Camped CW59.1 (26.1) 11,102'
Today went well. I packed up and was on the trail about seven. I started with the climb up to Cottonwood Pass. Looking out I could see a layer of clouds way below and away from the pass.
Cottonwood pass is the start of segment 3 of the Collegiate West. It stayed high on the divide and the views were spectacular. The trail was too. Miles of it were across large fields of talus with the tread made of crushed rock. The amount of labor needed to construct it must have been astronomical.
Not far past Cottonwood Pass, I met a man heading north on a long section of the CDT. I also met another man sectioning part of the CT. He was finishing up today at Cottonwood Pass. He told me to keep an eye out for Ptarmigan not too far away. I did spot one near where he said they would be.
I stopped at a creek before the final climb before descending to the Tin Cup Pass trailhead. I wanted to drink some water and have a snack before the climb. I met another man there, Tyler.
It started hailing on that climb then stopped. Then it started hailing again on the descent. It hailed hard for awhile and then cleared up. Somewhere in there, Tyler passed me. He was planning on camping at the bottom but I never saw him.
I wanted to set myself up to finish at Monarch Pass tomorrow, so I continued later than I have been. The trail was following an old rail bed on the side of a hill so there was no place to camp and I ended up hiking until eight where I found a place to camp. It wasn't a great place but it would do.
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| View from Cottonwood Pass. The White are Clouds Well Below Me |
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| Note the Crushed Stone Trail |
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