In Genesis, God flooded the earth. After the waters receded, he showed Noah a rainbow and promised He would never cover the earth in water again. As we hiked out this morning, there was a light drizzle, due to the fact we were hiking in the clouds. The sunrise was spectacular once again but what truly caught my eye was, not one, but double rainbows above the trees! What a welcome sight from all the rain we have experienced in the past few days.

We had only 13 miles to hike today and little climb. It was probably one of our easiest hike days in quite awhile. The trees were glistening from the rain drops that occurred last night. The pines were fresh and the ground was soft. There is something to be said about a little rain, well let’s be real, a lot of rain that soaks into the ground. It helps to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. No slipping and sliding on loose pebbles (marbles as I call them) and bigger rocks that sometimes like to jump in front of me. Nope, the rocks are firmly encased in soft gooey mud just like my feet from time to time!

So today was a mixed bag. The weather report said 70% showers and we were ready for whatever nature was ready to give us. We hurried down the mountain to a trailhead and found some asphalt to dry our gear out. As we headed out, the clouds started moving in. They looked so whimsical at first. Almost like the Holy Spirit floating above. As we looked over a small lake, I was thinking what do those weather forecasters know anyhow?

But obviously a heck of a lot more than I! As we got ready for our second climb, it was time to break out the umbrellas, rain jacket and pack covers! Oh boy, here we go again! At first I was thinking this isn’t no big deal but I was way off base. The showers kept coming and by the time we reached Dry Creek, it was raging! I pitched my tent as fast as I could, which is never a recipe for success! I crawled inside only to realize my tent already had water creeping in. So back out I went, in the pouring rain, somehow someway dragged my tent about ten feet ( oh and with all my gear inside of it) and managed to pitch it correctly, the second time around! Lesson learned. Patience grasshopper! If you do it right the first time, you don’t need to do it a second time. Now I am sequestered in my tent for the remainder of the evening and attempting to stay dry and warm.

Tomorrow, oh joyous tomorrow. We will be headed to Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort to stay for two glorious days. It couldn’t come at a better time as I am smelling like a wet dog! Not pretty.

I have set my rainbow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ” I will remember the covenant I made between you and me and all the living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” So God said to Noah, ” This is the sign of the covenant between me and all life on earth.” Genesis 9:13-17

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

And the rain keeps coming. I have hiked in Colorado before and I could pretty much gauge the day. Afternoon showers around 1-3pm, then a little more rain around 6-8pm. This time around, it rains whenever it wants. Last evening, it rained all night and when the 4am wake up call came, I had no intentions of getting out of my tent. Triple-Z gave me grace and we waited till the rain stopped and hit the trail at a normal hiker time, 7am. So what I’m saying is rain isn’t such a bad deal!

Our first pass was cloudy and cool. It’s perfect hiking weather as you don’t overheat and the sun isn’t in your eyes. The terrain has been a mixed bag of sage brush (which smells so wonderful especially when wet), mixed pines and aspens, few meadows and lakes and tons of mountains in the foreground and background. If you’ve ever hiked, there is nothing more rewarding than looking back and noticing the mountains that you just climbed over. It really shows the distance you’ve travelled!

200 miles is the distance we’ve hiked in the past two weeks! That’s a milestone in my book. I’ve hiked many trails and thousands of miles, but I’m telling you the miles in Colorado are the toughest that I’ve tackled. I’m thinking there’s a few things that account for this but the #1 fact is there’s lots of ups and downs. On the Appalachian Trail AT, they say PUND’s – pointless ups n downs because they are in a green tunnel without much reward. Here on the CT, I call the BBBBUND’s which to me are Beautiful Bodacious Butt Busting Ups N Downs. At least in Colorado, when you go up, you have incredible vistas, mountains majesty, and sometimes even cell service, and when you go down, you are refreshed by rivers, creeks, streams and meadows. It has many more rewards, but it still is, tough business.

Another thing that Triple-Z and I are noticing is there is something about me that hummingbirds are attracted to. Whenever I sit, stop and slow down, those little tiny winged birds come to me. Even as I was filling a hole (nature calls in nature), a hummingbird came right up to me. Not now, I’m a bit busy! After some thought, I think I finally figured it out. I am dressed in red and pink and they must think I’m the biggest nectar they have ever laid beaks on. Once they get close enough, which is pretty darn close, they realize their huge mistake and fly off. But for a moment, I think I’m gonna be harpooned!

