Silverton

Day 30

Miles hiked today: 10.8
Miles from Denver: 411.5
Elevation: 10,889 ft
Segment 24
Landmarks: Weminuche Wilderness Area, Elk Creek, Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge RR, Animas River, Grenadier Range, Molas Lake, Molas Pass, Silverton

VIEW MAP

It was incredibly warm last night, in comparison to the last several nights. I think I chose my camp site very well. I was high enough up the river valley that I wasn't where the cold air settled at the bottom, and I was far enough away from the river itself that I didn't get any condensation. I had set an alarm to wake up early, and because it was so warm I had no trouble getting up and getting going.

I had nearly 11 miles to go, with the last 5 including a 2,000 foot climb. I figured the climb itself would take me a little while, and I wanted to get to Silverton before the post office closed. I didn't know their hours, but to be on the safe side I was assuming 11:30 am.

I was on trail by 6:30 am. The walk down Elk Creek was very pleasant, through a very old spruce forest with a rushing river alongside, all the time with towering rock mountains several thousand feet above. I can see why this area is so popular. The holiday weekend has brought out all the short trip hikers, rock climbers and families. There were definitely a lot of people here who probably aren't climbing all the way up to the Divide, and will be missing out.

The sun never hit the bottom of Elk Creek as long as I was following it, and as I descended the air got colder and colder. Even though the bottom of this river valley was my intended destination yesterday, I am very glad I stopped much higher. The sun started to hit the upper peaks, making for very beautiful views.

Elk Creek flows into the Animas River in a T shaped junction about 5 miles from Molas Pass, which also marks the crossing of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This train is a relic from the mining days of Colorado, running on rare narrow gauge track, and today is a big hit with tourists who want to see the dramatic mountain passes in this classic train. Hikers on the CT can actually flag it down and hop on board, although they still charge you for your ticket. I have to admit that as I photographed the tracks it would be a pretty scenic ride.

The Animas River also marks the end of my descent down, and the beginning of a 2,000 foot climb. I had budgeted some extra time for this, as climbs like this have really been kicking my butt. But what I didn't realize was that I am in much, much better shape than I was even two weeks ago in the Collegiate Range, struggling up Wesley and Harvard mountains. The other thing I didn't think about was that because I have been hiking for over a week above 11,000 feet, this climb, which starts at 9,000 feet would be no problem.

Indeed it wasn't. In fact, I don't normally say this about climbs, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I was able to fly up the mountainside without stopping but a few times, and I believe had I pushed it, I would have been able to do it without stopping for breath at all. It was a really spectacular feeling. I enjoyed it so much that I was sort of disappointed that it would be so short a day.

The trail comes tantalizingly close to Molas Lake Campground, where I knew there was a camp store and showers, but still a mile and a half from the road. My friends from way back at Buffalo Creek campground in Segment 4 that had fed me said they would be here this weekend, but unfortunately I only had a little bit of time before the post office closed. The interesting thing is that the trail, when within view of the highway, meanders back south, up some more elevation, and then switchbacks south again before finally connecting with the road.

It was a great feeling to step onto that pavement knowing everything that was behind me, and how relatively short the trail into Durango was ahead of me. I stuck my thumb out and almost immediately got picked up by a woman named Kelly, who is a hiker herself and was actually on her way to the trailhead to start a trip of her own. She has been hiking in the Weminuche Wilderness for 26 years, and says she takes at least one trip most years. She takes unknown trails that aren't even on the maps, and knows the whole area very well. She went to extra lengths to drive around town until we found the post office before dropping me off. What a great hitch!

For all of the rushing I did, the post office wasn't even open yet, as their hours were 11 to 1. No matter. Silverton has an excellent hostel, where I was given my own room with a key, a towel and washcloth, and even a free load of laundry. The shower was very powerful and very hot, and very soon I was feeling very refreshed. I set about a series of errands, starting with food. I went to the Handlebar Saloon (the logo is of a handlebar mustache) on Kelly's recommendation as a hiker friendly place with good food, and sure enough the waiter knew me as a hiker as soon as he saw me. I ordered a pitcher of water, a beer, a coke, two entrees and a bowl of peach cobbler. The waiter didn't think I could make it through both entrees, but because they came about 5 minutes apart I was done with the first one before the second one even came. It was the peach cobbler that finally did me in, and I cried uncle with about 5 bites left. Ah the joys of a trail town!

Silverton is a pretty nice town, but it is a town hung up on exploiting its own wild west history. There is little else than restaraunts, ice cream shops and souvenir shops here, to maximize the tourist dollar. There is even one store called the Tourist Trap. There are plenty of great places however with lots of character. It feels a little more real and a little more down to earth than say, Breckenridge. You can almost feel the presence of the locals just around the corner from the tourist junk shop.

The hostel owner offered to drive me up to the trail tomorrow for 5 bucks, which is a pretty sweet deal. I'm looking forward to getting back on the trail.

The Grenadiers

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.