September 4, 2013

September 4, 2013
Above Hunt Lake to just past Sargents Mesa
~34 miles

Got a nice early start this morning while the stars were out and made my way up to the divide for one of the most spectacular sunrises I have ever seen. No way to describe it, or even capture it in a picture (I tried). Some things are just better in person.

The first miles went by quickly and easily and I made it to the Monarch Crest Store at 8:15. After picking up my resupply, stuffing my face with food, and charging my phone and iPod I finally made it out at 10am.

Now for the crazy... It is almost exactly 100 miles from Monarch Pass to Spring Creek Pass where I will hitch into Creede, CO. My friends Optimist and Stopwatch are finishing a section of Colorado they had to skip because of a wild fire earlier this year. They too are planning on getting to the pass at the same time. When you ask?Friday evening. Just about 2.5 days to cover 100 miles. Crazy? Sure. Like a fox.

Speaking of crazy, the weather in Colorado has been insane. There was a good 4-5 hours today with some combination rain/hail/thunder, sometimes all at once. Fortunately most of the hiking during this period was under forest cover so I was able to continue on with little fear of getting struck by lightning. As it was pouring today two movie quotes came to mind. The first is from Braveheart when William Wallacw comes to call on the girl. It's raining fairly good and the father of the girl says, "you're going for a ride. In this?!" Gibson responds, "this is perfectly good Scottish weather. The rain is falling straight down, or slightly to the side-like." (Of course this is all said with a Scottish accent)

The second movie scene/quote was more general, from Forrest Gump. The scene when Forrest is in Vietnam and he describes all the types of rain. That's about how I felt today. But then it actually did clear off and was fairly dry by the time I set up my tent.

Here's hoping for another good hiking day tomorrow! The goal is roger at least 40!


Alex