The San Juan’s gave me one last kiss goodbye — excuse me, I mean, a kick in the ass. The first two and a half miles of the day took me a little over two hours. The slushed snow drifts of beetle-killed forest of the first mile required an hour and many expletives to get through. The steep, ankle-cocking surface of second mile used up a little less than a proper hour with long traverses in micro-spikes.
| 🗓️ Date | June 6th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 30.1 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 938.0 |
| ⛅️ Weather | Clear 40°F morning, early thunderstorm through the afternoon, choppy clouds in the evening, some rain at night |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Clear trail and dirt roads after the snow of the first three miles |
San Luis Pass was the gateway out of the San Juan’s. The valley of Cochetopa Creek was visibly snow free. After half a mile of bushwhacking and snow slapping down San Luis Pass, trail lit my way. Magically, below 11,500 feet, the snow disappeared. I hope this holds true ahead.
By noon, however, the thunderstorms rang out. Though I was low in a valley, I was quite exposed. I hurried my way to the Eddiesville Trailhead, where a privy awaited, saving me some exposure from the rain and lightning. I filtered water, ate my lunch, and did my business (I know, quite an unhealthful assortment of items to do next to a pit toilet) in the comfort of a shelter.
Leaving Eddiesville at 2pm, I scheduled another 14 miles on top of the 11 already completed. I decided to let the legs run on the hiked until dark — another 19 miles.
Signing off,
Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)
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