I woke up once in the middle of the night to some light sprinkling, and I double-checked that everything was under cover, then went back to sleep. I woke again at 4 with the moon at its brightest. Then again around 6, but was feeling too groggy to keep from putting my head back down. Even when I committed to starting to get ready, it was slow, sleepy going, and it was kind of like that all day. I didn’t hike out until 8:30.
And even then, I stopped at a creek crossing in a half mile or so to eat and drink more and further get in a hill-climbing mood. A group of three passed me there with two good dogs, but they stopped just ahead to adjust things, I passed them, and I didn’t see them again all day. I guess they went a different direction.
After a big climb, I rejoined the CDT, and it wasn’t too bad after that. One really big, long climb followed, and then I was descending to the road over Stony Pass, where most people get rides in and out of Silverton if they aren’t crazy enough to walk in like me.
A little jaunt down this surprisingly heavily trafficked steep dirt road in the mountains, I started climbing up the valley to the headwaters of the Rio Grande, next to which I sat to eat lunch. A short climb out of that valley brought me to the land of marmots. For the rest of the day, I was being watched by one marmot or another as I hiked.
There was a brief little rain shower from one cloud that passed over early in the afternoon, but I didn’t react. I just hiked on, up and down, through mud, water, and occasionally snow, always watched by marmots and blown by a light cold wind until supper time.
I ate in a notch next to a tiny stream that was somewhat protected from the wind. There was no real wind shelter, but it was better than most places. A giant raincloud sat still over the mountain to my left the whole time even though there were clear skies to my right. Stuck in the shade, I put on my coat as soon as I stopped.
And yes, there was a marmot probably watching me eat. I only caught it running away from the corner of my eye as I started packing up.
The cloud came along as I continued hiking, just light drizzle that I could barely feel and only really notice from the wet spots in the dirt at first. But soon it started to get heavier. Eventually, it got intense enough that I stopped to put on my Packa. At that moment, Stormtrooper came up behind me all wrapped up in his raincoat and introduced himself. He had disappeared down the trail by the time I got the Packa on. I set off after him as the rain intensified into sleet.
A couple of miles further on, around 8:30, the rain having let up, I saw his tent in the perfect spot near a small lake. I wanted a similar spot so I left the trail and walked down to Cataract Lake and tucked my tent into a nook surrounded by bushes on three sides. I may have had to crush and mangle some of the bushes to fit it. Luckily, the rain decided to hold off until I was set up and tucked in before it returned. I hung my wet socks under the rainfly and hoped the rain would let up by morning so I didn’t have to pack up in it.
Trail miles: 13.9 (+~1 non-trail mile)
Distance to Lake City: 22.5 miles
