Day 29
Miles hiked today: 20.2
Miles from Denver: 401.3
Elevation: 10,320 ft
Segments 23, 24
Landmarks: Continental Divide, Continental Divide Trail, Cuba Gulch, Minnie Gulch, Headwaters of the Rio Grande, Stony Pass, Weminuche Wilderness Area, The Grenadiers, Elk Creek
VIEW MAP
It is hard to believe, but this just gets better by the day. These 60 miles or so have to be some of the best trail in America. The weather has been absolutely phenomenal, as I haven't seen a threatening cloud since Monday. I also haven't seen a tree up close for nearly two full days of hiking, as the trail spends nearly 33 miles above tree line.
I woke up this morning to a very cold and frosty world. There was heavy frost coating my tent, due to the condensation freezing. My bottles hadn't froze, but when I got some water out of the pond, ice started to form. It was about 7 am, and very cold to be up, but I wanted to eat breakfast here while I had the water source. The worst part was packing away a frosted tent into a stuff sack with bare hands. It took my hands at least 10 minutes to recover from that.
I was up and ready before David and Jen were barely out of their tent, so I bid them goodbye and started on. Immediately I was climbing up a pass, into another set of mountains, then over another pass and into another. This repeated over and over again, and it never failed to astonish me that there were yet more incredible mountains over the next pass. The trail was following the Continental Divide as closely as it could, hence why it was going over all of the passes.
Finally the trail dropped down into a drainage to the left, which it turns out, is the headwaters for the Rio Grande. Curving around the side of a mountain, the trail joins Stony Pass road for a short spell before heading due south into the Weminuche Wilderness Area. (pronounced Whe-Me-Nooch) This is the sixth and final wilderness area that the CT passes through, which is yet another reminder that I am nearing the end. This is the last stretch of trail that the CT will be on the Continental Divide, and I am certainly going to miss it.
The area south of Stony Pass certainly had a little different character. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, other than it feels more southwest. There are more rocks than north of here, and a lot of the mountains are composed of different stuff. The trail is again following the Continental Divide as closely as it can. Pretty soon came the sign I had been waiting for, which directs the Continental Divide Trail south towards Mexico, and the Colorado Trail to the west. This is the last time I'll see the CDT on this trip.
The Colorado Trail immediately turns up on the Continental Divide itself after that sign, for one last glorious half mile on the Divide. This was probably my favorite spot of all the miles I spent up on the Divide on this trip. The trail was up on a grassy hill, which would have been suitable for a soccer game. It really reminded me of Max Patch on the Appalachian Trail. In all directions were breathtaking mountains, but due west was the most breathtaking view I have seen thus far; the jagged rock towers of the Grenadier Range, standing sentinel over Elk Creek a thousand feet below. The late afternoon sun glimmered off of the creek, as well as the quartzite surface of the Grenadier peaks. The creek disappeared into a black canyon of incredible scale. And right next to me was a sign saying that I was to descend down that canyon.
Of all the breathtaking views and mountains I have seen over the last four weeks, this one takes the cake. What's more is that I had been hoping this to be the case, after reading a short description on the Grenadier range, but mostly just because I thought the name was extremely cool. If the trail ended in Silverton, 13 miles from here, I could be happy. This is a truly incredible place.
Getting down to Elk Creek was quite a trick. Very aware that my shoes are prone to slip, I gently navigated the over 20 switchbacks that bring the trail nearly a thousand feet down a steep grassy slope. From here the trail follows Elk Creek in a nearly four thousand foot, 8 mile drop to the Animas River. This is definitely a little different scenery than what I've been seeing for the last 3 days.
I decided to stop with a little bit of daylight left for a change, and I will make an early run for the post office in Silverton. I still have about 10 miles to go tomorrow, which includes a two thousand foot climb. I am very excited to be so close to the last resupply town, and the last leg of the trail. I plan to be in Durango on Wednesday, and life will swiftly return to normal. But I am in a very good mood after the last several days of Middle Earth-ish terrain, and I can't wait to see what the last four segments of the trail have in store. Tomorrow is a town day, which means beer, pizza and a hot shower. That makes me extremely happy too.
