking with D’Anne again. We had not hiked together since Grants, New Mexico, back about May 8th. 

We had set a goal of 19.5 miles for the day, a lake. About 4 miles before it Hammer and Kyle caught up with me. We stopped at the Buffalo Pass Access Point mostly because there was an outhouse. After using the facilities we were back on the trail to the lake. We had noticed comments about “epic camping” on top of the cliffs a half mile beyond the lake. I was really hurting and we tried to find camping at the lake that would work, but it just seemed buggy and damp. I sucked it up and hiked up the next half mile. D’Anne found great spots to set up with an expansive view on the territory spreading out to the east with the promise of an awesome sunrise. 

I lay in my tent for half an hour before I felt I had the strength to cook dinner (light the stove and boil 2 cups of water). Exhausted as I was, I wondered how I would find the strength to hike again tomorrow. My arms, neck and back were killing me along with overall body fatigue. A good night’s sleep can fix this?  We’ll see. 

The trail out of Rabbit Ears Pass was spectacularly beautiful. The flowers are now blooming, the vegetation lush. It has been raining a lot with afternoon thunderstorms so everything is wet and growing. 

Kyle and Hammer hanging out at the outhouse at Buffalo Pass Access Point. Sit down toilets are always appreciated!

Day 73 - Wednesday, July 6, 2022 - 0 miles - 4294 steps - Zero in Steamboat Springs - Vert Up - 0’ - Vert Dwn - 0’ - Total Miles to Date - 1124.8

Jon offered me the use of a bike to get around town today. What a great idea. Saved me walking on my sore foot for a day. Before I went to town I sorted my food. I dumped out my granola. I really like it for breakfast, quick and tasty and full of calories but it gives me monumental gas. I need an alternative. I have pop tarts and I’ll try Special K as a substitute. Not as calorie dense, but we’ll see. 

On the bike I rode to the BAP store, the Big Agnes outlet. It is in a bright red house one block off the main business district. Got some light weight tent stakes to replace the ones I’ve lost in the winds (when the wind whips the tent and the stake pulls out the cord flings the stake off into the bushes. I can never find them), some bug repellent, a new spoon and fuel canister. I checked at the drug store about switching to topical Ibuprofen instead of oral but decided against it, mailed some unnecessary stuff to Andy from the post office and then met D’Anne for lunch at the Mai Thai restaurant. We had a nice lunch. The food was excellent. By now I was fading due to the COVID booster so I struggled home and went to bed. It was about 3:00pm. Jon and his wife went out to dinner, so I had the place to myself. I had some Special K for dinner, checked my pack to be sure it was ready to go and went back to bed, achy and exhausted from the effects of the shot. 

2:00am until 6:00am we’re a sea of pain. My left arm and shoulder were inconsolable. Neither heat nor ice would calm the pain although hot showers distracted me enough that I didn’t notice it while the water was bearing on me. DONT GET A COVID BOOSTER WHILE ON A THROUGH HIKE. 

Day 72 - Tuesday, July 5, 2022 - 19.5 miles - 33,369 steps - MP 1418.3 (Random flat spot off side of road) to MP 1437.8 (Where trail leaves highway 40) - Vert Up - 1131’ - Vert Dwn - 1891’ - Total Miles to Date - 1124.8

This installment is late coming out. I’ll described the day’s events below, but first let explain my tardiness. No elephants. No dogs chewing up my iPhone. Nothing that elegant. Mine is sheer bad judgement. You see, I decided that since I had a zero day tomorrow and a nero today, I should get caught up with my COVID boosters. I was one behind. I reasoned I didn’t want to get sick on the trail. The host at the AirB&B, Jon, that Sally booked for me hiked the first 300 or 400  miles of the CDT this spring (how’s that for trail magic!) and was eager to help me in anyway he could. When I mentioned a COVID booster, he called the drug store about 6 blocks away and found I could walk right in. So, about 3:00pm on Tuesday I got my “jab”. I figured I’d be sick Wednesday and raring to go back on trail Thursday. What could possibly go wrong?

Wednesday came and I had completely forgotten I had gotten the booster. I borrowed a bike and rode to town doing errands. About an hour later I started feeling woosey. I was meeting D’Anne for lunch. Uh oh. Not gonna be good company. I had purchased some Tylenol on my errands and they helped me get through lunch. Riding home I felt awful. I went to my room and went to bed after assuring my pack was ready to go (about 3:00pm). That night was horrible. I woke at 2:00am with my arm absolutely killing me. I didn’t want to wake the hosts so I took hot showers to dull the pain and moved my arm all over as instructed by the CDC via the Internet. I finally snuck downstairs and grabbed an ice bag out of the freezer. I never did fall asleep again. Should I stay another day at the B&B or suck it up and get on the trail? This is not one of those you decide adventure books. I decide. Suck it up. 

