Marshall Pass

Day 20

Miles hiked today: 18.3
Miles from Denver: 271.6
Elevation: 11,240 ft
Segments 15, 16
Landmarks: Salida, Fooses Creek, Continental Divide, Continental Divide Trail, Marshall Pass, Mt. Ouray

VIEW MAP

I started out this morning with two other hikers, Paul from DC and Thumbs Up from Colorado Springs. We got a slow start out of town because we made a stop at the First Street Diner and smashed a lot of food. There was a girl named Jamie staying at the hostel who we bribed to drive us up to the trailhead, so she kindly re-arranged and emptied her entire car to fit three cleaned but still slightly smelly hikers, and drove us the 20 or so minutes one way up to the trail.

Segment 15 starts out on a road and ends on a road, but whats in between is really spectacular. We started out by following Fooses Creek from Rt 50 up to the Continental Divide. That was a very long, 8 mile climb. At the top, there is a panoramic view in all directions of dramatic peaks, many of them 14ers. The Continental Divide Trail re-joins with the Colorado Trail here, and will continue with it for over the next 100 miles. We will follow the Divide for quite some time now.

The weather could not have been better. Fat, puffy lazy clouds marched steadily by, as for mile after mile the trail stayed above tree line, affording a different picture each time I looked up. The weather never threatened or wavered, and it was very warm, even by the time I made camp.

Because the trail now follows the Continental Divide for a while, water is very scarce and it has become important to pay close attention to when the next water source is. The length of my hike today was dictated by that, and I was making for a place called Silver Creek which has water a third of a mile off trail. Paul was headed there too, and Thumbs Up was smart and already ate, so he planned to camp wherever there was a good view.

Marshall Pass is a pretty interesting place. It is a route across the mountains that was used by one of the railroads to get to Gunnison, and even though this route was longer, it got there faster because the grades were easier. The guidebook has a story about a Lieutenant William Marshall, who discovered this shortcut because he had a toothache and had to get to Denver in a hurry. As for the trail, a few miles before the pass it is routed onto an old mining road, which today allows use of ATVs and motorcycles. I would find that most of this next segment is like that too, and the quality of the trail drops considerably.

The only shelter on the entire Colorado Trail

I stopped about a quarter mile before the water source, knowing I had enough to get through the night, and because I found a campsite on a ridge with a really incredible view to the east. There was a panorama of peaks lit with orange light as I made my dinner and set up camp, and the weather was still as calm as ever. What a great day.

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

VIEW MAP

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!