Grand Lake to Steamboat Springs, CO (Mile 1,365 to 1,462)

September 7th to September 11th

Day 1: I can’t express enough the great treatment I received at the Gateway Inn last night. A wedding reception was going on in the restaurant downstairs so they were serving food in the bar area for the rest of the guest. I walked in for dinner and the owners (it’s family run) said to sit anywhere or join them if I’m by myself. I decided to join them and they asked me what I’d like to drink, I told them I’ll have whatever they were having. They got me a glass of port and said it was on them. They noticed my hat and asked what my story was. I told them what I was doing and it turns out several of their family had been in the military. We got to talking and sharing pictures of things we’ve seen in Colorado. When I ordered my food one of the other guys at the table said my food was on him and then later we had some pie. I ended up getting the red carpet treatment. Needless to say if your ever around Grand Lake stay at the Gateway Inn. This morning I woke up and went downstairs for breakfast. I always like to eat a big breakfast before I head out for the trail. I packed up my stuff and ran into the guy who bought my meal last night. I shook his hand and thanked him for everything and began my walk towards the trailhead. Since I started about 10:30am I was only planning to do 13 miles and to camp near Blue Lake to try and do some fishing. I walked through downtown Grand Lake and headed onto a trail that briefly ran into Rocky Mountain National Park. I didn’t take the 28 mile loop because I didn’t have a permit or bear canister to camp in the park. So I would of had to do all 28 miles in one day, it would of just been miserable. There were a lot of people out, but soon I was in the wilderness getting away from everyone. I passed by an old barn that stood in a field with some incredible jagged mountains in the backdrop. I wondered to myself what settler used to have a place there before it became a park and tried to imagine how peaceful it must of been. I crossed over into the Never Summer Wilderness and the wind was blowing through all the pine trees as I began to climb a little in elevation. I took the Blue Lake Trail about a mile off the CDT. I got to Blue Lake around 4:45 and it didn’t disappoint. The water was almost a turquoise color and dark blue in other parts. The jagged mountains surrounded it like a bowl and pine trees went from the bank of the water all the way up the mountainsides. I fished for about 3 hours. I lost two lures that I bought yesterday due to them getting caught on some logs underwater. I tried to recover one by jumping from log to log to try and unhook it. The log I was standing on rotated and I fell knee deep into the water. My shoes and pants were soaked and the temperature was getting colder. I tried to fish for about another 45 minutes, but nothing was biting. I could see rainbow trout swimming around, but I guess they weren’t hungry. After awhile my feet starting getting pretty cold so I made a fire and tried to dry by shoes and socks out. I just had my usually backpacking food for dinner, but it was better than nothing. Now as I lay here the stars and the moon are all out and I can see the shadows of the mountains in the background behind the lake. It makes for a peaceful night, maybe tomorrow I’ll be somewhere with better fishing.

