Durango, CO

It was freezing! The valley we were in was fed by four other gulches, and so in a very large katabatic zone. We waited for the store to open to get hot coffee, then walked out of town on 780.1 to the Long Branch Forest Facility. I fed a horse grass while waiting for DP, then headed to Long Branch Trailhead. We followed 491 through cow pastures, to 492 (Hicks Gulch), to 490 (Dutchman Creek) and took 490 all the way to the Divide. We went over PUDs, thinking it like the AT, dropping to Lujan Pass. We followed 785, crossed CO114, on 499, where we found trail magic! A cooler filled with sodas! We followed Pine Creek on FS878 before finding a flat spot to camp on the old road.

Tried waking early, but it didn't work well. It was cold again, and this seems to be the norm now. We climbed up, warming a little, then dropped down below Cochetopa Pass, following 864.2A. We continued to follow dirt roads through Cochetopa Park, watching dirt bikes round up cattle. We continued on, coming to Cochetopa Creek. We followed this to Eddiesville Trailhead, where there were a lot of horse trailers. The aspen are starting to change their colors, and should become more impressive. We pushed on, meeting a ranger on horseback who mentioned good campsites. We met some hunters before finding a great spot away from the river. As we made camp, I noticed my knee is swelling weirdly...

We didn't hear the alarm this morning. We got going though it cold. We passed Cañon Diablo, contouring and climbing south of San Luis Peak. We contoured to another pass, then down to San Luis Pass. We dropped to East Mineral Creek, up and over to Middle Mineral, and up and over to West Mineral. We climbed to a junction with Rough Creek Trail, then contoured to Snow Mesa. We stopped for a short break, then moved on again, but shortly after I dropped to the ground in pain. My knee just gave a sharp pain through my whole body, but was instantly gone. Very strange. We walked on, but about 30 minutes later, it happened again. Not sure why, but I wonder if it had something to do with the swelling. We kept going and we saw someone coming our way. Turns out to be Tibetan, a hiker we met on the AT! Small world. We continued to Spring Creek Pass, where the first car to come by picked us up and took us to Lake City. We got a room at the Backcountry Basecamp Hostel, where we shared a room with Yas. I made dinner, showered, laundered, then relaxed in front of the fireplace. My knee seems to be better, but we'll see.

Woke up feeling like crap. My nose would not stop running. I guess the cold I had been fighting was starting to catch up. Yas left around 8:00 while we were having breakfast. I was catching up on my journal and chatting with a German couple while DP talked on the phone. We did our resupply and sent a food drop to Ghost Ranch. The Germans had left, leaving us the place to ourselves. DP went to the outfitter while I took a catnap. We watched a movie then got a ride back to the trail. I still wasn't feeling well, but we needed to take advantage of the good weather. Just as we started, it rained a little. We passed a herd of sheep and the Bolivian shepherd, and he told us about the Colorado Trail Friends Yurt, which we knew about and were headed to. We had the yurt to ourselves, so we took the mattresses and put them on the floor for our bed, and used the stove to cook myself ramen. Awesome place!

It got cold, but we were snug in the yurt. We made coffee for the first time since Montana(?) We got a late start, but we saw a mother moose and her calf. Heard more bugling through the night too. We pretty much followed the Divide. Above Lost Trail Creek, we saw a herd of about 50 elk making their way up the slopes. We met a bicyclist at a pass, then made our way past Cataract Lake to Cuba Gulch. We swung south heading towards Canby Mt. We hit the source of the Rio Grande and had ourselves a drink, without treating the water! We continued until we found a flat spot on a ridge out of the wind, and made camp.

We got going just as the sun came up. We wove back and forth on the Divide, dropping steeply on a 4WD road. We got a little lost around an old mine, but figured ir out when we ran into Dirk, who was hiking the trail in sections. We climbed up to Hunchback Pass. We scrambled down to Nebo Creek, climbed up to the Divide, down to West Ute Lake, up and down, finally coming to Twin Lakes, contouring to Ute Lake, then climbing a ridge with an awesome view of the Flint Lakes area. It reminded us of the Sierra. We continued contouring over and up towards The Window. We climbed down to Rincon La Vaca and followed it to an open meadow where we lost the trail completely. We found Fuch's Ditch and followed it up and down until we found the trail, where we climbed up to a flat spot and made camp.

We got going at first light! We climbed along North Fork Los Pinos River to an open meadow covered in frost! It's getting colder. The day went by without much event before meeting a father and son duo just before Squaw Pass.We climbed up and up, passing below Chief Mountain. We contoured above Williams Lake before climbing and contouring below a wall and crossing the Knife's Edge. We figured if we pushed on to dark, we put ourselves in position to get to town tomorrow. We roller coaster walked the Divide, came to a saddle and took our last break, then power walked ~4.5 miles, contouring under Palomino Mt., before finding the last water source, filling up, then finding the first semi-flat spot in a patch of trees.

Got going at first light again! We followed the Divide to Piedra Pass, then over towards Sawtooth Mt., where we turned south to the west of Mount Hope, then down to Archuleta Lake. We quickly scooted through the forests, pased Rock Lake and headed toward a Radio Tower, before dropping down to Wolf Creek Pass. The first car to come by picked us up and dropped us off at the PO in Pagosa Springs, where DP got his phone charger that he left at the hostel, but the care package from my mom was not there (bummer!) Guess we'll forward it. We called our friend Craig, who met on the AT last year, and he said he'd call us when he got off work, so we went to the Pagosa Brewing for beers and burgers. Craig and his girlfriend, Anna, picked us up and we stayed with him in Durango.

ZERO DAY!!! We got a ride with Craig to downtown and had coffee and pastries. Then we checked out the outfitter and picked up some more gear. New rain jacket for me! Hit up Radio Shack for batteries (never again; they jack up the prices too much) and a memory card for the camera, then did our resupply for Pie Town and shipped it out. Ate lunch at a Chinese place, then headed back to the apartment to start laundry. Got everything done then went back downtown to mail stuff home. We rode the bus to the City Market near the apartment, and did our resupply as well as get stuff for breakfast, and a couple of movies to watch. A pretty damn good way to spend a zero. Had Zia Taqueria for dinner!