Life on the trail has been such a gift! I really am where I suppose to be, come rain or shine. The herd is thinning out and many of the hikers we met the first week have disappeared. That’s fairly typical of long distant hiking. But as of now, Triple-Z and I are carrying on.

Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Oh, how I love town days! We woke up to birds chirping this morning. Being we had less than five miles to hike into town, and nothing opens till 9am, I was given a pass to sleep in. That, in itself, makes for one, glorious day.

We had our first true Aspen Grove that was like a highway to the Pearly Gates! The trail was lined with Aspens that reached 80-100′ tall. They were towering over us and made for a delightful morning. I saw one of my first Magpies. It’s a black and white bird that is rather large, and you can hear it as it flies passed you. He was singing and floating above me. Just a marvelous winged creature to watch.

Twin Lakes is a town of less than 200 people. Yet, it brings in the crowds due to all the recreation in the area. Many people come for the fishing, hiking, river rafting and hunting in the fall. We came for our resupply boxes and any type of food that didn’t require rehydrating. There must of been another 10-15 hikers that had the same idea. The place was hopping and the owners were happy to have the business. I was told that this year has been a record year for hikers coming through. No COVID here!

After organizing our food supply, we headed out of town for showers and laundry. There’s a family who helps hikers by providing a way of cleaning up. Not all hikers indulge but Triple-Z and I were thrilled with the idea that we could smell like roses, if even for just an afternoon. After our day at the spa, we road walked back to the trail.

This is probably the scariest part of backpacking – walking a two lane highway! Most of the drivers were thoughtful and moved over for us. We made it back to the trail and beat feet to camp. This weather system that we seem to be locked into has some punch in the afternoons with rain and hail. It’s July but I’m thinking this is a pretty normal occurrence. We found a perfect secluded little piece of real estate and pitched our home for another night. The issue is this pesty chipmunk seems to think I’m his new best friend! Obviously he hasn’t missed any meals!

Anyone can find the dirt in someone. Be the one that finds the gold. Proverbs 11:27

Today was a relaxing, kick your boots off, kind of day. Yes, we still woke up at 4am. It’s our time when we hit the trail so we don’t miss out on the morning light. We hiked out of the canyon and followed the tree line. There were many creek crossings but nothing too difficult to navigate.

The plan is to take it slow and easy today being we want to be in Twin Lakes tomorrow for our resupply, showers and laundry. The miles were easy so we took many breaks along the way.

Triple-Z was checking and rechecking the map to see if there was any extra miles we could do? Nope, none at all. We decided against climbing Mt Elbert’s being the weather was looking ominous with thunderheads and dark gray rain clouds headed our way. Thank you Lord for saving me from extra bonus miles!

We made it to camp next to this lovely creek that just kept calling me, this is your home tonight, at 2pm. No arguments from me! I can’t deny the creature comforts of nap time and getting my gear organized for tomorrow’s town stop. So here we are, staying put for the early afternoon and evening. Triple-Z crawled into her tent and is also enjoying her free afternoon. Tomorrow Twin Lakes!

The Lord is my Shepard, I lack nothing. He makes me lay down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. Psalms 23:1-3

Those moose are eluding me! I have looked high and low but none, nada, zilch! I’m sure I’ve seen moose droppings and possible sighting of moose prints but no respectable sludge eating, swamp dwelling creature.

We entered the Holy Cross Wilderness today. What a perfect name for this section of trail. It has jagged peaks, many lakes, rivers and waterfalls and so much of Gods touches! We passed 150 mile marker today which means we are close to one-third of our way. Triple-Z could easily be half way done as she is a much faster hiker than me. But we signed a contract before we left, that what we start together, we are required to end together. No exceptions! So she waits for me regularly and finds perfect places to stop and rest.

One thing that we have to do periodically based on weather and dew from the night before is called “garage sale”. This is when your gear is soaking wet but you don’t have time to dry it before you leave at 5am. So you pack everything up wet and when a perfect rock appears that happens to be in full sun with not too much wind, you stop, pull everything out of your backpack and let it dry! It’s a bit time consuming but we usually snack and wait and sometimes I take pictures.

