CDT49
12th June monday
25miles
Monarch Crest to Tincup Pass Road
My backpack is so heavy, why do I keep buying to much food? Admittedly we thought it was going to be slow going with plenty of snow about, sure there is snow but a lot less than I first thought and now I can do more miles per day.
Boss Lake outlet.
Old abandoned huts, nice setting with mountain views and next to a clean water stream straight from the snowy mountains.
Getting tired, I’m not sure if it because it’s a tough day or a accumulation of long days. But today was a lot of climbing, three high points and three passes. Most involved snow and the most difficult was the one following an old railway line that was mostly under snow cover and when there wasn’t snow, it was like a river . Then I spent the next three hours crossing two Passes that seem to go on forever. I tackled the two Passes late in the afternoon as the thought of climbing first thing in the morning on rock hard frozen snow wasn’t very appealing especially now that I only have one crampon, I lost the other one just before arriving into Creede.
I finally made it over the top hoping to find dirt track but what lay before me was more white snow and the sun had gone behind the mountain leaving me only a couple of hours of light left for the day. Patches of hard and soft snow along the way that sapped the last of my energy, it was a steep decline with many switch backs that made its way to the bridge river. It was to difficult to follow the path and fortunately there were footprints from another hiker that made the most direct rout, once I crossed the footbridge, there I found a campsite in the fading light. Dinner was mashed potatoes with tuna mixed. Along with nuts and M&M’s and coffee to relax with the noise of the river nearby.
Late in the afternoon where my energy levels were really low