Day 1 on the trail was full of anticipation. We started around 8 am and hiked the dirt road through Waterton Canyon with 8 days of food weighing on our backs but spirits very high. We reached our camp at about 2 pm and set up camp just as a rain storm hit. We rode out the storm in our tent and only later realized we could see Denver skyscrapers in the distance.
The days since the first are quite a blur. I feel lucky to have quickly shifted into trail brain - a calm mindless meditation that filters out all the mental nonsense and focuses instead only on the intense flower colors and the balance between human and tree breaths. We’ve had few wildlife encounters so far - 2 moose, 3 deer, 1 fox, 2 bull snakes. And tonight we are quietly nestled into a hostel in the gorgeous Breckenridge area. A 2500’ climb in 3 miles waits for us tomorrow. And it sure will feel like a challenge with our food sacks freshly stocked with 4 days of food.
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AuthorSierra is a graduate student in the Barger Lab at CU Boulder studying microbial ecology for dryland restoration. Archives
August 2023
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