Rain was not in the forecast – yay! We lingered a little over breakfast, as it had rained overnight and was gloomy in the morning. Then we struck out at 8:20 a.m.

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.

Today we were once again full of hope. We only had +5 miles (8 km) to get to the spot where the Silverthorne Alternate merges back with the CDT. We’d planned to take a Jeep road down to the Berthoud Pass Trailhead, as the elevation was bothering Ed, then either camp nearby or maybe get a motel.

I was hoping we could get back on the trail at Rollins Pass, which would scoot Ed around the worst altitude. But how to get there? I texted my hero of this hike, Mike from Leadville, who has shuttled me numerous times.

Last night was so great in the posh Big Rock Campground. Ed and I decided to sleep in until 6:30 a.m., since we had – what we thought – was an easy, relatively flat hike into Grand Lake. Not quite.

Today we spent a wonderful zero day – no hiking! – in Grand Lake. We weren’t just resting, though. We picked up a hiker box from the post office and mailed some things back.

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!

Ed and I slept in (until 6:30 a.m.). It was SO COLD last night! As we were packing up, we met a lovely, young couple heading SOBO. The guy was from Evansville, Wis., which we know well! We chatted quite a while.

We both had a restful night, as the wind died down and it wasn’t too cold. But after getting up and having breakfast, the weather forecast was for “light” rain for an hour. We decided to stay in our tents so as not to get wet right away.

Happy Birthday to me! Ed and I had a decent night in our compact tent spot. We hit the trail right away, as we were anxious to get into Steamboat Springs and relax – and celebrate my birthday!

Gosh, Ed and I were so exhausted, we fell asleep around 8 p.m. Crazy! I spent the morning agonizing about how to find an upcoming, popular road walk into Rawlins, Wyoming.

Ed and I went to bed early, but we also got up early for my birthday present – a hot air balloon ride with Wild West Balloon Adventures! I’ve wanted to ride in a hot air balloon ever since we regularly saw hot air balloons flying over our previous home in Windsor,...

Theresa once again shuttled me, this time to the Rabbit Ears Trailhead. (BTW, she has family in Mt. Horeb, which is near me!) I was sad heading out without Ed, but I’m also on the home stretch for this year’s hike.

Last night I heard elks bugling – common – but also a strange animal noise. It was sort of mammalian, but also like a bird screeching. Maybe an eagle?

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.