Day 42 CDT Mile 650.75, miles hiked 15      Day 43 CDT Mile 667.86, miles hiked 17.11

Day 44 CDT Mile 678.06, miles hiked 10.2

Day 45 CDT Mile 691.06, miles hiked 13

Day 46 CDT Mile 699.66, miles hiked 8.6

Snow was our main terrain for the week

Due to the nature of this past section, I was unable to blog at night as I usually do.  The following is a snapshot of some of what I went through in this last section.  Most evenings when I came into camp I was so exhausted that all I could do was put up my tent, cook a meal or melt snow for water, eat, rub my sore feet and then pass out…..

Background- As a northbound thru-hiker nothing strikes fear more and causes a ruckus on the interwebs of CDT hikers than the snow of the San Juan Mountains.  Adding fuel to this fear fire is the constant talk of how avalanches have will take you out, post-holing with snowshoes up to your crotch and many hikers leaving town only to return once they saw the snow.
I myself have spent many years in the snow from my youth in New Hampshire to my adult life in the PNW.  I have a good friend at home named Jock and when I moved to Oregon he took me under his wing and taught me about mountaineering and climbing peaks.  He spent time teaching me how to use my ice ax, walk-in crampons, avoid avalanches, and navigate my way through deep snow in high mountains.  From there I spent years backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, climbing peaks and being an all around powder hound during the winter months.  Going into the San Juans I knew I would have to use all my experience and skills to stay safe and keep moving north.

my first winter mountaineering trip on Mt st Helens in 2001

The Trip- We started our trip off with a unique ride back to Cumbres Pass on a historic steam engine.  the Cumbres-Toltec Narrow Gauge Rail Road is the longest Rail Road of it’s kind and has been around since the late 1800’s.  The cars and steam engine are all maintained by volunteers and the trip is something everyone should experience in life.  The 6 of us that sprung the $25 for the ride all said it was one of the coolest things on the trip so far.  The railroad wound it’s way up the mountain and the folks on the train told us the history of the area and the rail road.  I met a wonderful couple on the train and we chatted about life, family, and living a life of adventure and loving the outdoors.  They gave me their card and the gentleman specializes in land sales in the region so he said when I was ready to leave Portland to call him and he could help me find the perfect spot to build my earth ship, he himself built a hay bail home and lives off the grid- a great connection to be made.

CDT snow club getting ready to go hike

The train stopped at the top of the pass and dropped us off.  The folks on the train all waved goodbye and wished us well.  Zorro and Cheezy were waiting for us at the pass with Greg in Wild.  It was a bittersweet moment as we were excited to enter the San Juans yet parting with Greg in Wild was sad as we knew a 5-day head start might mean we will not see him for a long time if at all the rest of the trip.  We got to the trailhead and there in the register was a note from POD that read “take only pictures, leave only footprints and your blood and broken spirits”. I love that a woman, she is like a sister to me took the time to leave a note on her way back home to make us laugh and bring some levity to our situation.

The hike started with a large climb out of town, nothing says fun like 7 days of food, snow gear and extra clothes all strapped to your back as you climb a few thousand feet up.  The crew heading up included Bandit, Buttercup, Zorro, Cheezy, Wilderness, Snorkel, Big John and Myself.  As we got about 10,500′ we hit snow on the broad planes, this would be the first taste of what was to come.  I took a step and instantly sunk to my crotch, I lifted my leg and made some steps about every 3rd one sunk back to my crotch.  I put on my snowshoes and started across the plain.  Even with the snowshoes I still post-holed some but not as deep.  I kept walking and eventually found the crew setting up on a patch of grass amongst the snow. We saw Big John and right before him, we saw Zippy Morroco.   Zippy set up with us and asked if he could hike with us through this section, of course, we said yes.

