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Astro on the CT 2020

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    • Cool good to see you're having fun.

      Its monsoon season.... It kind of rains a lot this time of year. Daily. My weather turned on a switch at the 1st of September... No more rain and noticeably cooler. And about three days later I was done.

      I think it rained almost every day up to that point. Normally they're short showers that stop by sundown, and day dawns bright and clear. One prolonged one didn't stop , I spent 18 hours under my tarp laying down. Slept about 16 of that too...

      streamable.com/k0hdwq

      The post was edited 4 times, last by Muddywaters ().

    • Day 2 Interlaken Trail Head to Clear Creek (9.8 mile)
      1.5 miles in the morning to the Collegiate East/West junction. Meeting a combination of Collegiate Loop and Thru Hikers to Durango. One common question I ask is how much wildlife they run into such as bears and mountain lions. I had stopped to take a picture of the junction sign when a SoBo came by. He said there had been quite a bit of bear activity at Kenosha Pass with bears tearing down bear bags. Muddy Waters was right, I had wasted a few ounces carry my parachute cord for hanging a bear bag. I would not seee any decent trees for that.

      I am just amazed about how you are surrounded by beautiful views. Occassionally trees block the way of a good picture, but they are almost always there. Lots of diffent types of trees and terrain mixed in. Seemed like around sunset and sunrise there were always trees in the way. Really enjoyed coming down the switchbacks towards Clear Creek. When I arrived at the creek it was only 2pm, but I went ahead and gathered water and cooked by supper. While gathering water at the creek I meet three guys that were doing the loop hiking around 25 miles a day. While that is twice what I was planning to do, I guess it would make resupply easier (less frequent).

      The next day I would wish I had started to climb a little of the nearly 3,000 feet, but I decided to not push it at the time and set up my tent and try to catch up on my sleep and get more acclimated to the altitude. It rained some of the afternoon and much of the night. Never really poured, but my rainfly was plenty wet in the morning, so I attached it to the outside of my pack to dry.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 3 Clear Creek to Frenchman Creek (11.3 miles)
      Today started with a nearly 3,000 foot climb to Waverly Mountain. Once I got to 11,000 feet I had to take even more breaks. Was taking ibuprofen, but still feeling queezy and my knees felt like a boxer who took too many blows to the head. Was glad I got to the top, and then started down.

      A few intersesting pictures such as the sign with the animal skull. I definitely chose the logs over the walk through the mud. Just by coincidence my socks matched my shoes.

      As I was going down the mountain I ran into my first hail storm. I just took pictures as I was putting on my rain jacket and kilt. Should have taken another picture later after it had fallen for a while and accumulated, but it was cold and I had put my phone away. Then after I had dropped down about 1,200 feet the rain and hail stopped. It was time for another 1,400 foot climb, and a little ways into it the hail and then rain started again. As I was getting close to the top it was rainning pretty hard and a NoBo guy meets me and tells me to turn around due to the lightning. I told him thanks for the advice, but I needed to get to the top before I started heading down. No way I was going to give back all of that elevation I had worked to achieve (climbing at 11,000 was still dificult for me). It was raining with occassional lightning, but the trail was really easy to follow. Nothing like Mt Lafayette back in 2018, where my glasses kept fogging up and I could not find the carins or the trail. After that I bought some Cat Crap (Another Kevin swears by it), and have not needed it since.

      After I started down (not sure of the name of the actual mountain, although databook says the ridge of Harvard), befor too long the rain stops and the sun came out. While it may have been a little more exposed than preferred, was so glad I pushed ahead instead of taking the other hikers well intentioned advice.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 3 cont.
      At Pine Creek you can see the beavers had been busy. Actually were some rocks at campground I could sit down and take a break between hail storms. It appears the the weather here can change quickly. After the second climb on the descent some nice views. The rock formations was interesting.

      The last picture is of logs I had to go over to across Frenchman Creek to get to the campground. The other option was to ford the creek, with was moving pretty good after all of the rain. After gathering and walking the few hundred feet ahead to the campsite, my gatorade bottle slipped out of my pack pocket and rolled down the bank around 20 feet almost into the flowing creek. Fortunately it stopped just before, but I to go down and retrieve it.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Astro ().