Day 2: I woke up this morning to an annoying squirrel barking at me in my tent. I rolled over and just enjoyed the view of the still lake reflecting the mountains on the water as the sun began to shine on the pine trees. I laid there a minute eating a breakfast bar and then began to pack my stuff up. I got on the trail and began my day. Not to far along I ran into 5 bull moose and a baby moose right along the trail. I know better than to get to close to them so I stopped and waited for them to leave. It wasn’t long before the moose with the biggest rack started to lead the way. He threw back his head a few times and made a grunt and then the others started to follow. They walked along the field 40 feet to my left and into a thicker of trees. The way was now clear so I began to go forward and climb up the pass. When I got to the top I stopped to talk to 3 hunters all about my age. (If you guys are reading this sorry I forgot your names.) They offered me some beef jerky and we stood around and laughed and joked for a little while. Then I continued on my way. I was making good time and took a short break around 11am along a stream surrounded by wildflowers. When I refilled my water and had something to eat I got up and kept going. I began to get close to highway 125 and Willow Creek Pass. I looked to my right and there was a dark figure in the woods. I stopped and it was a female moose, but she blended in with the trees so well. She stomped her hooves a few times so I continued on and gave her some space. No more than a half a mile and I had a deer run up the hill next to next to me. I finally crossed over the highway and at that point it began to rain. I threw on my rain gear and kept going. I was making good timing and shooting for 20 miles. I climbed out of the valley to about 12,000 feet. On my map on top of the Parkview Mountain it showed a shelter. I figured I would stop there for the night. As I was climbing along the ridgeline the clouds rolled in. It was so thick I could see more than 30 feet in front of me. At last I crested the mountain top and saw a square white shack sitting in the middle at 12,500 feet. The bottom half was cemented stone and all around it had glass windows with boarded shutters over them. A broken radio antenna shot up from the side. Around front it had a 3.5 foot wooden door. The ridge dropped down on both sides. I pushed the door and it opened with a creak. I ducked down to look in and saw a wooden floor and the stone walls. A radio power source sat in the corner and someone had left a Harry Potter book sitting on top of it. I made myself at home. I hung up my wet rain coat and pants and then inflated my air mat and laid it on the floor. The temperature was beginning to drop so I laid out my sleeping bag as well and threw on my jacket. I then began to cook my dinner on the floor. It was nice to be out of the wind. No sooner had I prepared my dinner did it begin to rain. The winds howled and beat on the side of the shack. The roof began to leak a little with a few steady drips here and there. Regardless I was still dry and out of the wind and rain. Tonight I’ll sleep cozy on the floor of this old shack and I couldn’t be more thankful for it.

Day 3: Last night I laid in my sleeping bag watching the lightning flash come through the cracks of the shudders. I listened to the wind howl and the rain beat against the side of my little shelter. Occasionally a drip of water from the roof would fall and land on my face. Since the floor was about 6.5 foot by 6.5 foot and it was leaking worse in the other corner I figured it was no big deal. It beat being soaked by the full onslaught of the rain anyway. I woke up this morning and opened up the small little door. The clouds made everything hazy and it was pretty chilly. I closed the door and began to pack my stuff up and put on my wool baselayer underneath my shirt. I then threw on my fleece cap and gloves and went out into the clouds and the cold wind. I could see the shape of the cairns that marked the trail in the distance and I began to walk towards them. At times with the clouds blocking my visibility it looked like the trail just dropped off the side of a cliff, but then once you get to the edge you see the rest of the landscape through the fog. It wasn’t till about 9:30am that I got low enough where the wind wasn’t blowing as heavy and I was below the veil of the clouds. As I made my way down the trail I ran into some raspberry patches. They were big, red, and ripe shining in the sun. I stopped and began to pick a few. Before long 15 minutes had gone by and I had a hand full. After about 25 minutes I decided to get a move on. It seemed every couple hundred feet was another raspberry thicket. I’d bend down and pick a few and before long I just had to ignore them. I’d eat them all if I could, but then I wouldn’t be getting any closer to Wyoming. I spooked two mule deer that ran up the side of the hill to my right. I stopped to watch them for a few seconds. I continued on and the trail crossed a dirt road. About 10 pickups were all parked there. Since the only vehicles were pickups I guessed that all of them must be hunters out in the woods for elk season. Sure enough not far up the trail I came up on a few guys sitting on the ridge in camo. I talked a few minutes with them and then pushed on. The landscape has become more of a grassland with low tan grass stretching across the mountains. The dirt is more sandy and rocky now compared to the dark dirt and lush green vegetation a few days ago. Around 5:40pm I stopped for the night. The trail has turned into a forest road and will be that way till I reach the highway that goes into Steamboat Springs. I walked off to the side of the dirt road and found a flat level spot to pitch my tent. I sat in my tent and ate my dinner as the the sun began to set and the temperature started to drop. After I got done eating I crawled into my sleeping bag. Tonight is supposed to be 36 degrees. Winter is coming.

