Sigh. Ed and I had high hopes for today. We got up early to pound out more miles after yesterday’s many issues and low mileage. But it was not to be. Far from it.
After breaking camp with tents wet from dew, we immediately had a water crossing. The water was frigid, as it was only about 40 F (4.4 C). But we soldiered on, only to encounter numerous downed trees on the hike back up to elevation
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Making Our Way to Bobtail Creek
We’d read that the Silverthorne Alternate wasn’t well marked, and the trail often dissolved into nothing. We thought we’d hit that section yesterday. But, no, it happened again today.
Initially, we were able to follow the trail pretty well. But around noon – after Ed had to carry both of our packs along this super-scary trail barely etched into the mountain, because I was panic-stricken – we followed a few cairns that took us WAY out of the way. We stumbled around in this hummocky terrain for a long time before realizing we weren’t on the trail – and here, unlike previous sections, the FarOut app was accurate.
Eventually, we had to backtrack quite a ways to get back to the trail, which pitched steeply upward. At one point, it looked like we’d have to crawl up a scree field, but we eventually found the trail.
Please Let This Day End
After that, it should have been an easy 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to Bobtail Creek, our destination 
last night – and again tonight. But the trail was washed away in one spot, so I crawled above the washout while Ed took my pack once again and walked below the washout.
We eventually reached our camping spot. The best area of the spacious site was filled with elk (?) poop – fresh and absolutely everywhere. So we had to pitch our tents in a lesser spot.
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: 5.8 (9.3 km) – But oh, so many more miles wandering around!
CDT Miles to Date: 944.1 (1,519.4 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 2,155.9 (3,469.6 km)
