And the craziness continues! Kim said she could shuttle me after all, getting me on the trail by noon. However, that would mean I wouldn’t reach Twin Lakes until Saturday, and I had some nonrefundable inn reservations. More importantly, the lodge cleaning staff told me Colorado’s La Plata wildfire was spreading quickly, honing in on the area of the CDT where I’d be hiking. Yikes!
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Not wanting to flirt with an aggressive wildfire, I decided to hike to Twin Lakes on the roads. But Kim said no, she’d shuttle me to the Clear Creek Trailhead instead. It’s not on the CDT, but rather on the Colorado Trail. However, if I hiked about 6 miles (9.7 km) northbound, it intersects with the CDT near Twin Lakes. That seemed the smartest move, so I said yes.
Leaving Clear Creek Behind
I got on the trail at noon. I spent the first 90 minutes climbing, with almost no shade. After I crested the ridge, the trail undulated for the rest of the day. There wasn’t much water, so I stocked up at the one rushing stream I found. As I neared Twin Lakes, I hiked through a large burned area. That’s always sad.
My plan was to head backwards on the CDT once I reached its intersection with the CT. This way, I could hike some of the CDT I’d be missing by skirting around the wildfire. I didn’t mind backtracking tomorrow to continue heading northbound, as I had cut some mileage by skipping the wildfire zone.
But when I was almost there, I reached for my water bottle, which had my Sawyer filter attached, and found it was gone. WHAT?!!
Another Change of Plans
I was freaking out in my head. I had just a few sips of (warm) water left in my other water bottle, and there was no way I’d drink unfiltered water. Too many people get giardia and other stomach ailments when they do that. Suddenly, a biker rode up.
I asked if he’d seen my water bottle and filter, and he had. But he said it was many miles 
back. I couldn’t hike many miles back with two sips of water left, plus there were no water sources to replenish my supply once I reached my water filter – if it was even there. What if another hiker or biker had returned it to the Clear Creek Trailhead?
The biker, Pieter, hatched a plan. He’d carry my backpack and bike to the parking area where his wife was waiting. I’d hike and meet them. Then we’d figure out what to do.
Day Is (Finally!) Done
After a few issues trying to find each other (this area of the trail, on the east end of Twin Lakes, has a gazillion trails criss-crossing one another and many different parking lots), we reconnected. I decided it was best if they shuttled me to the Twin Lakes Inn, where I had reservations for tomorrow and Saturday. Hopefully they had a room open for tonight, or would let me camp in their yard. There’s a gear store next door that I knew carried water filtration devices, so I could get a new one tomorrow.
The Twin Lakes Inn did have an opening, so now I’m tucked in there, knowing I once again have to reconfigure my itinerary.
Fun fact: Turns out Pieter and Liz had run into Kim (trail angel) when their GPS sent them to her home instead of the local visitor center, where they were hoping to get water. Kim said they should just fill up their jugs at her house. Kim had told me about this incident, as it happened right before she was heading out to pick me up last night. What a small world!
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: =7.6 (12.2 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 863.8 (1,390.2 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 2,236.2 (3,598.8 km)
My favorite piece of gear today: Not surprisingly, my Sawyer Squeeze water filter.
