The San Juan Mountains

Day 26

Miles hiked today: 14.2
Miles from Denver: 338.2
Elevation: 11,720 ft
Segments 19,20
Landmarks: Continental Divide Trail, Gunnison National Forest, Chochetopa Creek, La Garita Wilderness, Eddiesville Trailhead

VIEW MAP

I woke up this morning with a lot of dew on my tent, and a slight frost. It is getting colder, and I have a feeling its going to be that way for a while. I was pretty late in waking up, and while I was eating breakfast the sun actually came over the nearby mountain and shined directly on me. It was nearly 9 oclock.

This didn't really follow my plans for the day, which involved waking up early so that I can get 15 miles done by early afternoon, so that I could summit San Luis Peak today. San Luis Peak is 14,014 feet tall, and is one of only a handful of 14ers that are easily accessible from the trail. I have passed all the others.

Today was just one of those days where the miles slowly ticked by, while time went faster than it should. By noon I had only done 6 and a half miles, and I found myself at Eddiesville Trailhead stopping for a snack, seemingly in slow motion. 2 hours later I had only moved about 2 miles, having stopped in a beautiful meadow to soak in the sun, eat some food and dry my stuff out. San Luis was not going to happen today.

A few miles earlier I had entered La Garita Wilderness area, which is the 5th Wilderness Area the trail has come though. After these last several segments of hiking on jeep roads, I was very excited for some pristine trail untouched by motorcycles and ATVs. What's interesting is that even in the wilderness area, I was still seeing double rut tracks.

The trail at this point is following Chochetopa Creek to its source, which is what I did for the whole day. The river valley is lined on either side with an ever more impressive array of mountains the farther up the valley I travelled. According to my map I have officially arrived in the San Juan Mountains, which is what I have been looking forward to this entire trip. If this introduction is any indication, they are absolutely beautiful. But I have the feeling I haven't seen anything yet.

I had decided to stop just before the climb up to San Luis Peak, and summit in the morning. That is going to make tomorrow a very long day. As I got closer to the head of the valley, the trail became enclosed in a very ancient forest. Most of the forests I've seen in Colorado, or even in most states I've been to, have already been logged and replanted. Some of the forests on the Colorado Trail are 3rd generation, having been logged and replanted twice. This forest however, doesn't seem like its ever been touched. This is the most remote part of the entire Colorado Trail, and is also the least used by even hikers.

About a quarter mile before I reached my intended camp site I met another hiker named Bo, who was already set up for the night and was about to build a fire. It was early, maybe 5 pm. Bo explained that the camp site listed was out in the open, which would be a concern with the cold wind coming off the pass. I decided to set up my tent at his camp, and enjoy a fire for the first time on this trip, as well as some rare company.

It was very nice having a fire, and we traded stories over the campfire until after dark. Bo explained his plan to hike San Luis Peak not in the morning, but the middle of the night so that he could get up there just before sunrise. This sounded intriguing. I had done something crazy like this once before; my middle of the night hike of Blood Mountain on the AT, and was greatly rewarded with one of the most unforgettable sunrises I have ever seen. I was in. We figured that a 3:30 am start would be needed, and I turned in to my tent for what was to be a very short night, and a very long day.