The Four Street Town: Monarch Pass to twin lakes, CO (mile 1077-1162)

August 16th - August 20th

Day 1: I stayed at the Loyal Duke Lodge in Salida last night. I didn’t want to get up this morning because the bed was so comfortable. The blankets were so puffy I just wanted to lay there forever, but daylight was burning. I got out of bed and went and threw my clothes on. It was 7:30am and I had a ride back up to Monarch Pass that was going to pick me up at 9:45am. One of the nice things about the Loyal Duke Lodge is they have bicycles you can use to get around town. So I grabbed a bike and went down the road to Patios Pancakes. It’s a really good place for breakfast. I ate a nice big meal before heading back to the hotel to wait for my ride. At 9:45 Stan arrived and we took off up towards the pass. Stan is a super awesome guy and helps a lot with Wounded Warrior Expeditions. We finally got up to the trailhead and I thanked Stan for everything and we went our separate ways. I got onto the trail and was excited to see what lied ahead. The trail went straight through the Monarch Mountain Ski Resort. Unfortunately there was no snow. Then about 5 miles in two guys, Carl and Ron, were heading south on the trail. When I got closer one of the guys, Carl, was like “You’re going to Canada aren’t you!” I said I was and he then told me that he’s been following me on my YouTube page Walking For Vets since I started in New Mexico! I was blown away I couldn’t believe I’d ever run into anyone on the trail who would know me from my post. We talked for a little while and then I continued on feeling super encouraged. It’s always encouraging when you can see the results of what your doing. (Raising money and awareness for vets.) I got upon the ridge line and the wind blew constantly at 40-50mph. I ended up taking my hat off after it almost blew off my head a few times. The mountains were all snow capped and rocky around me. I was sitting at 12,500 feet. I finally got off the ridge line and got into tree level as the clouds started building. It sprinkled here and there, but luckily it didn’t last long. As the day went along I was still trying to get some good miles in. In the evening around 6:00pm I met an older man named Jean Sparling. He asked where I was headed and I told him winter might beat me. He reminded me to just enjoy every step and not to worry about it. We got to talking and what a small world. He said he was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, about an hour from where I grew up. He now lives in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and makes wooden bowls. I told him when I finish this trip I’ll have to check out his work and maybe buy a few. I continued on and had a few more miles till camp. I got within a foot of a marmot and got some really good pictures and videos of him before he went in his hole. I finally made camp on a nice flat piece of grass with a stream that runs by it. The mountains surround me on both sides. It’s nice to fall asleep to the sound of water trickling over the rocks.

Day 2: It was cold this morning it got down to 40 degrees last night. I packed up my camp and started walking. My fingers were getting numb so I threw on some gloves. A little ways down the trail turned onto what used to be the old Alpine Railroad that they now turned into a trail. It was a neat little section that gradually climbed up along the mountain. I met three older ladies who were out for a walk and spent a few minutes talking with them. They ended up donating some money to the Gary Sinise Foundation. I was making good timing on the smooth trail then it started to lead up to Tin Cup Pass. The climb in elevation always leaves me out of breath, but once I get to the top and see what’s on the other side of the mountain it always amazes me. The landscape seemed to be like a large bowl with mountains surrounding three out of the four sides. Pine trees and streams flowed through it. To the east was a large valley that seemed to go on for a long way. As I made my way through and up over the second pass it turned into a dense pine forest. The went down several switchbacks down the mountainside and came out in a meadow. I decided to take the Mirror Lake alternate that runs parallel to the CDT and then meets back up with it in 22.5 miles. As soon as it started walking down the forest road I was being passed by dune buggies, 4-wheelers, dirt bikes, Jeeps, and every kind of four wheel drive vehicle. It remained that way the whole way to mirror lake about 6 miles. With the influx of people though I was able to do a little fundraising and explain why I’m doing this trip. Mirror Lake was nice, but the road getting there was rugged. The wind was blowing so the water wasn’t reflecting anything, but it made me wish I had a fishing pole. I took a few pictures and continued on up the trail. I made my way up the mountain and found a nice campsite on a flat piece of ground sheltered by some pine trees and bushes. I was moving pretty quick today and did 19 miles by 4:30pm. I decided to call it a day since I don’t know where the next flat ground will be. The wind is blowing around 30-40 mph, but the pine trees block a lot of it. Overall I’m ready for a good dinner.

