The nice lady at the front desk printed me a sign that read “Monarch Pass Please!!!” and in 15 minutes a high school senior picked me up and delivered me to the Monarch pass store.  He was a very nice guy and wise for his age. We spent the time talking politics and the homeless issue around Salida and other things. The trip to the pass was beautiful with all the fall colors. I wished my new friend well and went into the Monarch Pass store for a hotdog and home made fudge. I was on the trail at 9:30 – quite respectable coming off a zero and a hitch.

I hoofed it down the mostly flat but high (11,000 feet) trail.  It was extremely windy and I kept getting blown all over as the trail traversed the ridges for miles.  There were quite a few mountain bikers considering how windy it was.  I’m surprised how well they seem to do in this wind. It seems like it should just blow them right over but they slowly roll along.

At one point I found a small hiker shelter nestled in some trees in a saddle along the ridge. This is very rare on the CDT – in fact it is the first one I’ve seen. It had 3 log walls, a corrugated metal roof, and a campfire ring inside.

I stopped for some lunch in the shelter of some trees. Soon a couple of gray jays and several of those prairie dog creatures started hanging out with me. I usually don’t feed wild animals but I was a little lonely and these guys were good company, so I threw them a few nuts which they devoured. After a bit I said goodbye to my trail friends and continued.

The trail was beautiful and well maintained with lots of awesome views. I’m now camped 17 miles in – a little past Windy Peak, and ready for sleep.  It’s been a busy day.