Posted by It’s always tough leaving town. Leaving behind the creature comforts we all take for granted in our day to day lives like hot showers, fresh water on tap and healthy food choices. Packs are also fully restocked and heavy. I was not particularly looking forward to the climb back up to Stony Pass should I not be able to secure a hitch.
It was a Saturday and in a busy, get away place like Silverton there was bound to be more traffic out and about but not at my usual departure time of 6am. To allow the best opportunity for a hitch I planned to leave town around 8am. Plenty of time for a town breakfast and one less meal I would have to carry out. I returned to the same cafe as yesterday as it was just across the road from the hotel. Today’s special, breakfast burrito could not be passed up. And coffee of course.
Breakfast done, I lingered until around 8am and hit the road north, thumb out. It didn’t take ling to pick up a ride with a young couple from Durango out camping for the weekend. They were not going to Stony Pass but could take me 4 miles to the turn off towards the Pass. Of course I jumped in. These were all non trail mile so hitching was not a concern to maintain a continuous footpath.
Leaving my ride behind I started up the road to Stony Pass. It would be 6 miles back to the Pass. The first couple of miles were flat and easy. Beyond that the grade kicks up dramatically. It was a long, slow slog climbing back up the 12% grade. I had to stop and have multiple breaks to catch my breath along the way. It was slow going indeed.
I made it about 1.5 miles before I could here traffic coming up. Remaining hopeful I stuck my thumb out only to find it was a group of 3 hired off road vehicles from town. They were two seaters and all seats had occupants. No room for me. I continued the slog.
I was progressively gaining ground but still had another 1.5 miles to go and the steepest grades zig zagging upwards through switch backs when a Polaris came past. Again I stuck my thumb out, this time with success. A couple of young blokes heading out fishing for the day had just enough room for me. Throwing my pack in the back and bunching up 3 across we were off. I was so grateful. This ride saved me the hardest climb of the day and at least an hour, of time maybe more. In no time I was back at Stony Pass where I left the trail yesterday. This was 10:45 in the morning.
With the time left in the day I planned to hike around 15 miles on trail and was straight into it.
This section of trail is very different to the San Juan mountains walked through over previous days. Gone are the trees, replaced by rolling green hills and dramatic cliffs. It’s all very exposed with little protection from the wind.
Other than achieving 15 miles my main aim for the day was to spot a moose. The area I was headed was known to have a sizeable population. Pass after pass into new valley systems I scoured the surrounding countryside for the large beasts but saw none. I was disappointed as I never seen a moose in all my travels to the US and Canada. Marmots on the other hand – their population was thriving. Quite a few were really curious today and let me get in close. Typically they drive underground straightway.
It was a solid 15 miles on top of the early morning slog uphill and I was really feeling fatigued on all the hills today. All day seemed to be climb up, climb back down, climb up, climb back down. Very few flat sections.
Found a nice camp protected from the wind and will enjoy a goods nights sleep.
Mick Beckers 