Gosh, it rained so hard last night! I could hear ice pellets pinging my tent, and this morning there were patches of ice all around. Nor surprisingly, my tent was sopping wet. It was cold and gray, so no chance of drying it out before starting my hike. That’s one of the worst things – packing up a wet tent.
One positive: the trail unspooled downhill during the morning. There were some steep sections, but overall it was pleasant, except for the dreary skies.
Around 11 a.m. I came to a trailhead with signs, which were perfect for draping my wet tent over. It was still gray and cool, but with my continual “poofing” of the tent parts, they dried in about 30 minutes.
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Avoiding the Blowdowns
Like the last few days, the rest of the day got dicey. There were sprinkles on and off, so I kept putting my rain gear on/off. Annoying, plus it takes time.
Around 2:30 p.m. I reached a suggested road walk that parallels the official CDT, as the real trail is filled with blowdowns. I took it, and could see all of the downed trees on the 
official trail. It looked like a canister of Pixie Pick-Up Sticks (toy from the 1960s) was dumped all around.
At the end of the road walk I went to merge onto the CDT, but a sign said a bridge was out, so I had to stay on the path for another mile or two.
Rain, Rain Go Away
As the afternoon began winding down, it once again began to rain. This time it was a steady drizzle. Worse, I was on a piece of trail that was a rocky ravine pitching steeply uphill – hard to walk in decent weather, not to mention rain. I was getting quite wet as I plodded uphill, cursing, , so when there was a tiny break in the rain I quickly found a flat spot (pretty hard to find, actually) and set up my tent.
Unfortunately, like last night, I’m stuck in my tent as it continues to rain. September is supposed to be the best month in Colorado – great temps and no rain. I hate this.
Snowshoe
Today’s Miles: 15.1 (24.3 km)
CDT Miles to Date: 1,081.9 (1,741.2 km)
CDT Miles to Go: 2,018.1 (3,247.8 km)
