I called Pagosa Cab for a ride back to Wolf Creek pass and enjoyed visiting with the nice owner of the cab company (who is also the driver). Pagosa Springs was nice, but I’m ready to get going and finish this hike.

Right away I took a shortcut through the Wolf Creek ski area that avoided a 1300 foot PUD and rejoined the CDT just south of Alberta Park Reservoir.  I then walked the trail to Silver Pass where I took another minor shortcut to Bonito Pass.  That was all the shortcuts up my sleeve so the rest of the day was on the CDT proper.

The trail was interesting and follows a high ridge from saddle to saddle, occasionally popping out on one side or the other of the ridge. I could see a huge ominous mountain in the distance with fresh snow all over the north slope. I thought “I sure hope the trail doesn’t go over there”. Well, of course it did. It went right up to the base and around the side of it. The correct name of the mountain is Summit Peak, but I will always call it Spooky Mountain. It turned out the snow was very thin and wasn’t a problem, but all the boulders and rocks on the trail definitely slowed me down.

Around 4:00 I noticed that I was about to ascend to 12,500 and pretty much stay there for the next 7 miles.  I don’t like to camp that high – it’s cold and windy and the air is thin which makes sleeping more difficult.  I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to do some night hiking to get down the other side.  Speaking of the wind, it was insane today. My thin wind pants get to flapping in the wind and make an awful racket. As the sun went down the wind only increased, but it was beautiful with the rugged peaks and long shadows. This is my favorite time of the day.

I ended up hiking a couple hours in the dark with my headlight.  The trail got pretty confusing in the dark.  It was steep, rocky, and overgrown, and I kept losing the faint trail.  I eventually ended up on a steep slope with numerous small creeks running down the side through willow thickets.  It was all very confusing. I could tell I was near the official route from Guthooks, but had no idea where the actual trail was.

It was during this section that I saw two really cool porcupines shortly after dark. I like Porky’s because the are so calm and non-aggressive.  They just stick their quills out and slowly waddle off.  You can walk right up them.

I filled my water and spent the next hour or so descending and trying to find a flat area to pitch my tent. I crossed a small wooded saddle above the Adams Fork of the Conejos River where the trail once again disappeared on me in the dark. Instead of searching for it, I decided this was camp for the night and pitched my tent.  I could be right on the trail, but there is no way of knowing in the dark.  I don’t care, I’m beat.

I ended up doing 28.3 Guthooks miles. Because of the shortcuts I think it’s really more like 25 actual miles, but that’s pretty good in this terrain. I feel satisfied with my progress and hope to sleep well.