Crested Butte to Silver Basin
Well the walk home is started. Whether it will get finished is very much an open question but I will give it a try.
I commenced the hike by walking the road from Crested Butte to the O-Be-Joyful trailhead about 5 miles north of town.
First roadwalk, but not the last
I did manage to cut out about 2 miles of road, getting picked up by the third car that passed me, a mountain biker and his dog. The dog sat in my lap and licked my face the whole time. Good thing I love dogs.
The hike itself was what I expect most of this trek to be: spectacular and brutal. It was about a 2500 foot climb from the trailhead to the pass. As usual I have not trained enough and so had to stop frequently to catch my breath. But I made the pass by mid-afternoon, which is not too terribly slow a pace.
Off the road and on the trail
The views from the pass are amazing. They stretch all the way to the Collegiates in the east and the Uncompaghre Plateau in the west. It was a bit past peak flower season but there were still plenty of flowers.
Eastward view out to the Elks and Collegiates
Westward view of Mt Gunnison and the Raggeds Wilderness and the Uncompaghre Plateau far beyond.
But the next leg will be 3000 feet down to Anthracite Creek then 3000 feet back up to Anthracite Pass. There will be no strolling.
So I called it a day at 4:30 today, hoping to give my feet and legs a chance to get strong.
I feel stiff and sore. I think that’s ok. I always feel stiff and sore after a long walk but feel fine in the morning. That’s been the case for my first 64 years. We’ll see tomorrow if it’s true for 65 years.
The trail was not in great shape and the pitches on both sides of the ridge are crazy steep. I didn’t see anyone after I left the dayhikers behind, but there are reasonably fresh hiker tracks on this side of the mountain. That gives me a bit more confidence that the trail on the map also exists on the ground.