It’s amazing how well fed and rested I feel when I stay with my friends. I woke up, wrote my blog post, made a huge breakfast with fresh eggs, and packed my backpack. Then, Carrie drove me back to Berthoud Pass with her niece.
At the pass, I could see dark clouds starting to build. I thought I might get thunderstorms. I said thank you and goodbye to Carrie, and started hiking the steep hills towards Mount Flora. About a mile in, I saw a trail runner coming toward my way. As she got closer, I noticed that She was a person of color. I had a huge smile on my face and so did she. We stopped and introduced ourselves to each other. Diksha, originally from Nepal, was easy to connect with and we talked for a while. She was strong and inspiring. After we said goodbye, I felt energized and danced up towards Mt. Flora with a big smile.
When I reached the summit, I noticed that the CDT would go down to the trees and stay low for a while and climb back up to the continental divide again. I felt strong and wanted to stay high on continental divide ridgeline for more challenging terrains. I decided to hike the line and climbed four more peaks that were over 13,000 feet: Mt. Eva, Parry Peak, Mt. Bancroft, and James Peak where I merged with the CDT again. The view was stunning and the climb to Mt. Bancroft was especially exciting since it turned into a third class steep slope where I scrambled on rocks! I kept my eyes on the clouds and as I expected, it started to hail while I was descending from Parry Peak. I tucked myself on the leeward side of a tiny boulder and sat down. I watched the storm go by and was mesmerized by it.
The storm passed in about 15 minutes and the sunshine came back. I started hiking again and saw a few frozen lakes below. The ice had an amazing glacier blue color. The wildflowers were blooming everywhere.
Since I started much later than usual, I hiked until 8 pm in the beautiful evening light. Even though I was on the ridge line and exposed to the sun, wind and rain, I found some trees on the top of a ridge and decided to camp there. I went to sleep thinking that I was so glad that I went for the divide route for such beautiful scenery and more exciting hiking experience.
The next day, I had a late start since I walked until later than usual the night before. I woke up to the song of American robins. When I started hiking, the trail first followed continental divide ridge line. The sunflowers were all facing me and the sun, as if they were saying good morning to me. I thought wow, another beautiful day!
Right when the wind started blowing, the trail turned away from the divide and descended down following Cabin Creek into the valley and trees. I noticed that almost all trees were pulled off from the roots, and the lower I went, the more trees were also burned. It looked like fire came and an avalanche might have knocked them all down. It seemed everything was destroyed and yet, I noticed the sign of recovery on land. It is one of my favorite phenomenons to witness in nature. Storms, avalanches, fires, and many more disastrous events happen. Such devastation is part of the natural cycle. Since it’s a cycle, such events provide opportunities for the beginning of a new life and growth. Nature shows me the resiliency that we all have. I remember tasting the sweetest wild strawberries that grew in the burned forest in northern California while hiking the PCT in 2023. When I face difficult moments in life, I remind myself of these moments. Just like these strawberries had a chance to flower and fruit with enough sunlight, water and nutrients, people can recover from trauma with enough support. Walking through areas gone through hardship is a reminder that anything can happen in life and even at the toughest moment, we are programmed to sprout for new possibilities. It gives us an opportunity for a new beginning. A transformation.
Even though there were a lot of down trees in the forest, I noticed that the trail was clear of down trees. I appreciate the trail crew. They work hard to maintain the trail for hikers and horse packers to travel safely.
For the rest of the day, I stayed in the trees mostly. Occasionally, I came to meadows or was able to peek mountains through the trees. When walking through such a monotone forest, it’s easy to go into a spiral of thoughts that I have not been able to digest. With a short conversation I had with Diksha, she asked me how I dealt with all the thoughts going through my mind. I told her that it happens at the beginning of the hike and eventually these thoughts go away and become quiet and peaceful since I am using thru-hiking as a walking meditation practice. I think it’s true most of the time; however, sometimes I have a spiral of thoughts after having negative interactions with other hikers on the trail.
