Sunday, June 7, 2026
8.7 miles, 1201′ gain/1015′ loss.
Max altitude: 11,000′
I was awake at 6am, and hiking again by 6:30am. I knew I’d be getting to the border soon, and so it felt a little like Christmas. I was excited to get going. There was a bit of climbing to get to the NM/CO border, in and out of trees and along a few ATV roads. I passed by a few tents that appeared to be weekend backpackers, and made it to the border by 8:15am.
I celebrated and enjoyed my cell service on the summit to text friends and family to let them know of my achievement! Walking across the entire state between 2 trips felt impossible and outstanding, just how much adventuring could be stuffed into those ~800 miles. I also enjoyed a soda and a beer, thanks to the kind trail magic box made by JJ and Sweet Tooth. I made a quick phone call to my partner, and then started bombing downhill towards the pass.
The wind picked up along the ridge as I descended, and it was wicked cool to see the snow-dappled mountains of the San Juans in the distance. It made me that much happier to be taking the low-route alternate forward from the pass. The FarOut comments from the week before were extremely intimidating, reporting waist-deep snow and miles of postholing. I was happy to avoid anything like that.
I arrived at the trailhead by 9:45am and wandered around to assess the area for camping opportunities. I found legal dispersed camping spots nearby the trail, with a privy available as well. I then headed to the road and started hitching. I waited perhaps 5 minutes and saw 5-6 cars go by before a pickup truck from Florida picked me up and let me ride in the back to town. He dropped me off nearby the RV park, per my request. I paid the RV park to allow me to shower and use their laundry machines, but they weren’t friendly or welcoming. I kept to myself and only spent an hour there, washing my clothes, charging my batteries, and showering.
My local friend made it to town around 11am, and I packed up my damp clothes and hopped in her van. She was coming from a weekend of dog training with two of her dogs. We swung by a Dollar General on the way back to her homestead. I met her partner and the other 3-4 dogs back at home. I heated up and ate food I’d bought at the store, dried my clothes in their dryer, and did town chores. I backwashed my filter, threw out my trash, organized my food, and downloaded a few more audiobooks and podcast episodes. I relaxed and put my feet up for a while, and chatted some with my friends.
In the evening, we drove an hour back to the pass to drop me off, so I could sleep there and get a very early start on my 15-mile paved highway road walk tomorrow. I set up my tent around 8pm and headed to bed by 9pm.
