at 38.3134, -106.3333
Said goodbye to Cathy and the easy life of Salida and began hiking again from Monarch Pass. But first we chatted with a group of hikers at the trailhead who are faculty at UC Santa Cruz, and know our friends Al Zahler and Denise Lim quite well.
Fun’s over, time to hike
Although the morning started out partly sunny, it quickly became wholly cloudy and thunder began rumbling. Five miles of hiking brought me to Fooses Cr Pass, where the E and W Collegiate routes merge. It was also a spot where Baloo and I had rested and enjoyed the views when he was alive and healthy and it brought back a sharp sense of loss. I still miss him.
Top of Foose’s Creek
I overtook another hiker, Willis from Sarasota just as it began to rain, and just as we came up on the Green Creek Shelter, the only shelter on the CT or CDT. It was noon, so we ate lunch and talked as we waited out the squall.
Although the rain passed it soon returned in the form of a modest drizzle that continued through the afternoon. We ended up hiking farther than intended, to Tank 7 Creek, because the trail follows a ridge and there are no springs along the way and I didn’t have enough water to camp.
That made for a day of about 23 miles, not bad considering the late start. But I am pretty beat, and even took an ibuprofen to ease my creaky joints. I’ll see if I can’t get in 25 or more tomorrow.