I kept thinking about one interaction I had at a pass north of Kokomo pass. That was when I saw two hikers: one was a Colorado Trail southbound hiker and the other one was a CDT northbound hiker. I remember the CDT hiker said to the CT hiker, “San Juan was a shit.” I’m not sure exactly what she meant, and when I heard her say that, I was so upset because I have a need for respect for nature and the mountains and wanted her to use different words to describe more of exactly what she meant. I guessed that maybe she felt shitty going through San Juan because of so much snow. Language is powerful, reflecting one’s mindset, psyche, and current and their ancestral experiences whether the person recognizes it or not.
The language she used to describe San Juan was disrespectful in my mind. It disregards the relationship the original people of the land have with the mountains. I want us to remember that we are entering the land as a guest without any invitation from the indigenous people or the land herself. I want us to be humbled and modest on the land and come as a care-taker, not as the conqueror. Thru-hiking community continues to be very white, and I need white folks to be more aware of the impact of colonization on the land and themselves. It shows how we talk about our hiking experiences and our relationship with nature. I wish I had said something to her at that moment, and I didn’t. I went on and on about how much I regret the fact I said nothing and rehearsed what I would do differently next time as I walked through the woods.
When I made the last big descent down and came to Monarch Lake, I felt the shift of energy in me and the surrounding. It switched from stagnant and heavy to flowing and light. I saw more colors and openness. My spiral of thoughts seemed digested and I became peaceful. I felt welcomed and encouraged to slow down to admire beautiful flowers. First, Columbine greeted me, then wild rose, and I saw the flowers of thimbleberry, which is my most favorite berry in the whole world. I hope to taste them in Montana, when I expect to be there in August. I cannot wait to be one of the beneficiaries of the wild deliciousness!
I passed Monarch Lake and arrived at Grandby lake in the evening. I deviated from the CDT and found a camp near the lake. It was the first time I thought about jumping in the lake on this trip since most lakes I’ve seen were frozen. Although it was too cold to swim in the lake, I still went down to the water and washed myself. It felt so good to end my day like this – the first time in Colorado! As I prepared my dinner, I enjoyed watching the beautiful sunset, looking forward to reaching Grand Lake the next day.
The next morning, I left my camp early so that I would get to Grand Lake in the mid morning. I walked along the edge of Granby Lake for a while. There was no wind. The water was so calm. Morning air was perfectly cool and I noticed that I haven’t felt cold for the last few days. Soon, the trail went up and over, then down on the other side of the ridge. I saw bear, moose and elk scat on the trail. The morning was very pleasant – listening to the chorus of songbirds, surrounded by wildflowers.
The lake turned into the Colorado River. I saw Canada Geese, American White Pelicans and fly fishers. When I saw the sign of entering Rocky Mountain National Park with the CDT sign, I was so excited! I’ve hiked Colorado this far and I am coming to the first national park!
Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park will be the crux of northern Colorado. The 28-mile trail circles around the central part of the park with an elevation between 8,000 and 11,500 feet. Unless you paid and made an advance wilderness camping reservation and have a bear canister, you have to make it in a day. For those who are not able to hike 28 miles a day, there is the Rocky Mountain National Park Cutoff, a 4-mile alternative route, which goes straight north from Grand Lake. At this point, I feel confident that I could do it. I’ve met every crux that was presented to me in Colorado – from the 118-mile circle around San Juan in the snow to exposed ridge hiking on Argentine Spine in the fog and wind all the way to Grays Peak. The most I was able to hiking in Colorado in a day was 32 miles. If I have an early start tomorrow, I will have 15 hours of daylight to complete the 28 mile. The weather looks good tomorrow with no chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. I will still prepare for that, and I hope the weather will be on my side.
I have a whole afternoon to get my resupply, rest and prepare for tomorrow and for the rest of the hike to Rabbit Ears Pass, my next and the last resupply in Colorado. I already have so many feelings about Colorado! I am trying not to burst into tears and laugh yet until I cross into Wyoming.
Getting so close!!