Sunday, July 7, 2013
Dee was up early (about 5:30 am) on Sunday morning. After packing up and chatting with a male hiker who camped at Twin Mounds saddle (He said the mosquitoes were bad there too.) and the two female thru-hikes (Pam? and Liz), we started on the trail about 8:15 am. We learned more about Pam? and Liz. Pam will be a nursing student, and Liz just got laid off from REI. They have lots of people helping with resupply, are ahead of schedule, and planned 54 days on the trail.
Our goal was to have breakfast on the trail, probably at mile 9.0--North Willow Creek. We were kind of low on water, so we would filter water there and resupply.
As we left our campsite, we saw lots of blue trail markers. We wondered what they marked. Our guess is that they mark some kind of winter trail for snowmobiles, show shoes, or cross country skiers.
Many of these markers are diamonds, some with directional arrows. Later in the day we would also see orange diamonds, some with directional arrows as well.
At about mile 8.0 I met a guy who was training for the Leadville 100. He had thru-hiked the CT last year. He had been training near Leadville all weekend and was feeling a bit tired. He planned to run toward the Sugarloaf Saddle today and run back. As we talked we saw another hiker on the Highline Trail.
Dee waited for me at mile 9.0 North Willow Creek except she was getting attacked by mosquitoes. She also got cold.
So she headed to mile 9.5 at the top of the ridge where she meditated and called Dave. Then she got a bit worried about me and hiked back to find me. I was about a quarter of a mile from her. So we hiked to the ridge together. There we met the five CDT hikers that Flippy told us about. Their trail names were Trip, Tourist, Vergo, Nicotine, and Cactus. They were moving fast and planned to get to Tennessee Pass that evening.
We were now descending (YEA!!!). A little bit ahead is the Mount Massive Trailhead (mile 10). Mount Massive is 3.5 miles and 3180 feet of elevation gain to the summit! Then I arrived at Willow Creek (mile 10.1) and stopped there to filter water and rest. I saw lots of people here. First there were two guys from California that thought they might hike to Mt. Massive. I did not tell them that they were probably too late today since it was already after noon. As I prepared to cross the stream a big group arrived. There were probably six or seven people in this group of a couple of families. Two fathers crossed after me. They and their kids were hiking about 75 miles of the CT.
At mile 10.7 I crossed South Willow Creek. I was sure I would have to walk in the water, but I made it across dry and surprised myself by finding the right rocks.
The rest of the trail was downhill but kind of difficult. It was pretty steep and narrow and part of the trail was on the side of a steep slope. Lots of people passed me. Most were wrapping up their Mt. Massive climb. I also saw four riders on horseback that went to Willow Creek and back. They passed me both ways. Finally I also saw a couple of families with kids that were doing a short day hike. They kept one little girl motivated by letting her lead a dog. About a half mile before the end of the trail, Dee and Dave and their dog Kenoy met me to hike with me to the end of the trail.
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| End of Segment 10--Mt. Massive Trailhead & Half Moon Creek Campground |
The trail ends at the Half Moon Creek Campground. We then drove to my car and headed to Leadville for lunch. We ate at the Silver Dollar Saloon. After lunch we caravaned to Denver. What a great trip!
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