Jon had offered to drive me up to Rabbit Ears pass above Steamboat Springs to the trailhead. We picked up D’Anne at here hotel and a CDT hiker hitching along the road, Quiet. All the way up I was questioning my decision. When Jon drove off and I put on my pack I knew it was wrong. I felt awful! But, soldier on. We did 21 miles that day. But more on that later. 

Back to Tuesday. I had 21 miles to walk to get to Rabbit Ears pass where I would start to hitchhike to Steamboat Springs. It was all road. The first 10 was on dirt or gravel, the last 11 on highway. It started out slightly downhill and stayed that way for about 6 miles. My foot was tolerable so I was able to average better than 3 miles an hour. It was awesome to see the miles click by at more than one every 20 minutes. When the road leveled out I was still able to maintain 3 miles an hour. I had gotten up at 4:00am and was moving a little before 5:00am so I was on the paved highway about 8:30am. I was determined to walk the pavement and not hitchhike. 

Highway 14 does not have much traffic. On this day, maybe one car every 5 minutes was going my way. It is a beautifully maintained 2 lane highway although the shoulders are quite narrow. I had walked about 2 1/2 miles of the 11 when I had a “Dumb and Dumber” moment. 

I was walking on the side of the highway facing traffic when a Subaru, on the other side of the yellow line, going my way, slowed and stopped.  The woman driver rolled down her window, “Would you like a ride?”  The man in the passenger seat leaned my way and said, “We are going all the way to Steamboat Springs.”  “Continuous steps” popped into my head. “Oh, if this were 8 miles further up the road I’d love to, but I better keep walking.”  

“You’re sure now?” asks the lady. 

“Yeah. I better keep walking.”

And off they drove. It wasn’t a bus full of beautiful, biking clad women looking for someone to rub sun creme on them, but after five  minutes of padding down blacktop with an inflamed Plantars Fasciae and bruised metatarsals I felt pretty stupid. I hoped they would come back. They didn’t. 

I walked another hour (3 miles). The weather was beginning to sour, my feet hurt, and I thought of all the things I could be doing in Steamboat instead of walking this highway. I switched to the other side of the road, kept walking and thumbed each car that came by. A red Ford pickup’s brake lights came on as he passed. Yahoo!  They drove me the remaining 3 miles to the junction of highway 14 (the one I was on) and highway 40 that leads to Steamboat Springs. So much for continuous steps. I walked a mile up 40, my thumb out for each passing car.  It started to rain. I put my pack cover on and unfurled my umbrella just as a retired couple in a Subaru stopped and gave me a ride. 

They had lived in SS during the 80’s and knew it well they said they didn’t really have an agenda and could take me to the post office and then to my B&B. I should have gotten their number and met them for lunch. I really enjoyed their company, and their kindness. 

Jon met me at his front door. In sheepishly said I was early. He said no problem and invited me in. It was about 11:00am. We retired to his back patio for tea and conversation. I booked an appointment for that afternoon(!) with a orthopedic specialist for my foot, hoping for a cortisone injection for the plantars and an x-ray for the metatarsals but had to cancel when I checked with Kaiser and found they wouldn’t cover it. I settled for UC Urgent Care. I took a shower and Jon drove me there. Great people. Great care. No fractured bones. No cortisone shot. I’d have to go to Kaiser in Denver for a shot and they probably wouldn’t do so on a first visit. 

I called Jon. He picked me up. Then the COVID decision. Ugg. 

I spent the rest of the day resting upstairs in my room or talking to Jon. I had dinner with Jon and his wife when she got home from work at the Ace hardware store in town. Jon is 70. His wife is 61. 

So,  good news day!  No broken bones in my sore foot, just pissed off tendons. Caught up on COVID boosters! What could possibly go wrong . . . .

Day 71 - Monday, July 4, 2022 - 19.9 miles - 50,672 steps - MP 1398.3 (Quick camp to avoid thunderstorm) to MP 1418.3 (Random flat spot off side of road)" - Vert Up - 3931’ - Vert Dwn - 4259’ - Total Miles to Date - 1105.3.

