I was groggy when I first woke and couldn’t get going like the previous two mornings. I slept in until 6:30 and started hiking about 7:30.
First, back up to the trail. Then, up a long creek valley to a pass backed by a strong freezing wind. I wished I still had my coat on desperately when I stopped for a snack.
Over the pass and down the other side, I started passing sobos. More than I’ve seen on any day yet. There were two at the bottom of the bowl where the wind was a bit less but the trail was flooded and there was no way to avoid wet feet.
After that was another long and windy climb. Longer and steeper than the first, maybe. At the top, I turned off the CDT and onto the Colorado Trail, specifically the Elk Creek Trail. At first, this meant climbing even more into an even more staggering wind. I had to hike with my hand on my upwind ear to hear my podcast and prevent my pack straps from leaving stinging slaps across my cheek.
But soon I reached the head of the canyon and started the switchbacks down to the creek. There was a pair coming up the same way. I talked to both. The guy said to stay at the Avon in Silverton, but that it books up quickly. He also suggested walking the railroad tracks into town since the tourist train wasn’t running. The girl also said to stay at the Avon.
The steep, knee-wrenching descent on the upper part of the canyon, and the thought there was another nine miles of canyon to descend below it convinced me I didn’t want to come back up the same way. It would take an entire day to climb and I would have already seen it all.
While eating lunch in the shade of a lone tall tree, having completed the steepest part of the descent, I decided my best bet was to follow the plan suggested. I had another dinner and no particular need to be in town that night. I could save some money by taking the tracks into town and camping on the outskirts for free.
And yet, I still had another five hours of canyon descent to complete, and several more groups passed me going up. A popular trail. There were more and more blowdowns, steep ascents started being mixed in with steep descents, and there was even a place where the trail went right along the middle of the swift creek, offering a choice between wet feet, big rock hopping, and walking up a dead tree. I took the tree, and a group passing me the other direction decided to try the rock hopping, while their dog was happy to go with wet feet.
Finally, at just before six, I arrived at the railroad tracks. Right at the crossing was a crude bench, so I decided to go ahead and easy supper. Probably the most comfortable and convenient supper spot I’ve had since Gila Hot Springs.
After that, I started walking the tracks up the canyon alongside the river. It was pretty and easy, for the most part, and once I got the rhythm of the ties and the gravel, I got into a zone.
A little after 8, I dropped to a sort of rocky sandbar populated by short and scrubby fir trees. A short section of the highway was cut into the opposite hilltop above the river, but no one who could see me from there would be looking backwards to try. It was flat, near the river, and basically all to myself. So I yanked up a bunch of saplings to clear a spot, and staked out my tent with large rocks to keep the stakes in the rocky sand. It was nice to be sleeping, for once, entirely out of the wind.
To follow: a short walk into Silverton, hopefully a spot at the Avon, and a full town day of just getting stuff done.
Trail miles: 3.9
Total distance (estimate): 16 miles
Distance to Silverton (estimate): 2 miles