This was a tough day for me in the sense that I was a bit out of sorts. Backpacking is my most favorite thing to do but there are days where things just don’t go as planned. I was so enamored by the beauty of the lakes and peaks, that I wasn’t aware of the rock that jumped in front of me and I took a face plant down on my bum knee and busted my sunglasses. I can be such a klutz at times! It amazes me that I can hike as far as I do. Needless to say, Triple-Z got word from the trail runners that I was down for the count and had to hike back down the mountain to check on me. Luckily Jesus protected me and I dusted myself off, put duct tape on my one and only sunglasses, used up my two big bandaids and KT Tape to keep my knee where it needed to be, and off we went. Slowly…

What makes up for all the blood, sweat and agony literally, are these ridge lines, mountains that reach the heavens and a great friend who always pulls in the reigns when I’m a bit out of sorts. We made it to camp without anymore incidents and as I’m setting up camp, I hear Triple-Z calling my name. I head over and here she is, soaking her feet in the creek without we coercing her. I think she is warming up to the idea of relaxation after a hard day of watching over yours truly!

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

What a peaceful night of rest. I hit my head on the pillow in my comfy hotel room at 10pm and didn’t budge, move or turn for 8 hours. Just what the doctor ordered.

After our big hike yesterday, I was looking forward to an easy stroll today. We hopped on the bus to Copper Mountain and off we went with our loaded packs with five days of food and gear, weighing 30 pounds. If only I had a Sherpa. George, would you be interested? j mom

Copper Mountain Ski Resort operates year-round. As we hit the trail, directly above us was the coolest bobsled-roller coaster. It’s equipped with brakes, hopefully there’s another way to slow that thing down or I’d be flying off the course. It looks like a hoot!

Today was a leisurely stroll. We went about 4-5 miles and found a great overlook to have lunch. In the valley below were many beaver dams. They were super busy building ponds to swim in and evidentially fish for dinner. You could tell they had been there for some time because there were flower boxes on the edge of the waterfall that cascaded to the river below. If I was a beaver looking for a beaver mate, this guy would be a catch!

One thing I’ve noticed on the CT is people love building extravagant rock Karin’s. They are typically at the top of a mountain or peak, or used to mark the trail so you don’t get lost. This was at the top of Searle Pass.

I puckered out after 10 miles today. I was done for the day so Triple-Z and I found a spot off the grid near a glacier field, tucked away off the trail. It was perfect, except for the dried up bones I found. Probably some poor hiker who couldn’t find his way! We pitched our tents and I watched for an hour or two these fat marmots running up and down the glacier. They have not missed any meals and seem quite content residing at 12043′. Well that makes one of us because I’m still trying to get accustomed to high alpine living!

Oh the wonders of your glory, the tranquility of nature, makes me desire you even more today than yesterday! Lord, thank you for placing this passion in my heart to follow you to the ends of the earth. Amen.

Last night I had marmots in love, frolicking on the glacier field. They even stopped to kiss each other. Some funny creatures they are.

I slept fairly well and woke up to Triple-Z’s alarm chimes. She had to change up the wake up theme since I chose to sleep through the soft ring. I fired up my stove to make some coffee and got to the business of changing back into my one and only trail outfit. As the water boiled, I went to turn it off and the tiniest little mouse was hanging out in my vestibule. I think he was looking for warmth and maybe a morsel to eat. Triple-Z says I make friends everywhere I go, including mice! She had no mice at her tent five feet away from me. I gave the little guy an itsy bitsy piece of cheese and finished packing up for the days journey.

We headed out toward Kokomo Pass 12022′ to the south. Another out of this world sunrise with all the clouds overhead. Just before he peaked, there was a quail chasing another quail yelling at him, stay away from the chicks and don’t ever come back! At least that’s what it sounded like. She was quite upset at 5:30. Once at the top of the pass, we met an “outbound adventure group” teaching novice backpackers a thing or two. They obviously get up early too! It was their first experience and there was close to 15 of them. They were filled with awe at the incredible vista on top of Kodama.

As we left, we saw three elk running across the trail. I’m not sure if they were spooked or just out for their morning exercise? So far, this has been the most active morning we’ve had and it’s not even 6am yet!

Today we had some makeup miles since I pooped out yesterday. There’s a saying in the long distance hiking verbiage called 10×10. The idea is to walk ten miles by 10am. Being that today was relatively easy in elevation, we made the miles pretty quickly. We came across bunkers that were used during WWII training camp for the 10th Mountain Division of the military. There must have been 15-20 bunkers that were built into a hillside. It looks so out of place but because of the unexplored artillery, I suppose they leave it in place.

We headed up the hill and just as we turned a switchback, I could hear a squeak from some critter. Directly ahead of us was a Pine Marten or Weasel looking critter running off with a baby rodent in his mouth. I’m thinking what’s gonna be next? I still haven’t seen a moose so maybe today’s the day!

