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Published: July 21st 2010
Bear at Molas Pass
John took this picture from 50 yards after getting the bear's attention by shouting "Hey bear!"We did it! After six years, 470 miles, and 47 days of walking we completed the
Colorado Trail. The Colorado Trail (CT) runs from Denver to Durango over multiple mountain ranges and through several different wilderness areas. It is similar to, but much smaller than, the Appalachian Trail. And we are proud of our accomplishment.
In the big scheme of things, we had no serious adventures on this journey. We did, however, see many wonderful sights and meet many interesting people. For instance, the wildlife was spectacular. Among the highlights were a black bear and a golden eagle. We also saw marmots, pika, elk and ptarmigan and signs of moose and coyote. But as great as the wildlife was, the wildflowers eclipsed them. July is the height of the wildflower season and what a height it was! We saw hillsides covered with many columbines including some that were all-white. We saw at least eight different colors of paintbrush including orange, red, pink, peach, white and even a bi-color (pink and white). One of my favorite sights was a field of buttercups with splashes of pink paintbrush and a mountain stream meandering through it.
One of our few challenges was that
on day 2 we noticed that our water filter was getting a little slow to pump. By day 3 it had slowed to the point where it would take a half hour to pump a quart of water, which is unacceptable when bending over a stream at the mercy of mosquitoes and other biting flies. For the next several days until we could get into Silverton for a replacement filter, we used a combination of boiling water for at least five minutes and very patient pumping. Our pump going out was actually serendipitous because it allowed us to meet a fellow backpacker from Durango named Don. On our last night before Silverton we stopped for the night at a popular camping spot by the Animas River and the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge railroad. While we were setting up our tent a man and his son came by to greet us. This was Don and his son Jared and they were being neighborly. We took the opportunity to ask if we could use their water filter and he took the opportunity to ask to borrow our stove. As it turns out, he was camped with his two kids while his wife and
two other adults hadn’t returned from climbing, and they had the camp stove. The kids were getting hungry and he was unable to make dinner for them. The other adults finally returned and that is when we met Rob and Amy.
The next day, Rob and Amy gave us a lift into Silverton and helped us find a hotel. Then, since they live in Durango, they gave us their phone numbers and offered to pick us up when we reached the end of the trail in a week or so. It was a good thing they gave us their phone numbers because we somehow managed to leave our camera in their car. They did not find it until they got back to Durango so they simply held onto it until we reached Durango and that is where they earned the title of “Trail Angel.” After we completed the trail, they drove us to four different hotels trying to find one with an available room then they recommended a great restaurant for dinner as well. They made what could have been an exhausting search for a room into a pleasant ride. Thank you Trail Angels!
Many people wonder about
B'fast at 12000 Feet
Beth's breakfast dining area...quite a view. a typical day on the trail. The best way to describe it is to start with making camp at the end of the day. We usually stop hiking between 5 and 7pm. If there is any chance of rain, our first step is to set up the tent and get our Thermarests and sleeping bags in it. Then Beth goes to get a bag of water from a nearby stream and John searches for a tree from which to hang the food so the bears and other critters won’t partake in any midnight feasts. He tries to select a strong branch that will hold our food bags 10 feet off the ground and 10 feet away from the tree itself, selecting another tree to secure the rope with a sailors hitch. Next is dinner; this is usually a cold meal because we cook our hot meal in the middle of the day to allow ourselves a longer break. After dinner, we make milk for breakfast, brush our teeth and then hang the food in the tree that John previously selected. We are usually in bed before the sun sets, and we begin stirring once the rising sun starts warming our
Rainbow
Rainbow over an unnamed 12,900' pass. The hiker under it is Beth. tent, especially at altitude when the temps can drop noticeably during the night. The first one out of the tent (usually Beth) retrieves the food from where it was hung. It is often pretty chilly (35-45 deg F) so we pack up camp and start hiking. We stop for breakfast when we find a sunny spot. Then we hike some more and stop for a long lunch break about 1pm. Finally we hike some more until we reach our next camping spot. On a normal day we will walk 12-13 miles.
Upon returning to Colorado Springs, We went camping with our friends Vicky and Gary and spent a few days doing final errands. On Wednesday we fly to Boston to visit John’s family and on Saturday we fly to South Africa.
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Becky Haver
non-member comment
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip and made some great friends as well! Looking forward to hearing from you in South Africa!