CDT – Day 67 – Twin Lakes to Illinois Stream

6/30/15 Day 67, Twin Lakes to Illinois Stream 9275′

Tent – Nights Spent Alone: 7

21.3, 1233.3 Trip Miles

Mostly Sunny

Day’s of Snow: 7 – Day’s of Rain: 20 – Days of Hail: 11

# of Zero days: 6

6:32 am to 6:15 pm

Gila Crossings Final Total:  221

Tick Count: 4 (4 more crawling on me)

Wanted List

Mountain Goat

Grizzly Bear

Sasquatch

Black Bear

Bighorn Sheep

Velociraptor

Mountain Lion

Beaver

Unicorn

Critter Count

4 Marmot

2 Squirrels

2 Chipmunks

Totals

1) 530 Pronghorn*

2) 169 Elk

3) 119 Lizards

4) 117 Chipmunks

5) 116 Wild Horses

6) 76 Deer**

7) 42 Marmot****

8) 40 Squirrels

9) 40 Cotton Tail Rabbits

10) 35 Ground Squirrels

11) 30 Prairie Dogs

12) 22 Horny Roads

13) 17 Jack Rabbit***

14) 11 Moose

15) 9 Pika

16) 8 Snakes

17) 4 Coyotes

18) 5 Moles

19) 2 Fox

20) 2 Porcupine

21) 2 Rattle Snakes

22) 2 Toads

23) 1 Mouse

24) 1 Skunk

25) 1 Weasel

*181 from car, **3 from car, ***1 from car, ****2 from car

Today involved two climbs over 2,000 feet. The first was Hope Pass, 12,548′ and Lake Ann Pass, 12,588′. They both hurt.

Instead of the play by play I want to discuss my mood. Unlike on the PCT I’m not putting in the big days.  In the beginning I had every intention of doing so. Just a few weeks ago I felt like I needed to put them in. Then the state of Colorado decided to kick my ass. As I mentioned the average elevation for the CDT in Colorado is 11,000′. This simple fact is making my world a very tough one.

If I had the energy or power in my legs I would do bigger miles but I don’t. The result is I’ve lost all impetus to want to pound out big miles. Not only that I’m hiking much slower than normal. The bottom line is I’m extremely tired and I’m okay with going slow. It’s not a race.

I’m sure when I get to the Yellowstone area I’ll pump out the 30’s. For now I just want to get back to Chama and not feel like a turd the whole way. I want to enjoy the San Juan Mountains, not simply drag my ass over each pass like today.

The constant high elevation is clearly a huge factor when hiking the CDT. It makes everything more extreme. I just hope I bounce back like I did once I left the Sierra like on the PCT.

Today was beautiful but so very tough. The view as you hike south over Hope Pass is a sight to be seen. The view south from Lake Ann is vastly different. It’s open valley and has a large reservoir, while Hope was filled with large mountains.

Scatman

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@ScatmanAT

Get out there!