Day 3: I woke up this morning and could see my breath. It got down to 35 degrees last night. The thought has been dawning on me that the winter might catch me before I can finish. But we will see how far I can get before then and how bad the winter will be. I got on the trail and began the day. After many river crossings and mostly going down the mountain about 1:00pm I came towards the end of the Mirror Lake alternate where it joins back with the CDT. Right before the end it became incredibly scenic. The pine forest opened up into a large meadow and Texas Lake sat in the middle surrounded by granite mountains and pine forest. I took some time sitting along the banks and watched the fish jump for whatever is hovering above the water. Again I wished I had a fishing pole, I could be making some good dinners. After awhile I figured I sat around long enough, so I threw my pack back on and continued on. No more than 30 minutes went by and I was stopped again this time for Texas Creek. A beautiful crystal clear creek flowed through the meadows and down the valley with large pine forest on each side towering up the mountain. The creek was rocky and the white rapids of the shallow water gently rushed along the banks as the river turned. I couldn’t resist stopping. I thought about swimming, but after sticking my feet in and the water being ice cold I decided against it. I sat and had a snack along the bank with my feet wading in the water. When I was done I refilled my water bottle and continued on down the road. I finally got off the alternate and back on the CDT. I had about 4 miles left for the day. Most of it was up the mountain so it seemed like a long 4 miles. I finally stumbled upon some good ground to camp. Someone had left a stone fire ring and there is a nice flat spot to pitch my tent. To the right of my tent is a nice cold stream trickling over the rocks. I made a fire and sat around it while I ate my dinner. As I was sitting around the fire I heard twigs snapping behind me and the brush was moving back and forth. I thought it was some deer because I saw some ears. I slowly started creeping up to try and get a video. When I was around 20 yards a head popped up and I realized it was a baby moose. Just behind the baby was the mom. She was staring at me, but seemed ok with me where I was. I knew not to get any closer and push my luck. I didn’t want her to come charging at me. I sat and watched them as they ate and slowly moved around my campsite. After awhile I let them be and finally called it a night.

Day 4: It got down to 37 last night. Once I started moving though it warmed up. I got on the trail and before long was staring at Ann’s Pass. It’s the tallest climb I’ve had to do so far to get over the mountains. The path started winding up going back and forth. Finally I was at 12,600 feet and the view was spectacular. I managed to get a little bit of cell service up there. After a brief break and snack I made my decent on the other side. It was rocky, but not as steep as the climb up. The view before me was gorgeous Ann’s lake lay just below me. It was blue with still some snow sitting in it. Surrounding the lake were jagged peaks with patches of snow. Off in the distance was a large pine forest and a wide valley with the mountains towering on both sides. I continued on and the trail went into the forest. It winded down the elevation with streams running along going over rocks and creating waterfalls. The wildflowers were all around. I thought for a moment I entered into a Tolkien book. I continued on and as the day progressed I got closer to where I was going to make camp, right before the town of Twin Lakes. One thing stood in my way though, Hope Pass. After walking 14 miles I had another mountain to climb over. Whoever named it Hope Pass should of named it Despair Pass. It is 2.5 miles straight up. It took me about an hour and forty five minutes to climb. The whole way up I was out of breath. After finally summiting the pass I had 4 more miles left till camp. By this time it was 5:00pm. I made my way down as my legs ached from going down such a steep incline. Around 7pm I finally got where I wanted to camp. I quickly set up my tent because every mosquito around wanted to swarm me. After 20.5 miles I’m eating a nice meal. Tomorrow I’ll be in Twin Lakes enjoying a shower and a real meal before the next stretch.

Day 5: I woke up this morning and walked without my pack 2.5 miles down the trail to see the historic 1870s hotel for the wealthy of Inter-laken. When the owner died in 1899 the luxurious mountain retreat died with him. It was turned into a boarding house for a time, but by WWI it was abandoned. After checking it out I then walked back to my tent packed my stuff up and made the last 2 miles to Twin Lakes. They only have a food truck for lunch and you can grab dinner at the Inn & Saloon. Other than that it’s a 4 street town. It will be good to have a bed and shower though, that’s all I need.