Kimberly met Ed and me at 7:30 a.m. for the shuttle to the Onahu Trailhead. It was cloudy and cool, with storms forecast. Uh-oh.
We were on the trail by 8 a.m., and quickly saw a moose and two elk. Cool! The path began very easily, with modest inclines and nice, soft dirt. We ran into several CDT hikers, all heading south.
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.
Making Our Way to Bowen Pass
By late morning, the path became steeper and rockier. Still, it was so much better than what we’ve experienced in the past! Right around the time we were climbing over Bowen Pass, the winds kicked up and rain seemed imminent.
Sure enough, it soon began to hail. Hail is better than rain, though, as you don’t get as wet. We put on our rain gear and hoped it was temporary.
Luckily, the rain/hail didn’t last too long. We got wet, but sort of dried out during the rest of the afternoon.
Clicking Off the Miles
So many hikers talked about this section being full of downed trees. We came across a fair amount, but they were mostly easy to walk over or around. Toward the end of the day there was a horrible section with a gazillion downed trees. But … we’d taken the wrong 
path!
Once on the right one, they weren’t too bad. We then came across a weird area where machinery had chiseled a path – but it was super steep (downhill) and full of rocks and rivets. Luckily, it didn’t last too long.
We’re now tucked in for the night, contemplating tomorrow. We can either hike a very short day and camp early so we can stay at around 10,000 feet (3,048 m), or we can push to get up and over Parkview Lookout, then hopefully have enough time/energy to descend to a decent level for camping.
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: 15.1 (24.3 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 993.7 (1,599.2 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 2,106.3 (3,389.8 km)