    • Day 4 Frenchman Creek to Silver Creek Trailhead (6.7 miles)
      After setting up my tent at Frenchman Creek I get my Jetboil Flash out to warm up water for my supper. But my stove will not start (ignite). So I had one of the worst meals I ever had in my life. I had to mix cold water with my Mountain House meal. I can get by with oatmeal squares and Belvita biscuits for breakfast, snacking on nuts and various types of bars throughout the day, but at the end of the day I am really looking forward to that warm Mountain House meal that tastes like real food. Now I am thinking something must be wrong with my stove, most likely due to the altitude. I know at around 9,000 feet the day before it sputtered a little before starting, but now at 11,000 feet it is doing nothing.

      I have really enjoyed myself so far with the great views and nice trail. I can handle getting adjusted to the altitude, rain, hail storms, and even lightning. But committing to 10 more nights of cold Mountain House is just too much for me. <X So I get up early and on the trail at 6am and at the trailhead before 10am. I decide to walk into Beuna Vista 7 miles. I know from the Colorado Trail facebook page people have mentioned dificulty finding fuel. So after walking a few miles on the rough dirt road I catch a ride with "Barefoot" who hiked the AT in 2014. He was out peakbagging the 14,000 footers and is willing to take me back to my car in Twin Lakes. He doesn't want any money, but I give him some anyway.

      Now I know I could try and buy another stove, or try and finding the correct type of fuel somewhere (probably in Denver). I figure out that the fuel canister I have from Academy is actually GSI not Jetboil, although they cleverly use the same orange and black so with out looking closely you think it is the same (at least I did). Now I can spend the rest of the day trying to find something that works, but then I will probably have to park at Beuna Vista and walk back. Then when I get back to Twin Lakes, I will probably need to burn another day getting back to my car. So losing 1.5 days off what was already a tight schedule. Also I find out one of my sons was in a wreck, he is OK but totaled his vehicle. So I decide it is best to just go back home and take care of things there.

      I was out long enough to know that I really want to go back, whether it be the Collegiate Loop or SoBo the entire trail (or perhaps both over time). Being only 12.5 hours from my son in Fort Smith also makes it appealing (26 hours to NH/ME is a long haul). While completing the CL could be considered a failure for this summer, I will consider it as a success as I now know I have something new to focus on after I complete the AT next summer. :thumbup:

      Below are a few pictures from the short walk to the trailhead.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Well sorry to hear you have to cut it short.

      I always worry about my kids and wife needing me and I'm out of reach for days..... Fingers crossed it hasn't happened yet.

      It will be there next year. And The Best is yet to come.

      I used a brs3000 with cannister on CT and jmt, had no issues with elevation. Im stingy with fuel...110gm cannister got me thru CT. Good for about 20 boils for me..... And a few dinners were had in towns and i skipped a few when sick, and when raining.

      It's really all a blur now I wish I could remember it more....
      I do remember walking into trees at head height across the trail twice while I was looking down..... Knocked me on my arse twice... Broke tooth one time.

      The post was edited 4 times, last by Muddywaters ().

    • Astro wrote:

      IMScotty wrote:

      Great pictures Astro, sorry you had to cut it short.
      Thanks, the way I am looking at it is I got a little taste of something good, and look forward to going back in the future. :)
      Next time you could take a little esbit stove or an alcohol stove. I know some places have restrictions on alcohol stoves. My Starlyte is pretty safe- spill proof because it has a wick and you can simply snuff it out and put the lid on it to conserve fuel. I always carry a couple esbit tabs as backup and emergency fire starter. Glad your son was not hurt.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • Maybe you can get back this yr? Good 6 weeks of prime season left.
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      The post was edited 10 times, last by Muddywaters ().

    • Muddywaters wrote:

      Maybe you can get back this yr? Good 6 weeks of prime season left.

      [IMG:https://images2.imgbox.com/85/96/nnsihMkl_o.jpg]
      I wish, but with son,'s wedding coming up, and then Fall semester (and have to prepare to teach each class both live and online this Fall), will have to wait.

      Maybe if I finish the AT with my body in good shape next summer I will swing over and take another shot at the Collegiate Loop. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I hear ya.
      This coronavirus crap spoiled my spring hiking ,summer hiking ,and my fall hiking.

      I'm still trying to figure out where I can go hike in fall that's interesting, within about 26 hours of driving...... And that I can get a shuttle..... And that I can meet the state's quarantine requirements..... Oh and that I haven't hiked before....and it won't be ungodly hot before november.

      I got step son getting married in mid September.... Prime hiking time... Wedding was displaced from the spring.