Miles Hiked: 12.2
Total Milage: 1387.5
Location: Telluride, Colorado
This morning 12 pack and I woke up at 5am and started hiking by 5:30. My tent was incredibly wet again even though we had no rain. Packing up a wet tent in the cold is my least favorite camp chore. We were eager to get to town today because neither of us have much food at all. Ive been so homesick and anxious to get home I think it’s been playing a role in why I have hardly slept at all for over a week now. We had to hike about 7 miles to Stony Pass and then walk 5 miles down the mountain to get to a place to hitch to town. If we were lucky someone might pick us up on the way down Stony Pass.
The morning light was absolutely beautiful when it hit the mountains. I could not get over how pretty everything looked today! Our climbs were not bad at all but my legs were very sore so they still hurt. I hiked in my puffy jacket and hoodie dress for quite a while because it so cold. When we got to Stony Pass it was close to 8am. We saw a couple of cars but they were all going the wrong way. We read an information sign that said Stony pass was a transportation route for goods from Santa Fe to the other side of the mountains. I can’t believe the things people used to haul up the mountains on horse back. The walk down from Stony pass was extremely steep and pretty rocky. I really hope someone will give us a ride to the top tomorrow!
When we got to the bottom of Stony pass, we came out at a dirt road intersection. Neither 12 pack nor I had a map downloaded for the area we were at about 5 miles from the trail. We decided to wait at the intersection and flag down the first car that drove by to ask for directions. The first vehicle was a guy in a Razer with three empty seats. He gave us directions to Silverton. I asked him if he was going that way and if we could possibly get a ride. He said yes but he had to go the other direction first because he was looking for his daughters retainer they lost while out riding yesterday. 12 pack offered to go help him look for it since an extra set of eyes will always help. We ended up driving to a couple spots they were at yesterday and looking around. We didn’t find it but on the way back towards silverton a family flagged us down because they had found the retainer! After this we went straight to Silverton. The razer ride was very fun and I was very thankful someone was able to help us get to town! This past stretch was probably the most exhausting stretch of trail I’ve had so far and I was practically out of food!
When we got to Silverton, my sister Emma met us to pick us up and take us to Telluride. I have been incredibly homesick ever since I entered the state of Colorado. The closer we got to Telluride the more I just kept thinking about going home. I can only be in town for one night since 12 pack doesn’t want to take a zero there and I’m pretty upset about it. I considered doing the next section alone but I really don’t want to since I think we will be doing some sketchy stuff. I was kinda sad that we were getting to Telluride a lot later than I thought we would, bit regardless it was good to be home. I got to see Luke for about two hours before he had to go to work.
I made some frozen pizza, did laundry, took a shower, and then 12 pack and I went to resupply. After all this, we all went out to dinner at Allreds which is the restaurant that Luke manages. He treated us to dinner which was very sweet of him. It’s an extremely nice place! I bored some clothes from my sister and her roommate to dress up for the night. Afterwards we went to the bar at the restaurant I used to work at. I had a couple drinks and snacks while catching up with some friends! I ended up leaving the bar earlier than everyone else and taking the bus home for the night. Since we are leaving early in the morning I need to get my pack put together. I really just needed some time to relax and recover alone for a little bit. I talked to my parents and took a bath while I waited for Luke to get home from work. We ended up hanging out for a while when he got home which was great! I was just really tired and didn’t have enough time to sleep. I really wish we were taking a zero here because I feel so tired.
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
Des Hikes Thru 