The rain came in last night. Luckily we had pitched our tents under some pine trees. Finally at 2am, it stopped raining. If you’ve ever been under a tin roof when it rains, double that and you’ll understand why sleeping in a rainstorm is an oxymoron. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sound of a light sprinkle but a downpour, not so much. 
We headed out early and had another great sunrise courtesy of our Heavenly Father. We are now headed into new territory. Less water, more desert and big climbs! We had two significant passes to get over amounting to 4300′ in elevation gain and 3000′ loss. Needless to say my feet are elevated right now. I inflate my mattress, lay supine and place my backpack under my feet. It makes a huge difference and by morning, I’ll be ready to do it again! 
Like I said we have hit the arid side of the CT. Being we wake up so early, hiking down the desert section at 10am wasn’t bad. We had a cool breeze and some clouds overhead. We stopped at the river, soaked my feet, and filled up on water being that our next six miles were dry, no H2O at all.
Triple-Z is like Big Ben. She is the time keeper and lets me know when it’s time to get back to hiking. We headed up through the forest, thank goodness because this was a three hour approach to the top. With over 3,000′ gain and 4.5 miles, it took every bit of gas that I had in the tank, to make it up to the top. By the time we reached the summit, we heard thunder and beat feet down to our camp spot near the beaver dams.
The beavers in Colorado are no joke! When they decide to make a home, there are trees that are gonna be reckoned with. Pine Creek is a nice flowing river but now, it is a pond to gather fish and make baby beavers! I was commenting just yesterday that I hadn’t seen any fish in the rivers. Well this river turned into a pond, has tons of fish. Good eating for beavers, and I’d fry one of them trout up if I had a chance. Quite impressive the ingenuity these furry little creatures have! 
The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4
kellyhikes4god 
Thank you again for the faithful reporting of your ongoing adventure. I get to hear all about the experience of hiking in the Colorado wilderness but I don’t have to soak my feet at the end of the day! One thing I’d like to clarify is beaver diet. I found the following on the internet: “ Beavers are pure vegetarians, subsisting solely on woody and aquatic vegetation. They will eat fresh leaves, twigs, stems, and bark. Beavers will chew on any species of tree, but preferred species include alder, aspen, birch, cottonwood, maple, poplar and willow. Aquatic foodstuffs include cattails, water lilies, sedges and rushes. Cattail and water lily tubers are favorites. Using their nimble front paws, beavers will roll lily pads like cigars to eat them. Beavers do not eat fish or other animals.”
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Glad to know that beavers are vegetarians! So the fish that are locked in their ponds, need not fear! Good news! Thank you Steve.
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