Posted by 17.3 miles
I wandered across the street for breakfast in town. I should have gone elsewhere. The egg scramble I ordered was lack lustre with that horrible powdered egg mixture and the cappuccino was essentially drip coffee with milk froth and no chocolate on top – outrageous!
With resupplies to organise I headed to the Mountain Market, purchasing food for both this next leg and food to send ahead to Encampment in Wyoming. The selection in the mountain supermarket was small but enough to get by on. It took me a while to work out what I would eat without my usual supplies on hand. The post office was just around the corner but with so much food to unbox and repackaged into ziplocks I headed back to the hotel to sort it all out, returning to the post with just the food I’d send ahead.
Checking out of the lodge I was still in need of a decent coffee and headed downtown to a bakery that looked the goods. Coffee in hand and a delicious slice to carry out from town for lunch I propped in the central park to chill and kill time waiting for the outfitter to open at 10am. I needed new shoes and I knew they stocked Topo’s which I was keen to try out. This will be my third pair of trail runners. The current ones I have developed large splits in the mesh on both feet which is causing lots of debris to get in and the sole of the left shoe is starting to come apart. They have made it over 800 miles so I’m happy with that.
It was a slow roll out of town, visiting a bagel shop on the way out for carry out lunch and finally getting on trail around 10:30am.
As I mentioned previously I would be taking an alternative route to cut off the 24 miles section that horse shoes into the Rocky Mountain National Park and away from a more direct line. You also need to arrange a permit to camp in RMNP which I could probably get away without by hiking the 24 mile section in a day and back to Grand Lake if I wanted to. The alternate was only 4 miles to get back onto the Red Line and was easy terrain although through a massive fire scare. The entire 4 miles and several more miles of the Red Line once I’d returned to it travelled through dead stands of pine. It was great to see some sections with regrowth seedlings returning but vast areas had nothing but grass in the understory.
Reaching the Green Mountain Trail head I had propped in the shade for lunch when a day hiker came over and offered me a variety of drinks from his ice cold cooler: water, Coke or Gatorade. I couldn’t refuse some electrolytes as it was a warm day and went with a Gatorade. His next question was what flavour? Seriously I would have accepted anything on offer. We had a great chat. Absolutely everyone I’ve met along this trail is so friendly and generous, always wanting a chat. I love it. Yesterday at a carpark coming into town a couple out day tripping stopped to chat and when learning of the journey I was on even wanted to get a photo with me. The fella joked ‘Now I’m about to go and hike 100 feet.’
Soon after the Green Mountain Trail head it was back into green and unburnt pines, providing a reprieve from the sun and the trail started on a long and gradual climb towards Bowen Pass.
Along the way I ran into Coffee Stop heading in the opposite direction. He was at a pace and didn’t stop. Later on the climb as I pulled off to the side for a break he returned back up the hill. He had left his hat behind at his last resting place returning to retrieve it. I have not seen him since the day out of Pagosa Springs back at the start of Colorado. He dropped his pack and joined me in the shade for a break and to catch up. He pulled off trail to camp for the night a mile further on and I continued.
Reaching the top of Bowen Pass it was great to actually climb an 11,000 foot pass with next to no wind. From here I put in two more miles calling it quits at 17.3 miles for the day. Not a bad distance considering the later trail start. This will also set me up well for Steamboat Springs with two full days ahead, leaving a shorter day into town. I plan to do and in and out resupply from Steamboat as it will be July 4th here and this year is a big one celebrating 250 years of independence. Accommodation is likely to be booked and with a long weekend and prices pumped up.
Mick Beckers 