Notes
I didn’t really want to get out of the tent this morning and since we had a rough night last night, I think we all took it slow. Ted was the first out around 7:20 and I was out shortly after. We did the usual morning stuff and then started hiking down along the river on some muddy trail. We came to the remains of some small Lincoln-log style structures that we guessed were hunting cabins at one point and I put a tegaderm on the cut on my left foot since I forgot to put something on earlier. The trail stayed muddy and wet until we got to the Texas Creek trailhead. There we paused for some privy runs and snacks before starting the first climb of the day. It was steep for a bit but generally pretty hikeable. We had to step off briefly for two dirt bikers who politely told us that that were the only 2 coming. The trail flattened out a bit and it was nice to feel warm and dry after a cold start to the day. We paused briefly before starting the climb to Hope Pass, thinking that the 1.8 miles would take us about 40-45 minutes. We hustled up at a steady but manageable pace. After a mile Lucas and Ted suggested we stop for lunch but I wanted to keep going because I felt we had stopped pretty recently, about 75 minutes ago, wasn’t too hungry and wanted to take advantage of the lack of afternoon rain. After some discussion Lucas stopped to have a few bites but Ted and I kept going and said we’d wait at the top. We knocked out the rest of the climb with one short break during which we saw Lucas coming up as well. We got to the top, which came up a little faster than expected, saw two hikers navigating snow just over the other side of the pass, and then sat down to eat couscous and wait for Lucas. The two hikers came over and warned us that the snow was a bit tricky, and we later learned that the woman had slipped slightly in the snow. I had time to finish mine just in time for Lucas to came into view on the last 50m-ish stretch of climbing. We went across the snow, which I think is called a cornice, and then Mae our way down the other side of the pass which was much rockier than what we had climbed. This would definitely have been harder in the other direction and starting into the cornice would have been especially tough. We finally saw Indiana ahead after he had passed us last night! He seemed to look up at as briefly before going on. When we finally caught him, we chatted for a few minutes and learned he had gone off-trail in Buena Vista as well as spent a day at the butterfly house we had seen a sign for before crossing the road to start the slow climb to Monarch Pass. We learned it was a free hostel with a $30 suggested donation complete with free pot brownies and beer on tap in the kitchen area. Wild! He also saw a bull moose from afar. We parted ways after exchanging names (his is Matt but he’ll still be called Indiana here) and we figured he would catch us before the end of the day. Shortly after this we heard something falling down the rocks above us toward the pass and saw a rock falling down the mountain making lots of noise as it went and eventually sliding partway through a snowbank. I was very afraid at first that someone had fallen while hiking. Lake Ann was beautiful but we never came especially close to it, though others were camping there. It started to hail on us which continued for maybe 20 minutes, which made me grateful for the lack of precipitation during our harder hiking earlier. We saw a few tired, discouraged looking hikers heading up to the pass but we were almost giddy at being done our hard efforts for the day. As the hail stopped the temperature rose quickly and we took off our jackets to dry off and avoid overheating in them. We stopped not long after for lunch part 2 in view of some absolutely stunning views; green mountainsides and streams in front of us and rocky, snowy mountains behind us. I could not get over these views and it was hard to leave them behind. We are a Baby Ruth bar and most of the Doritos we had carried since Salida and they were delicious. Jackets and socks were laid out to dry in the sun as we sat in the shade. We continued gently downward with some occasional, short climbs the rest of the day and chatted a fair bit. It was really nice to hike all 3 of us together and spirits were high all day. We talked about how it was hard not to anticipate finishing when we had the last 5 days all planned out. This has been a great trip and I hope to remember lots of it, but it will also be nice to get off trail and relax a bit. Also, the blister on my left heel is huge and annoying so I’ll be happy to have that dealt with soon after we get off trail. Just before looking for our intended campsite, we stopped to pick up 4L of water to save ourselves a trip later. The site was easy to find and essentially directly against the right side of the trail. Almost instantly after we stopped hiking, thunder began and Ted noticed the dark grey sky almost above us. It started to rain gently and we quickly set up the tents. The rain picked up and Lucas and Ted jumped into their tent. I waited under a tree for a minute or two but the rain showed no signs of stopping so I asked Ted to pass me a Knorr’s and I got in my tent. I hoped the rain would stop but after a few minutes I gave up hope and changed into my sleep clothes, filtered water, and cooked dinner. I ate the summer sausage from Salida with the Knorr’s plus a pop tart. My pasta boiled over a little but it was easy to clean up and I finished cooking it outside the tent to avoid steam and condensation inside. The rain got very heavy and came through my tent a bit which was not so fun but also not terrible. I’m hoping it stops at some point but even if it doesn’t I don’t think I’ll get very wet.Lucas and Ted watched part of Line Goes Up, which Lucas had saved on his phone. At 8:30 it’s finally starting to feel dark so I’m calling it a night after sending today’s check-in.