[Day 64] Walk the Plank

I’m walking off “The Boat.” Colorado prods me to exit this state. First, I was forced to highway walk around Rocky Mountain National Park. Okay, I can live with this (though I hear people are sneaking their way through the closure). Then, I was in and out of “The Boat” in a matter of six hours. It was my choice, but these tourist towns are expensive and I’m sick of getting the eye from entitled Texans (the Colorado locals are great but far and few between). Now, I’m walking marshy, meadowy mountains with hoards of mosquitos coupled with intermittent snow slushes to the border. These are some of the worst bugs I’ve been in, maybe exceeding the bloodsuckers I encountered on Oregon’s PCT.

I was trying to hitch into Steamboat around 6:45am from Muddy Pass Lake, but traffic was flowing south on Highway 40 to Kremmling. After 15 minutes, I decided to walk my way up to Rabbit Ears Pass to allow time for morning traffic to wake up. I walked some highway and did some fiddling off trail in the woods before again reaching Highway 40. This time, the hitching was quick — ten minutes and Trenton was giving me a ride to “The Boat.”

Trenton was a classic character. We did a bit of speeding in his manual Subaru Impreza, talking beef on the Colorado tourist scene and the new-wave COVID outdoor enthusiasts who “camp” out of their $200k Mercedes Benz vans. Trenton dropped me off by the post office, and I started my town agenda.

I ate breakfast at Winona’s Cafe. The California huevos rancheros were something else — two over easy eggs, corn tortillas, black beans, and bacon, topped with cheese, sour cream, green onion, green tomatillo salsa, and avocado served with a side of hashed potatoes. This needs to become a staple of my diet. I should have ordered a second plate, but the full stack of buttermilk pancakes were plenty filling.

I traded my snow gear for bug spray, stacked on a lunch of Qdoba (imitation Chipotle) and a Blizzard from Dairy Queen, resupplied at Walmart, and made my exit. My snow gear was sent home. I debated sending it forward to Landers, but I’ll need my bear spray and a couple other items from home anyway. Also, I have a real craving for Chipotle-like restaurants when and where they are available. Beans, rice, and salsa fulfill my soul.

It was two part hitch to Rabbit Ears Pass. Jay got me further down Highway 70 to a more optimal turnout spot. He was a local musician on his way to play a venue in Oak Creek. I am blanking on the name of the woman that got me to the summit, which is sad because she was very motherly. She refused to drop me on the side of the road, took me to a trailhead, frivolously rummaged her glove box for extra utilities to give me, and gave me a hug before sending me on my way. It’s wild the love you get from strangers; I’d assume many see their younger selves or their own children in my 24-year-old adventurous character.

I set out from Rabbit Ears Pass, which passed through Dumont Lake Campground. An attractive, teardrop camper caught my eye, and I talked for a while with its owner, Greg, about its utility. To summarize, I want one. During the conversation, I had about 100 mosquitos on me, mostly attracted to the sweat, stink, and warmth of my shoes. These bloodsuckers continued all the way to my camp at Lake Elmo. I’ve rarely been surrounding by a quantity of mosquitoes this dense. A few managed into my tent, as they somehow do, and got fairly enlarged on my blood. I’m praying this isn’t a preview of the bugs to come.

Signing off,

Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)