Silverthorne or Bust

Hi all, writing today from scenic Silverthorne, CO, where I have been lucky enough to stay with a family friend, Rebekah, older sister to David whom I crashed with in Albequerque while rehabilitating from my injury (which seems like forever ago already).  Basically, karma dictates that I hook the Jordan family up with some hardcore hospitality at some point, so hopefully I'll be able to return the favor next time they come back East.  The help was particularly appreciated given the layout of the town, (or towns really, seeing as Silverthorne, Frisco, Dillon and Breckenridge seem to run together pretty fluidly) which definitely has all the services a hiker could need, but is a little spread out for easy access.  Having a car available takes much of the stress out of getting resupplied and all.  The area is pretty spectacular, with several 14,000 foot peaks ringing a huge reservoir which the towns surround, and the hike in was fairly relaxed knowing I would get to spend some time in a real bed.  In fact, the whole trek from my last town was very enjoyable, and I'll be sad to exit Colorado for the drier climes of Wyoming in a few weeks.

Leaving Salida was somewhat difficult, partly for the fact that the highway is a fair distance from downtown where I stayed, and partly because the place was so damn convenient.  After hitching half way with an opera singer-slash-secretary, and the rest of the way with a former professional hangliding racer turnered writer and gold prospector, I finally got back on trail at Monarch Pass.  The tread was rather easy for a few days as the path now seems to follow a rhythm of tough climbs followed by long stretches following a ridge or traversing a mountain at contour, often through pine and aspen groves.  It passes the remains of an old mining town, now converted to backcountry cabins, as well as several packed trailheads indicating the start of summer and the flood of day hikers soon to be swarming the trails.  Luckily the remoter places are still largely deserted, with largely unobstructed views from the tops of high passes down to snow dotted alpine lakes. 

The highlight of this last stretch was Mt Elbert, which at 14,400 feet is the highest peak in Colorado and second only to Mt Whitney in altitude in the continental US.  The trail leaves from Twin Lakes, a large reservoir with a postage stamp sized village mainly comprised of a general store and gas station, then climbs the south flank of the mountain, quickly ascending above treeline.  I made a very windy camp about a quarter of the way up and continued early the next day, arriving at the top shortly after sunrise, finding two other hikers already at the summit.  They had walked through the night to get there and were warming snow for water with their stoves, and for a short while we had the place to ourselves.  With the sun up and the sky clear, things warmed up quickly and made for some amazing views back down towards the lake and the surrounding ranges. On the descent I encountered an increasing stream of peak baggers in various states of exhaustion and preparedness; I stopped counting at 75, and there were probably double that all told.  It was a fun if tiring 4,000 foot scramble that left my knees and quads shaking, and I was glad for some relatively flat hiking afterwards. 

The next goal was Copper Mt, a full sized ski resort with hotels, tons of shops, and some restaurants... almost all of which were closed due to my arriving before their summer season began.  After hitting up the ice cream store, I headed up and over some passes towards the Silverthorne area, passing around the headwaters of some pristine streams and near an impressive waterfall crowded with hikers from town.  I did stop to talk to 2 PCTers whom hiked in '10, the same year I had, so we reminisced for awhile before parting ways.  I also gleaned some unfortunate information from some southbound Colorado Trail hikers concerning Greg, my hiking companion from Pagosa Springs to Lake City; apparently he got off trail in Salida and went home to Seattle for some reason for an indeterminate amount of time... which generally means for the rest of the season.  Apparently I'm not the only one who found leaving that town difficult.  As always, getting momentum leaving civilization is one of the hardest parts of thru hiking, and here is no different.  On that note, I should get going; the trail won't hike itself!  Talk to you later.