No moose yet but we did find a lovely swing to take a break on. This truly was an animal kingdom day. We are situated in our tents by 3:30pm after an early afternoon thunderstorm rolled in. As I’m looking over a meadow with many willows and a river that runs through it. I’m keeping my eyes peeled because I’m thinking there’s a good chance, if I was a moose, I’d hang out here for dinner!

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kind; the creatures that move along the ground, and all the wild animals of their kind”, and God said it was good. Genesis 1: 24

So you may ask, what is Slack Packing? This is a well known secret in the thru-hiking world. When you get an opportunity to hike your miles without a pack on your back, oh that is heaven on earth!

Being we are in a hotel for a couple of days, we left our big heavy packs in our room, and hiked with a day pack. My day pack is also my food bag so I left all my food at the hotel room, then packed some water, snacks, first aid kit, rain jacket and my in-reach (just in case). We hit the trail without our heavy packs and got our miles in for the day. So I’m sure you must be wondering how tough could that be? Hiking 14 miles without a heavy pack, easy Peasy. Well that’s what I thought but it still kicked my tush!

So this is what we did today, a tough climb up and a knee knocking descent! The peak was 12482′ which was the High Point of this section. It took us 8 hours, with lots of breaks, many pictures, and more breaks!

This is a bike packer who had to do a lot of pushing today but once at the top, the fun begins. He sailed passed us and we never saw him again. I’m thinking he was drinking a beer while Triple-Z and I were taking in the sights and celebrating our summit!

Now before the thunderstorms come in, we beat feet and got off the mountain back to town, and another ride on the Summit Bus. Colorado does mass transit quite well. The buses are on time, clean and free! We rode back, grabbed some grub and chilled for our last evening in a bed for a week. Tomorrow we will return to the trail with our full packs, loaded with food and continue on.

Just a disclaimer, our next route will be taking us from Cooper Mountain to Twin Lakes and Mt Princeton Hot Springs. The reason I bring this up is T-Mobile is not the prime carrier in these parts and there’s a good chance that I may not be able to load up my tales on the trail. However, I will continue to blog and as soon as I get reception, I’ll be uploading my stories. Thank you all for your love, support and prayers as Triple-Z and I carry on!

Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you. Psalms 143:8

After the horrific wind storm last night, Mother Earth calmed down and I had a peaceful night. I spent most of the evening watching the sunset over the mountains. There were many mountain bikers that rode to the bench and one in particular, apparently thought I lived on the mountain. He saw my tent nestled into the trees and asked, do you live here? I was a bit taken back as I probably look homeless, Miss Rag Tag Muffin with my stinky clothes and dis-shuffled hair. I laughed and told him I was just hiking thru.

Since we were hiking to town, I convinced Triple-Z that we could sleep in. At 4:30am, we woke up and were ready to hit the trail by 5:30am. We both decided to wear our sleep shirts to town, which is strictly forbidden except for town days! You never ever want to dirty up or sweat in your sleep clothes since they are only for the tent and sleeping bag.

Today was a monumental day. We have covered 100 miles with only 375 to go. We are well on our way and starting to get our trail legs. Now I’m just waiting for my lungs to follow suit. Living in Granite Bay at 500′ elevation is much different than hiking at 10000-12000′ daily! My lungs are still playing catch up but hopefully by next week, I’ll have bigger wind pipes and able to breath like a Coloradan.

We had a leisurely hike down to town, caught a bus and arrived in Frisco by 10am. The only issue is the fine hotel we are staying in is quite strict with their 4pm check-in time. But as a consolation prize, they did allow us to do our laundry and soak in the jacuzzi. I’m not sure who’s gonna clean that tub after us, but God help him because I’m sure he’ll need lots of scrub brushes and chlorine!

It is quite an adjustment to come off trail, see all the sprawling metropolis of town homes and squawky trailers. We both could literally do nothing until we put some food in our growling belly’s. Lucky for us there was a Brewery and Whole Foods across the street. Fresh fruit, grilled vegetables with a half chicken! I ate the whole darn thing all by myself.

Now all that’s was left is to find my way to REI for fuel canisters and a pair of replacement poles. My trekking poles have been with me since 2015 when I hiked the PCT and I finally broke them for good. No amount of duct tape was going to save them. Two buses later and standing in a long line outside of REI, I found my new poles and two canisters of fuel. Is there a shortage on fuel? I had to explain to the cashier that I needed two, one for me and one for my partner who was back at our hotel. They are only selling one per person! She was understanding and I am now riding the free bus back to my hotel with 2 canisters of fuel and my new trekking poles. Now I intend to sleep until Triple-Z wakes me for our hike tomorrow. Slack packing!

Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. Psalms 34:8