After a calm and cool night, I was up at sunrise and ready to tackle the most vertically aggressive section of the trail. I was dragging, though. The 21-mile road walk yesterday was definitely affecting my ability to make good time getting over Ute Pass. The route I hiked descended Ute Pass when entering the Walden Basin on the east side. I like the symmetry of entering and exiting the Walden Basin at a Ute Pass.

Once over Ute Pass, the trail ventures down to Gold Creek and the Gold Creek Trail (#1150). Note: If someone were interested in adding a peak to their thru-hike, they could take a right at the Gold Creek intersection (instead of left) to go up Mt. Zirkel.

After following Gold Creek for several miles, the route then climbs up to the Wyoming Trail (#1101), which merges with the Continental Divide Trail. I’d stay on this for the rest of the day, hiking high in the alpine along the literal Continental Divide.

I did see a CDT hiker behind me on a climb. He never caught up with me throughout the afternoon but walked by camp a little before sunset.

I found a nice pond with some protected camping nearby and watched as the thunderstorms to the east turned to fire as the sun set. A quiet and peaceful evening with clear skies provided some grand views of the stars.