I was doubtful of making camp last night with only one liter of water, but it worked out fine. I had chugged an entire liter at the last water supply, so I suppose I really had two liters, one in my Smart Water bottle and one in my belly. I ate a package of Pop Tarts for breakfast while packing. A nutrition filled meal. Not!  But, 400 calories. They are a pretty calorie dense food. Like eating a slab of lard for breakfast. 

In all my years of hiking and climbing it never occurred to me to dedicate a pocket on the outside of the pack for a tent. My new pack (well, really, 6 weeks of continuous use old now) has a long pocket on one side for your shelter. Smart!  The first thing you want when entering camp is your tent. The last thing you pack in the morning is your tent. This is wonderful. I can completely pack my pack inside my tent, avoiding the mosquitoes, then pop out, strike the tent, stuff it in its pocket and zoom off on my way. Brilliant. 

Yesterday, I had hoped and planned to camp 2.0 miles further up the trail than I did, but a thunderstorm was flailing on that part of the trail so I stopped short and sheltered from the storm. This morning as I passed my planned spot I saw it was indeed a very nice, flat spot with lots of room for tents. It was also right on top of the ridge, not a good place to weather an electrical storm. 

My foot took its usual couple miles to settle in to its day of beatings. The trail undulated up and down as it wove in and out between bumps on the ridge. Not much elevation change and the flowers were stunning. I took photos and used the “Picture This” app to identify them, if I had service at that moment (see some below). At one of these brief pauses I saw new text messages and found Sally had rented an AirB&B for me in Steamboat Springs. What?!?  How wonderful is that? I was planning to visit an Urgent Care facility and have my foot x-rayed to make sure it is just aggravated tendons and not a stress fracture. This made it easy. 

About this time I heard someone coming up behind me. G-String?  Yep. How did I get ahead of him?  On questioning, I found out he  and Woodpecker camped on the ridge and weathered the storm directly over them last night. He was a little slow getting out of camp this morning. Woodpecker was up ahead. I let him pass, but then kept up with him for a couple of miles, my foot being pain free right at the moment. We got a chance to talk a little. Soon we caught up with Woodpecker. She was pulled to the side of the trail in the sun, drying all her gear from last night’s soaking. I left them alone so they could talk in private if need be, and started down the trail, missed a turn and had to backtrack. G-String didn’t miss it and ended in front of me. 

The trail descended for a while, then began a 1000’ climb. On the climb, I got off trail again, noticed my mistake, but saw in essence I was cutting a very long road switchback and using FarOut, guided myself back to the road/trail higher up on the climb. As it turns out, from here to where we leave the trail to go to Steamboat Springs is all road walk, about 30 miles. 

Unless you zoom way in on FarOut, and I mean way in, the thick red line that marks the route covers the underlying map symbols and you don’t notice whether you are on trail or road. This section of road walk escaped me as I didn’t expect it to be road so I never zoomed in to look for it (I sent FarOut’s support team a suggestion that they use different symbology to make it easier for us to distinguish dirt road [- - - - ] from paved road [-••-••-••] from trail [ _______ ]. They sent a response back within an hour. Amazing.)

The rest of today was dirt road, very eroded at times, but good enough some OHVs made it up. G-String and Woodpecker were way ahead of me, or so I thought. Another thunderstorm was brewing and passing directly overhead. I had my umbrella out and was walking down the road when I heard voices in the trees to the side. They had taken shelter in the trees, waiting for the lightning to pass over. I joined them for about ten minutes, enjoying my umbrella’s protective wonderfulness when hail the size of marbles started pelting us. 

With the storm passed, we headed down the road again. They soon outdistanced me. I continued until I had 20 miles in (or so I thought. 0.1 miles short), set up my tent on the side of the road in the now shining sun and rested, wrote, ate dinner and watched the final episode of Stranger Things. It was only 4:15pm when I stopped. I could have gone farther, but I was tired of fighting the pain in my left foot with each step. I’ll wait until tomorrow. I’ll have about 18 miles to hike before I start hitchhiking into Steamboat Springs. 

Road walking does have its advantages. You can hike much faster because you don’t need to be concerned about foot placement and the grade is much gentler than a trail. Still, 18 miles is a lot of road to cover. I’ll get up earlier than normal so I can get to town at a descent hour. 

You can see the trail cutting across the hill in the near distance. Beautiful scenery for the whole day. 

The yellow flowers are Spearleaf Stonecrop

How about some Roughstem Rosinweed?  I love names that describe the plant. Easier to remember. 

Some Sky Pilot. Always found high up, as the name suggests

Sanddune Wallflower

Royal Penstemon

Tomcat Clover

Silky Phacelia

The Road

The hail that pelted us