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.
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