Day 4: I woke up and laid around for a bit. I got on the road around 7:50am. Not to far in I ran into three hunters, Paul, Austin, and Ethan. We started talking and I found out they were from Kansas City, Kansas. Their Grandma lives in Joplin. What a small world! They were out here for their second year hunting elk hopefully they got a good one. After chatting a little while I continued on. Before long I ran into another hunter, I didn’t ask his name. He was an older guy who just retired. When he asked where I was from and I said, Missouri, he told me to look at his license plate. He was from Missouri too he said he was from Golden. I continued on down the road and kept passing more and more hunters. Some people were roughing it in tents others in campers. I didn’t stop to talk to anyone unless they stopped me. About 10 miles in I hear an ATV coming up behind me. I move over to let them by and it was Paul, Austin, and Ethan. They said they forgot to get a picture with me, so we stopped and took a picture. They were surprised at how much ground I covered since I talked to them. They continued on down the road and I continued walking. It’s real easy to drift away with my thoughts since today was just one long road walk. Before long I would be thinking about the future and what I want to do next. My mind would drift from here and there and next thing I know I walked another 5 miles. The dirt road finally ended and connected to highway 14. There’s no room to get into thought along there, because cars are speeding by at 60mph. I only had to go about 0.7 miles down the highway today. There was some BLM land I planned to camp on right along Grizzly Creek. It seems to be the last public land till 10 miles down the highway where I’ll hitch into Steamboat. I set up my tent in some thickets to be out of sight from the road and then I took my fishing pole down to the creek. After an hour of zero luck with the fish it started to rain. I decided to stay dry so I called it a day fishing and went back to my tent. The evening settled in and I fixed my normal meal and got comfortable for the cold night ahead.

Day 5: I got up this morning and got on the road. Walking down the highway is my least favorite part of the trail. Cars and semis come speeding by at 60mph with only about 5 feet between you and them. In a short time frame I experienced all kinds of reactions. Some people will get over all the way into the other lane and some will not budge an inch for you. I got the full arm wave to the two finger wave. Some hunters drove by and threw out the peace sign and a thumbs up. Then occasionally I just get the people who ignore you and won’t wave. About 4 miles in I saw an eagle soar across the road over the sagebrush fields and then circle back to its perch on the hilltop. I watched him for a few minutes and then continued on down the side of the highway. Not to far ahead I heard a hawk screech and I looked up and saw him gliding over the highway to join another hawk. I was waiting for either a hawk or eagle feather to drop, but none did. I wonder what all the cars that pass me think. Do some just wonder why a “homeless guy” is walking down the highway or do others know that a “trail” runs along there. I was making good timing and was about 4.5 miles from where I planned to hitch into town when a pickup pulled up behind me and the guy asked if I wanted a ride. I figured I better not test my luck, so I took him up on it. We introduced ourselves and the guys name was Soren. He works to help protect the BLM land and the other public land use. He said he could probably take me back up to the trail tomorrow too. He dropped me off in Steamboat and I realized I didn’t have my hat. I called him up and he turned around we looked in his truck and it wasn’t in there. I had it strapped to my chest strap when I was walking along the highway. It then occurred to me that it must of fell off my backpack when I put my stuff in Soren’s truck. That was along over 20 miles away. My heart sunk at the thought of this. I asked Soren if I gave him some gas money if he could go back. He said he would go back and look, but wasn’t taking my money. I hoped and waited and texted him if he doesn’t find it to let me know because I was going to take an Uber back out and look for it. About an hour and a half later Soren texted me that he found it. I was extremely grateful I was to hear that. That hat has been with me the whole trip and I had it signed by Michael Martin Murphy. I’d hope to wear it proudly once the trip was over. I’m just glad to have my hat back. Now I’m in town and can enjoy some good food and resupply and head for Wyoming. I’ll cross over the Colorado Wyoming border in about 4 days.