Russell's Ramblings: Colorado Trail

September 2, 2017
Camped at 418.7 (21.0) 11,608'

It was windy last night so I put the bat wing up on the tarp to block the wind. That helped some.

I was on the trail about 7:20, maybe five minutes behind Eric. I had a quick hello with a father son pair that camped in the same area.

The day started with a big and steep descent to the Animas River. After a bit, I caught and passed Eric. There were a fair number of backpackers out for the holiday weekend, some with climbing gear.

Eric took the train to Silverton so we said goodbye at the junction to the train stop. I continued on to where the trail crosses the tracks and waited around hoping to see the train but left before it came.

I got water at Molas Creek for the climb up to Molas Pass. The climb was tough but it wasn't bad because I wasn't out of breath at the lower elevation.

Near the top, I went to the Molas Lake campground store. I got some more food as I figured I was a little short for the rest of the trail. I also got a Gatorade and a Klondike bar. I was also able to dump my trash. In all, the side trip took a bit over an hour, definitely worth it. What would you do for a Klondike bar?

From there, I made it to Molas Pass and continued into the next segment. I was a bit tired and hungry so I stopped near Little Molas Lake. Several Mt. bikers rode by while I rested.

Once back on the trail, I passed a couple of nobo CT hikers. Once I got higher, the storms rolled in and I got intermittent rain, but nothing bad. My umbrella is working out really well with these afternoon showers.

I passed a hillside full of sheep and talked to a shepherd for a bit. Well, I tried as he was from Espanola and spoke little english.

Near the end of the day, two hunters on horseback rode up as I was eating. We talked for a few minutes. I saw them later setting up to glass. They asked where I was camping for the night and I said I heard of a site a short distance from there. They agreed.

When I got to the site it started to rain but it was under trees and I didn't have to rush pitching my tarp. It stormed for awhile this evening but I was fairly protected and didn't have any issues at all.