P-Ditty, Hatchet, and Silent Bob beat me out of camp this morning. They talked of doing a thirty last night which I just can’t do in this terrain.  They said goodbye and I didn’t see them again.  I had hoped that maybe they would camp at Shadow Lake which has good campsites and is at 21 miles, but when I arrived I was alone.  And surprisingly sad.  I’ve been kind of upset all day.  I feel so tired and worn out and lonely.  I really want this to be done.

I do OK on flat or slightly downhill terrain where I can eat up the miles quickly.  But when ascending I just have no energy.  Every step is an effort and my body just screams to stop and lay down for a while.  But I must keep going – the calendar is my enemy now.  I constantly worry about getting through Colorado in time before the fall snows.

Today was a lot of walking along a small lake, then ascending a small ridge through forest where you find yourself in the basin of another lake.  Repeat 15? times. It is absolutely beautiful, but maybe too much of a good thing?  Towards the end of the day the trail ascended next to some larger peaks and flattened out a bit with fewer rocks which allowed me to make some better time.

At 18.5 miles I began the Cirque of the Towers alternate.  Immediately the mountains became taller and more spectacular.  I’m camped now at the base of a huge tower next to Shadow lake. The wind has been blowing like crazy and many clouds are flying past.  I hope the clouds don’t obscure the cirque tomorrow.  I’ve come a long way to see that.

Tomorrow I have to go over Texas pass and Jackass pass.  These are big elevation changes so I sure hope I feel better. I saw no through hikers today – neither Nobos or Sobos.  I sure feel like I’m running late.  Sigh.