Pueblo Chieftain Story on Final Miles of the Hike!

Today's Pueblo Chieftain ran my piece, plus some photos, on the final leg of the hike. Click here to access the article.

It's three weeks ago today...

...that I completed the trail, and I'm still hungry all the time....I am wondering if my already fast metabolism got kicked up a notch from those days on the trail. Whatever it is, I am so enjoying the good foods I've been eating...homemade tomato soup (that Helene made last weekend), lots of salads, and the fresh fruit has been great, especially all the fresh peaches -- there is nothing quite like a fresh, perfectly ripe organic peach from Colorado's western slope!

We had a cold wet snap come through Colorado the last few days...I heard that the high country, including the stretch I just hiked, would be getting a good hit of snow. I am glad I got out there when I did!

The Pueblo Chieftain had me write another installment for the paper, which I so enjoyed writing. It is scheduled to run on September 20...I'll put a link in this blog next week.

I've finished adding the new photos and songs to my musical slide presentation, which I will be doing this Sunday afternoon, Sept 18, at the home of Susan Stiller's in Pueblo, hosted by Susan and MPEC Board Member Lamar Trant. Call me at home at 485-3191 if you want to attend. I'll be doing more of these the next few months, including at MPEC, after a soup, bread, salad and dessert dinner, on November 5. We just passed the $80/mile mark...thanks to all who are supporting this effort, as MPEC is as busy as ever with our Nature Education programs! I'm still working towards the goal of $100/mile!

Photos of the last 74 miles at Facebook page!

I have about 25 photos of my last four days on the CT at my facebook page here!

Hiking Myself Back Home!

I am happy to write that last Friday, Aug 26, I dropped down into the Junction Creek drainage a few miles north of the city of Durango and then hiked the final two and a half miles to the Junction Trailhead...I have now completed the 485.8 miles of the Colorado Trail. And it feels terrific! It was a multi-faceted final 74 miles, which I hiked over 4 days, with plenty of rain, and the most lightning of the entire trail to deal with. The mountain scenery was spectacular and the wildflowers were still in very good form. As I dropped in elevation as I hiked the final Section 28, I began to notice ponderosa pine trees, a lower elevation tree that is a part of my daily life here at home and at MPEC, but a tree I hadn't seen much of along the trail since I've been up so high for the last several hundred miles. Yes, it felt like I hiked 486 miles only to wind up right back at home! Helene and I took a few days after the hike and wound up in Santa Fe for some much appreciated rest and relaxation. And now, home again!

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this fund-raising effort...we are now up to $74 per mile and still working towards the $100/mile goal. I have several musical slide presentations scheduled this fall, and hope to schedule more of them (call 719-485-4444 of you'd like to schedule one of these enjoyable, informative and entertaining presentations).

Happy trails, Ranger Dave

One Last Time!

It is Saturday evening, and I've enjoyed a restful day at home, getting ready for my final leg of the trail. I've got 74 miles left to complete the Colorado Trail, which I will be doing this week. Jim Redfern, the terrific contractor who I've worked with for the last five years in renovating the Horseshoe Lodge, has kindly offered to drive me to Durango, a five hour drive, on Monday. Friends Mindy and Patrick Meiering generously offered for me to spend the night at their home in Durango, then a ride to Molas Pass on Tuesday morning where I will start the 73.9 miles of Sections 25-28. I'm so pleased to be at this stage of the hike...it's been a lot of planning, driving, and especially, putting one foot in front of the other. And I am so excited to have the completion for this challenge a few days away. Of course, I still have a good hike ahead of me, but I am rested and ready! I expect to get to the the end of the trail, just outside of Durango, on Friday or Saturday. Pledges and donations continue to come in and I am at over $73 a mile so far. The funds being raised are directly supporting MPEC's education programs, with an emphasis on this year's Earth Studies program. Through ES, every 5th grader from Pueblo City Schools, around 1300 kids, gets 6 full days of Nature-based education spread throughout the school year. Serendipitously, this year's first day of Earth Studies is this Tuesday as well. All week, while I'm covering the final miles of the CT, students from Parkview, Baca, Spann and Carlile Elementary Schools, many of whom will be going to the mountains or taking a hike for the first time in their lives, will be in Pueblo Mountain Park kicking off the the 10th year of MPEC's award winning ES program. That is all the motivation I need to complete the hike!

Happy Trails...an essay in the Pueblo Chieftain!

This year, I've taken more time out on the trail to write and journal...this was somewhat by design, as last year I missed some things in my push for miles. And, waiting out afternoon stormy skies created space for writing as well. I am pleased that the Pueblo Chieftain published an essay I wrote during this summer's first stretch on the trail. You can read it by clicking here!

It was a great hike!

I believe that I now have a favorite section of the Colorado Trail, at least so far, after 412 miles, with 74 remaining: Section 24, specifically the Elk Creek drainage in the Weminuche Wilderness surrounded by the spectacular Grenadiers. The Grenadiers are a group of mountains composed of quartzite, a hard and weather resistant rock that is rather rare in the Southern Rockies.

I started this 4-day trek at Spring Creek Pass, which is north of Creede and south of Lake City, at about 8:30 on Saturday morning, July 30. Helene hiked a mile or so with me and got a taste of the hike. After she headed back, I climbed onto Jarosa Mesa, then up and down to mile 9.2 at treeline with dark clouds brewing by mid-day. I opted to spend the night there to avoid being up in the exposed alpine landscape with lighting bolts shooting all around (an event that actually never happened anywhere near me anytime during this trek). I was up at five the next two mornings...hiked over the Colorado Trail's high point at 13,271', and made it to an un-named lake at mile 5.7 of Section 23 before the clouds kept me back once again. After a rainy night (the un-named lake is now called "Rained All Night Lake"), I was on the trail again before 6am, hiked through some cold rain just beyond Stony Pass into Section 24, and had clear enough skies to scoot across some high exposed alpine and down into Elk Creek. The final half mile before dropping off the high ridge greeted me with wind, cold rain and thick fog (but no electricity). As I descended into the drainage, the fog and rain slowly cleared and the spectacular landscape began to reveal itself. Wow, it was gorgeous...incredible rocky mountains, vibrant wildflowers and multi-textured skies combined to make a most memorable and striking section of the hike. I had to hike a few more miles down the trail to find a suitable place to hike, making for a 20-mile day, but an easier 12 miles for the last day's hike. My final day included seeing and hearing the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad that travels along the Animas River and a long but rewarding climb out of the Animas River valley to Molas Pass and the end of another 53 miles of the CT. More photos can be found at my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.1884093183433.2093698.1274464053&type=1.