Finding a computer has been a lot more difficult than I imagined. I am currently at the Chamber of Commerce in Creede, where the women there have been nice enough to let me use one of their computers--Creede doesn't have a public library in the summer, evidently. It's inside the school building, and the school is closed for the summer. Without any "smart phones" or other such devices, we are at the mercy of kind people like Dela and Pam at the Creede chamber. So grateful!
I find a great desire to stay connected, but as I am looking forward, I am not sure we will be able to blog again until we reach the end and head back to Boulder. I'll see what we can do, but this may be our last access until the finish.
We hitched into Creede yesterday afternoon, which was an adventure. To get to Creede, we had to take a 1 mile side trail down from San Luis Pass, hit a crazy forest service road, and find a way to make the 10-mile trek into town. We had hoped to find a ride somehow, but one never really knows what to expect, and as we began walking the road, we only passed 2 parked cars within 2-3 miles of walking. We were figuring on walking the entire canyon road until Philip, a previous CT thru-hiker, just happened to pass by and stopped to give us a ride. We were so grateful and were convinced God is watching out for us. We have yet to have any issues getting rides to and from the trail and have been so blessed by the kindnesses of others.
On the way down, he gave us the grand tour of all the old mining operations in the canyon...I have never seen such large and high mines! It must have been crazy to see them in action back in the late 1800s. As we wove our way down the crazy dirt road, the canyon suddenly opened up and there was the town of Creede. It's a lovely little town, and we have so enjoyed our stay.
We unfortunately found the town to be completely booked due to a wood-carving expo, but the only motel in town offered us a bunk in their laundry room. It was a little odd having people come in and out to do laundry and get ice, but we were grateful for a bed and have since had time to walk around and explore the little town. Great fun, and everyone here has been so kind to us. I asked Ben if we could live here.. :)
We are mostly taking the day off in Creede, to explore some more and enjoy the town and give our feet and backs a much-needed break. The blisters continue to, well, blister, and our backs seem to be wearing daily. A day of rest will provide the healing we need to get back on the trail. We have a ride set up for 4:30 back up the canyon road, where we will be dropped off hopefully at the trail head to hike the 1-mile trail back up to the pass, but the road gets so rough we may have to be dropped 2 miles prior and hike 3 miles late this afternoon to get back on the trail. We'll camp right at the pass and continue on the CT in the morning.
One of our favorite evenings on the trail so far was shared with a fellow hiker, Andrea, in the La Garita Wilderness. We camped in a valley right next to a steep rock outcropping, so we cooked our dinners and headed up to sit on the rocks and overlook the valley. As we sat, we had the privilege of looking down on a beaver dam--and watching a beaver at work! We sipped hot chocolate afterward and watched him swim around. I felt like I was watching an episode of "Wild America"--I could almost hear Marty Stouffer narrating in the background. Ben said the show got even better after I headed down for bed--two more beavers came out to play.
From here, the trail looks like it gets even more rugged as we soon head into the San Juans. We've been hearing from multiple hikers that the San Juans are just beautiful, so we are really looking forward to our last days on the trail. The danger of lightening also increases, though, as we stay above treeline and at higher elevations for longer periods of time. We will have to carefully plan our days of hiking. So far, we've always been coming DOWN a mountain when the scary clouds come in rather than heading into the ridge lines.
Our next and last stop will be near Silverton, Colorado, at Molas Lake Campground, where we should have one more package waiting (thanks, Bonnie!). Our end date should be July 23rd in Durango!
Love to you all--thanks again for keeping up with us. We look forward to returning to Oxford soon!
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