I left Silverthorne around 9:00 and after poring over the maps decided to take the bike path to Copper Mountain. The Silverthorne Alternate requires 22 miles and 6000 feet of elevation gain, but the bike path is only 13.5 miles and 1000 feet elevation, and I’m feeling really worn out. This bike path runs around Lake Dillon and then follows an old railroad grade near Interstate 70. It was actually a really nice route – the freeway is far enough away that it doesn’t really bother you and a beautiful creek runs alongside most of the way. There is even a shaded bench and restroom along the way!
This route also runs through Frisco which is a fun town with many shops and restaurants. I stopped at the Taco Bell for lunch and took a burrito supreme out with me.
The next stop was Copper Mountain where I stopped at JJ’s (the golf course restaurant) for a burger at 2:00. Everything else was closed for the season and the place was like a ghost town. After checking with an employee, I crossed the golf course and climbed the side of a hill to hook back up with the official CDT. The ski resort was doing construction and had closed the trail, but I guess I bypassed the sign with my shortcut across the golf course because I didn’t see it. I got yelled at by the construction foreman who didn’t believe me when I told him I never saw the sign. By then I was almost out of the ski area so I just ignored him and kept going. What a butt-wipe.
The CDT now joins with the Colorado trail (CT), which is one of the nicest trails around. It’s a noticeable improvement over what we have been doing. There are bridges over the creeks and in places extensive cribbing and rock work has been done to provide a comfortable grade. Contrast that to most of the CDT which just goes straight up the side of the mountains, through bogs and creeks, and is completely non-existent in other places.
After 18 miles for the day I found a beautiful campsite where I set up my tent on a flat spot near the trail and a short ways above Guller Creek. Getting to the creek through all the willows was quite a job, but once that was done I had 3 liters of clear, cold water. A half-hour later I heard someone say “Tictac?” It was my friend Marco (from Switzerland) again! He is camped with me now. I really enjoy his company. He hiked the Argentine spine and did some long miles but my shortcut got us back in sync. Anyway it’s good to see him again.