June 18, 2014

I've crossed over my first Rocky Mountain. I reached the summit of Wolf Creek on Monday around 6:30 pm, and continued trekking down for a couple more hours before finally setting up my tent. 

While on the road, there were a ton of cyclists riding along the 160, in what I found out was a marathon across the country. 

The looks on the faces of a couple bikers was kinda funny, as they saw me with my pack humping up the mountain. I equate it to having good Drill Instructors during boot camp. 

Not much else on this end. The views are incredible. Thought Id share.

Campsite in Pagosa Springs

Heading towards Wolf Creek

Entering the Woods.

Just a few of the cyclists and crew.

Water everywhere.

Decided to put on a long sleeve shirt around this point.

View from the Top.

Not to bad.

Obligatory Selfie.

Ski Area.

Decided to call it a day.

Nice to have a river next to you.

Made it into South Fork

June 16, 2014

This past Thursday, I arrived at Lake Capote which is about 15 miles west of Pagosa Springs and a part of the Ute tribe reservation. I met Craig Reinhardt, the park manager and we got to talking about why I was walking, how far I'd come and where I was heading. He told me I needed to watch a movie he owned called "Article 99" which was released in the early 90's and dealt with a lot of the issues going on with the VA today. I agreed, and couldn't believe this was the first I was hearing of the film. Definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the political side of VA health care. Once the movie was over he informed me that he and his wife would be attending a wedding in Albuquerque, NM on Saturday and if I was interested, could ride down there to visit my Uncle Tim and Aunt Holly for a night. I graciously accepted and we left Friday afternoon. It was awesome to see my aunt and uncle, as well as my cousins Jenna and Maddie. We watched the Kings take the Stanley Cup, and I got to see a couple games of the World Cup. After being on the road for 10 weeks it really meant a lot to be with Family and get caught up with what has been going on. I met back up with Craig on Saturday night and we headed back to Colorado. Sunday morning I said goodbye to everyone at Capote, and thanked Craig again for the unexpected weekend event. I finally made it into Pagosa Springs campground around 6pm and set up my tent. 

From here I have to pass over Wolf Creek which has an elevation on 11,000 but that seems to be the only major mountain I'll cross through the Rockies. It should take 2-3 days so I will be updating around that time. 

Thank you again to all of you for your continued support, and I will try to include pictures next post. 

June 11, 2014

Hello everyone. 

Ive been having an awesome time in Colorado so far. What was supposed to just be a day in Durango, ended up turning into five. I met local artist Brian Simmonds, who was working with Music in the Mountains to paint an old warehouse. A collective group of young adults came through on Saturday morning to throw paint around using spray cans, water bottles, squirt wands, and brushes. This ended up being the base for Brian and some artists he knows to work with and create on.

 

 It was a 3 day process, during which various people came by to see what was going on, listen to music, and help create.

Today I'm coming to you from Bayfield CO, gathering up supplies and heading out to Pagosa Springs. Its a 45 mile trek through the mountains, and im feeling pretty good about it, mainly due to this new water filtration straw that can clean up to 100,000 gallons of water I just bought thats gonna save me from hauling a ton of water with me. This is only the pre-cursor to the Wolf Creek pass Ill be heading through after Pagosa. 

Stay Tuned.