Friday, Aug 29, 2025
29.12 miles, 3907’/2182′ gain/loss
After unsatisfactory sleep, I took the local bus at 7:10am to the Bustang station in Steamboat Springs, and then waited for the 7:45am Outrider to take me back to Muddy Pass. The driver did require that I put my bag underneath the bus, but she took good care of it. I started hiking at 8:30am on the side of the paved road. It was a long paved road walk, and I was glad it was early in the day and not too hot and sunny. The shoulder wasn’t wide, but I made it work.
I was glad for the trail to turn off the paved road and head onto a dirt road. I made a steady pace along the dirt road that passed by some ranches and farm houses, deteriorating as it went. I got water from the old man in his camper that hangs out around there, dispensing water to hikers. I tried to keep it brief and friendly; he was fine but I didn’t like his vibe enough to want to spend any extra time there. And the weather was looking questionable, so I wanted to make my miles as quick as I could.
Along the road, I met Danny and Jordan with the CDTA driving back to the main road after doing some trail work during my long dirt road walk. It was nice to see real people, but I think they were ready to go before I stopped talking. A little while after they passed by, it started raining. It rained all afternoon and into the evening. The temperature dropped as I climbed and the day got later. By the time I stopped to set up my tent, it was wicked cold with temps around 40. I was kind of freaking out, since it was already that cold and it was likely to get colder overnight. I was soaking wet, even if my tent wasn’t yet. My tent’s questionable waterproofing was making me afraid that I couldn’t’ maintain my body temperature overnight and be safe.
I managed to find a flat, mostly dry spot between two trees. My hands became nearly unusable during set-up, which always sparks my animal panic. I used my Garmin to check the weather to see if it would be getting colder or not. I was calmed to find that the temperature would stay the same and then start rising in the early morning hours. My wet clothes wouldn’t freeze overnight. I warmed up in my sleeping bag and felt better, even as the rain continued to fall on my tent. As I was about to fall asleep, Blue (a SOBO CDT hiker) came by and set up his tent nearby. This also helped calm my anxiety, and I slept fairly well all things considered.
Transcending Mountains 