I could tell from yesterday’s hike – the difficult terrain coupled with my bum knee – that even my scaled-down hiking plan would be too much. So I got up early to give myself more time to reach my target of about 16.5 miles (26.6 km).
The day began great. The trail had smoothed out and was more dirt than rocks. I did cross a few boulder fields early on, but the CDTA folks had made stepping stone to make the going easier. Yes!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (among regular links) to products I own and like, or which I think you might like. This means that, at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
There were some big climbs to mountain passes, but then a lot of relatively easy downhills and even flats.
Leaving Boss Lake Behind
To save time, I opted to take an old CDT path; a newer version had just been built. The older one was 1 mile shorter (1.6 km), plus on a road, so I figured it would be a double bonus. WRONG! The path was mostly jumbled rock, which slowed me down. It was also mostly downhill, which made it slippery. I fell once and bloodied myself.
When the trail rejoined the current CDT, I was pretty happy. But, once again, there were 
very difficult climbs. I took a lot of rest and water breaks, and at one point thought I’d be at camp around 5-6 p.m., which would be great.
Alas, I miscalculated where my ending point was. When I was hoping it was just over this ridge, I learned it was nearly 4 miles (6.4 km) away. My heart sank.
Setting Up Camp
I knew I couldn’t hike that distance (mentally, anyway), but I did manage to get just 1.2 miles (1.9 km) shy of my goal. Still, those miles need to be added onto tomorrow’s trek, and there are two HUGE climbs tomorrow.
I guess all I can do is get up even earlier and hope to be on the trail by 6:30 a.m. so I can make it to Cottonwood Pass and my shuttle into Buena Vista.
I’ve run into a lot of people hiking the Colorado Trail, and they’ve all been very nice. The scenery has also been beyond incredible.
Oh, I should note yesterday’s campsite was just OK – flat, but I was squeezed between two trees. Tonight some women had taken a great spot near a stream, so I was once again squeezed between two trees. This time the ground was slanted. Rats! I can’t wait to find a really sweet campsite.
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: 15.1 (24.3 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 838.9 (1,350.1 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 2,261.1 (3,638.9 km)
My most useful gear today: These Kahtoola zippered gaiters. There’s lots of dust and rocks here, and they keep most of it out.
