Today was the most difficult hiking of the CDT yet. The day initialized with a ten mile climb to over 13,000 feet from camp near 10,000 feet.
Around 11,000 feet, tree line broke and so did much of the snow. I decided to skip a large traversing switchback at the pinnacle of which the Colorado Trail and the CDT diverged. I might as well say goodbye to the sweet, clear tread of the Colorado Trail and welcome my return to the pure CDT with an aggressive, ungraded climb up a mountainside. Ridge walking ensued after the departure from the Colorado Trail.
| 🗓️ Date | June 19th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 21.3 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 1198.6 |
| ⛅️ Weather | Clear blue skies, windy afternoon |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Nonexistent trail much of the day; following the divide ridge towards Grays Peak |
The ridge walking defined the day, bagging 13,000 foot peaks as I rolled between peak and pass. On the PCT, the high points of the trail are the often passes where much of the day is spent climbing up a valley to climax at a dip between peaks, then proceed to drop in elevation along the valley on the over side. However, on the Colorado CDT, the passes are often low points of the day, where hiking follows steep climbs and descents on ridges between peaks. Trail didn’t exist in a mature form; I was guided by the topography of the ridge with a rare, faint use line.
Later in the day, we met the Argentine Spine Alternate. The old CDT followed this higher, off trail route, while the new trail descended a couple thousand into a valley then climbed again to Argentine Pass. The question that guided my decision: why would I descend 2,000 feet to climb up it merely a few miles later? The Argentine Spine was my choice. I quickly understood why they rerouted the trail. The spine had such significant ascent and descent over many peaks that the total change easily exceeded that of the valley route. Do I regret the Argentine Spine route? No. Did the route punish? Oh yes.
I quickly lost Dang and Knuckles along the spine. On this off trail terrain, I hike at approximately 75% of their speed. Such a gaps means I doubtfully will hike near them for much longer. I established camp in a protected rock bivy near Argentine Pass, some two and a half miles from the top of Grays Peak. I’ll hope for an earlier start tomorrow since I expect some significant knife edge and cornice walking.
Signing off,
Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)
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