Miles Hiked: 25.5
Total Milage: 1275.9
Location: Sargents Mesa
This morning I woke up before 6am. 12 pack cooked us the rest of the eggs for breakfast and we got packed up and ready to hit the trail. Maddie and Max hitched out before us and 12 pack and I got a ride around 7am by a guy who worked ski patrol for Monarch Ski Resort! He was on his way to work at the top of the pass and helps out hikers when he can. It was a nice ride back to the trail! It was honestly really hard to leave the butterfly house after looking at the forecast and seeing that it is supposed to rain and thunderstorm everyday for the next week.
Once on trail we started climbing the other side of the pass. We walked over some exposed mountains for a while but the terrain was relatively very easy compared to what I just got done hiking! There was a dusting of snow on the ground from the storm yesterday and it looked really pretty glistening in the sun. About 8 miles in, we passed the first shelter I have seen that is actually on the trail! I really miss the AT shelters. Of course 12 pack and I took a quick break to enjoy it. The CDT would be amazing if they existed! 12 pack and I ran in to Maddie and Max at a trailhead exactly 10 miles from town. We all took a break together before continuing on.
The rest of the day we hiked in a green tunnel of trees which was so nice after all the crazy exposed mountains we have been on. It’s so nice to not worry about being the tallest thing around if a storm breaks lose. One notable thing about today is that I hardly saw any water compared to the rest of Colorado. I actually have to start paying attention to where I can find it now that the snow melt has all run off. Before finding a place to camp on Sargents Mesa, 12 pack and I filled up all of our water bottles at the nearest stream. The day ended with a walk through a beautiful meadow. When we set up camp at 5pm we had hiked 25.5 miles! Not only that but we managed not to get rained on at all despite the bad weather reports and thunderheads looming. I was so happy with how today went!
For dinner I treated myself to a mountain house pad Thai that my mom sent me. I was saving it for a bad day but today was so great I just decided to eat it and it was amazing! I’ll definitely be buying that one at some point again. I caught up on all my blog posts before falling asleep.
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
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