Salida

Day 19

Miles hiked today: 10.4
Miles from Denver: 253.3
Elevation: 8,840 ft
Segment 14
Landmarks: San Isabel National Forest, Mt. Shavano, Angel of Shavano, Salida

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It rained all night, and my tent was on an incline, slanting from left to right. This meant that to prevent sliding completely into the opposite wall of the tent, I was sleeping on the edge of my sleeping pad, balanced precariously in that spot where I wouldn't roll into the wet tent wall. As always when there is any moisture on my tent however, the foot of my sleeping bag soaked it up because I've found it inevitable that my feet touch the wall.

So I got up, packed up a wet sleeping bag and a wet tent, and joined The Professor and Crash for some breakfast. Once again they had boiled a lot of water, so there was a pot ready for my oatmeal and coffee. These guys pack heavy, and have large cook pots and large stoves and large food canisters. They were headed in the opposite direction and planned to stay at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort, so I'm sure they didn't mind burning a little extra fuel.

Bidding them goodbye and thanks, I started south once I had everything ready. It was a grey, foggy, moist day. My camera stayed in the backpack except for the one time I brought it out to get a picture of the fogged in trees. The forest is really beautiful at a time like this, especially through the aspen groves. At one point I stopped when I saw the specter of a cow opposing me, which turned out to be nothing more than a real cow, in thick fog. Now that would have been a great picture.

It wasn't long before I came upon the Mt. Shavano side trail. This is another 14er, but not one I had planned on climbing, even with good weather. It is a 10 mile round trip. The nearby trailhead is called Angel of Shavano, because when there is snow on the mountain, but not too much snow, it makes the shape of an angel. This, like the Mount of the Holy Cross, has drawn many visitors through the decades.

It was not a far walk today, as I was going about 10 miles to US 50 to go into town. The fog never lifted, and it was rather chilly. There seemed to be one giant cloud just parked right on the mountain, which wasn't going anywhere. When I got off the mountain I could see that this was very much the case.

I got rides from two different people; one a New Zealander named Mark who thought he was going through Salida, but actually was turning before it. So he left me at a gas station about half way, where I caught a ride with a guy named Oscar who was driving to Texas. Oscar wasn't sure either if he was going through Salida, but he decided to try it anyways and dropped me in town. I'm sure he would have hit Texas had he gone through Salida or not, so he should be in good shape.

Salida is my favorite trail town so far. It has a very vibrant historic downtown, with a disproportionate number of art galleries. There are plenty of ma and pop shops, including a shoe cobbler and a leather tanner. I didn't see a single empty storefront, and business looks like it is good. The Arkansas River runs right past downtown, which is a huge river for kayakers and white water rafting. There are a few restaurants right on the water where you can watch the kayakers run the rapids. Above the town are some mountains, one of them with a giant 'S' on it, and a peculiar white house perched above the S, with what appears to be a spiral trail going up the mountain. At night I discovered that they light the S, alternately with a giant heart, because Salida claims to be the heart of the rockies.

I'm staying at a great hostel called the Simple Lodge, and am headed out tomorrow on the longest, most remote portion of the trail. It's 90 miles before my next resupply stop, so I have packed my food bag as full as its been yet. I am excited because this is reputably the most beautiful portion of the trail coming up, with the trail spending most of the time above tree line and above 11,000 feet. This is what I've been waiting for!