6.8 miles

June 7, 2012

Day 3 Profile

Google Maps Terrain

June 7
Colorado Trail Segment 2
Up at 8am. Tent silnylon is soaked but the interior is dry. That was some storm! I met Karen, a solo thru hiker. She stopped and had breakfast while we chatted. As she was packing up to leave, Nat and Tamara (and Ida) came down the trail. The four of us visited for a while and talked trail talk. Looks like Karen and Nat/Tamara are all planning 30 days to do the trail so they will meet up off and on during the hike. They were all long gone before I was ready to start hiking.

I stopped at the river to get water. This is the only water for the next 2 days. I filled up 4 liters and drank an additional liter. Just past the river the trail ascends sharply for 2000 feet. It was a hard climb, hot, and dry... I was already tired by mile 4. I knew by mile 6 that water was going to be an issue. I had already consumed 2 liters, and was working on liter #3. The temps were around 90. If you do this section in August when it is even hotter, I would plan on a longer mileage day to get to the next water source (the fire station) and carry at LEAST 4 liters of water. This section of trail goes through the burned area. It actually was not as bad as I was expecting. I thought it was going to be miles and miles of devastation. Instead, it went in and out of the burned area, interspersed with forest, and there were wildflowers everywhere! Although going in August might be a different story after it gets drier, it certainly was beautiful in June.

Looking back at Platte River Rd and the Platte River

Wildflowers in the burned area

I decided to make camp around 4pm. I found a really nice spot about 75 yards east of the trail. On a bluff with views in three directions. I made stew for dinner. Not the freeze dried stew, but stew from one of those ready-made meals. Yum. Just heat and eat. I finished off the rest of my water except for a couple of ounces for the morning. Wish I had another liter... Tomorrow will be rough.

Beauty amidst the devastation

Rocks near Raleigh Peak Rd

It started to rain lightly around 5pm. I got into my tent and read for a while. Then my airpad started to deflate. Say what? The repair kit said it was "easy to repair while in the field". I was skeptical. Finding a pinhole might have been tricky, but what I found was a 1/4 inch gash, and yes, it was easy to repair. As I was repairing the airpad, something poked through the tent floor and embedded itself into my foot. Looked like a cactus spine. It broke off in the bottom of my foot and I could not dig it out. I must have made camp where there used to be cacti. I hadn't seen any when I put the tent up. Now I knew what had ruptured my airpad. I put all my spare clothes and anything else I could find under my airpad, and left it to dry/cure. Fortunately the rain stopped and I was able to leave the tent, relax and read in the shade for a couple of hours. When it was time to crawl back into the tent, I held my breath. Yes! The airpad held air and no more cacti attacked me.

Almost through the burned area

Raleigh Peak Rd junction

Campsite 75 yards east of the trail

No mosquitoes at all this trip, yay!
Tomorrow is a really short mileage day. Only about 6 miles.

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