Allgood, Snorkel, and Buttercup showing our love for Mont-bell

The next day was toughie we started out. Across the snow in the morning it was firm.  And held well under our weight but given the snowshoe walking we only made about 1mph.   Around 2 pm we came to a rest stop and looked at the maps, there was asleep and gnarly section coming up that we didn’t really want to tackle so instead we dropped down to the alternate which took us through a drainage and back up the other side.  We post-holed down the steep slopes watching for blowdowns under the snow.  We arrived at the river around dusk, it. Was high and cold from the snow runoff, after some debate, we decided to wait until the morning and cross than when the flow should be lower.  Bandit made a campfire and we sat around talking into the dark hours and then we turned in for the night.

The next morning we crossed the river it was lower but still cold as heck,,. we all felt a chill run through our feet and even though it was cold it was still not as bad as a glacial river back home.  We started up the drainage, it was steep, we worked our way up and eventually made the snow line again, we stopped on a broad snowy plain and took in the view.  We kept going and then regrouped at the saddle where the two trails meet up, we saw where Knotts had come down the steep slope and he said that Veg and Sketchy were still up top.  We continued on after taking time to dry our bags and tents.  We came to the top of a saddle and had to descend down to the river valley,  we debated which way to go, the way down was very steep and we had to use our ice axes and kick steps to make it safely down.  Bandit did a great job of leading the way down and we all enjoyed a little glissading to save our knees.

Crossing slopes that scared the living heck out of us

After walking up the river valley Sketchy and Veg caught up to us and we all chugged along.  We came to a drainage and after looking at our maps decided to make our own way up the mountain, a shortcut that would shave off a few miles.    We got atop the plateau and there we had to traverse around Summit Mountain, this was by far one of the scariest areas of the trip, as we walked under the steep slopes there was recent evidence of wet slide avalanches, this is the type of spot where if I was home I would turn around and head for my car as the risk was not worth it, on a thru-hike though you have to push on, luckily it was getting cold and the snow was reconsolidating.  When we came to camp the group was set up on a patch of grass, there was another grassy spot below so Big John and I set up there.  We had very little water so I took out my alcohol stove and started to melt snow for Big John and I, two hours later we had enough water, so I cooked dinner and sat about until 10 pm when I laid my head down and fell fast to sleep.

The next day was a long hard one, it began with an early sunny morning traverse around Montezuma Mountain.  Then we walked ridges until a slight descent through a river valley covered in Snow and a climb to Elwood Pass.  After taking time to dry out gear we started up from Elwood Pass towards Silver Pass.

Tiny friends unite and keep us entertained

As the storm rolled in bringing some snow and thunder, we had to cross a ridge to continue on which was very stressful but luckily it was all thunder but no lightning.  After we made the ridge we pushed on up a snowy mountain and then made one of the toughest traverses I have ever made across steep rocky and snowy slopes on our way down to Silver Pass.

The next morning was the final push to Wolf Creek Pass and the highway.  The day was pretty straight forward except for the traverse above Alberta Lake.  The traverse was super steep and we had to kick steps and post-hole through the snow.  Finally we climbed and reached the ski area once there we started to follow a cat track and the firm snow was a great way to make progress.

The walk along the ridge was pleasent we stopped for photos and were able to follow a ski road down to the highway.  As we hit the pavement we all felt elated and I felt more accomplished than any other hike I have ever done.

The CDT snow team finds a new ride through the mountains Bottom Row Left to Right Zorro, Zippy Morocco, Veg, Sketchy, Cheezy, and Big John Middle Row Left to Right Wilderness and Bandit Top Row left to right Snorkel and Buttercup

As we sat at the kiosk celebrating our accomplishment and trying to hitch to South Fork, a nice guy on a motorcycle pulled up and offered to get his wife to arrange rides.  One person needed to ride on the motorcycle to town so I jumped on the back and 20 curvy miles later I was dropped at the Mexican restaurants and sipped margaritas waiting for the trail angel extraordinaire Karla to come get us for our stay in South Fork.

And we are done! Wolf Creek Pass, CO Left to Right Big John, Zippy Morocco, Veg, Sketchy, Snorkel, WIlderness, Allgood, Buttercup, Bandit, Cheezy, and Zorro

my best ride and scariest ride yet to town while hiking