The bridge crossing, more like log crossing, had been washed out earlier in the season, so we took off our shoes and waded through the cold waters to the other side. It was invigorating.
Colorado Trail Segment 19 of 28
Start: Saguache Park Rd
End: Eddiesville TH
Distance: 13.7 Miles
Segment 19 begins with more of the same from segment 18. That being open terrain and cows. We enjoyed it while we could, in the coming days the inclines and altitude would return. When we came into this segment it was late afternoon / early evening, we were already beginning to consider camp for the night. We asked the locals if they knew of anything, nothing in return, not even a mooo. Moving on, we needed a less populated area and less "pies" on the ground. We walked for a while until we climbed up a hill and out onto a high open meadow that seemed to be safe from cow activity. Seemed. If for nothing else, it would make for a great sunrise and sunset location with big views all around. We set up our tent next to a lone tree and fought off the attacks of the mosquitoes as best we could. We dove into the tent for safety and wouldn't reemerge until morning. We assumed they don't get many humans and preferred us to the cows. We were hopeful there would be no coyotes. We did have visitors though, the mooing went on as they serenaded us to sleep. Hoping they wouldn't get too close, cows are not the most graceful of animals.
The next morning we were off, making good time on good ground. The trail continued to be easy going. It was to be a day of seeing people on trail. We met some guys at a creek early that morning that we would continue to see on and off throughout the rest of the trail. We caught up to Puppy Love and were quickly greeted by her pups. So much energy! Hiking on we ran into a couple of folks from Noodle, TX who were out driving in their ATV looking for the Cochetopa Creek to do some fishing. We chatted a bit, told them the creek was another five or six miles ahead and they went on their way. We would see them again later that afternoon coming back. Trail magic comes in many forms. We were low on water, getting thirsty and hot, and the two gentlemen form Noodle handed us a very cold Gatorade straight out of their ice chest, thanking us for the directions earlier in the day. That was the best cold drink to date we have ever had on trail! The trail provides. We enjoyed the people we met on trail, so many different backgrounds and lifestyles, we were all out here together, suffering alongside each other, sharing stories and enjoying life on trail all the same.
A few more miles and we, ourselves, would be at Cochetopa Creek. The bridge crossing, more like log crossing, had been washed out earlier in the season, so we took off our shoes and waded through the cold waters to the other side. It was invigorating. We set up our tent to keep the bugs at bay and enjoyed a good lunch and plenty of fresh water. After a good foot soak and some down time we were off again to finish up the segment and get in a few miles of segment 20 before calling it a day. The next morning would bring climbs back into our routine, so we enjoyed the easy travel while we could. Amazing, we thought, we are about to be in the 20s, only nine segments left on the Colorado Trail, We had made great progress and crossed some 325 miles of ever-changing terrain across Colorado. Soon we would be entering the La Garita, and Weminuche Wilderness areas and the San Juan Mountains and would be treated to some of the most amazing views we had ever seen. Those views would come at a price though, we would be hitting the highest terrain on the CT and spending a good deal of time traversing it. Our lungs and legs would be pushed to the limits. It was about to get real.
MAD