Halfway

Day 18

Miles hiked today: 16.9
Miles from Denver: 242.9
Elevation: 9,600 ft
Segments 13, 14
Landmarks: San Isabel National Forest, Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, Raspberry Gulch, Browns Creek, Sand Creek

VIEW MAP

The place I had camped last night was only a mile or so away from the biggest roadwalk on the trail so far. They have been unable to connect the trail through National Forest land or otherwise in this spot, so the result is a 5.5 mile road walk. One benefit of that road walk is that the "trail" goes right by Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.

The hot springs are naturally occurring in the river, and supposedly this was discovered by whites in the 1860s and developed into a resort, even though the Indians had known about it for generations. Today, it is much like going to a public swimming pool, except the pool temperature is in the 90's, or you can go down to the river.  There they have created little sitting areas along the side of the river, where the hot water comes out and can be up to 120 degrees fahrenheit, but mixes with the river water so it is just right. This is quite a thing to have along a trail, and I wasn't about to pass it by.

Admission was just 10 bucks, and kept me occupied for more than an hour. There were hardly any people there, even though I have been told that you had to wait quite a while for one of the spots along the river. They even allowed me to put my pack behind the main desk where they could keep an eye on it. After soaking for a time, I went next door to the Mt. Princeton Resort and Restaurant, where I was seated at an outdoor table on a beautiful day. I was told that today's special was the BLT with avocado and chipotle sauce plus fries for 7 bucks. This was quite within reason, so in no time I was enjoying that as well. This place really isn't half bad.

I got back on the trail, I mean road around 1 pm, and intended to make some miles yet today. First I had to navigate a couple more miles worth of roads, which for whatever reason aren't marked very well for CT users. Eventually the trail got off the busy highway and onto a very ancient road along the Chalk River, which had dozens of nice properties and bed and breakfasts. I learned a little later at the trailhead that this community is called St. Elmo, and is an old mining town. The nice houses there would have been miner's shacks at one point or the other.

About this time the clouds got really ugly, and a pretty good thunderstorm opened up. I was thankful to be down low along the river, because the thunder was directly overhead. It was a fast moving storm, and pretty soon I was shielding my eyes from the blinding sun and blue sky yet still getting pelted with rain. Soon the storm moved on entirely, but it wouldn't be the last of the day.

Soon after the road brought me to actual trail again, and I was able to once again walk without being passed by cars. The trail climbed about 800 feet to Raspberry Gulch, from the top of which I could see quite a ways south to where I was going. This next 20 miles of trail is low country, where the trail makes away from the Sawatch Range and down towards Salida, after which I will again climb the Continental Divide. Salida is also the halfway point, but technically I would pass the true halfway point today.

I aimed for a campsite listed in the data book, and as the evening drew late I arrived to find two thru hikers already there. They were nice guys, and bade me to set up my tent and even cooked hot water for my dinner. I learned within a few minutes that one of these guys, Steve, is the Chairman of the Colorado Trail Foundation. It was very interesting talking to him about the hard work that goes into this trail, the volunteer hours and the politics that surround trying to draw a continuous line through the state of Colorado. They were hiking in the opposite direction so that they could meet more thru- hikers, as something like 95 percent of us start in Denver and walk west. He said I was number 99 or 100 that they have run into.

I am halfway through now, and hope to finish the rest of the trail in right around 2 weeks. Tomorrow I will reach Salida, the last town before the really high country, and the resupply before a really big section of 90 miles between towns. So far I have been at 9 or 10 thousand feet with a few visits above 11 thousand. For the rest of the trail I will stay above 11, and even visit 13 thousand feet.