Another calm night in the bag. I was able to see some shooting stars during my midnight bladder-draining session. The day was spent once again on the literal Continental Divide, which provided some grand views in the morning while I was above tree line.

I met another backpacker who was out for a few days to fish in the alpine lakes. It reminded me of an interaction I had with a different hiker in nearly the same spot when I was thru-hiking the CDT in 2021.

A few miles after descending below tree line, the trail reaches Buffalo Pass, which has a parking lot and pit toilets. This marks a shift in the trail. Being so close to Steamboat Springs, the amount of trail traffic increases from here to Highway 40.

A cool feature of the NOCO Trail (same as the CDT) in this area is the ability to hike into Steamboat Springs via the Fish Creek Trail (#1102). With a lake to camp at along the way, the Fish Creek Trail is 7.1 miles, followed by 3 miles of road walking (or a hitch) into the heart of Steamboat Springs, where there is a free bus system with stops near all the necessary services.

The NOCO Trail continues past the Fish Creek Trail intersection into an area with many more lakes—the downside being mosquitoes! More than anywhere else so far on the trail. I put on bug lotion and hoofed it to Heart Lake, where there is a really nice campsite near the lake outlet.

Shortly after setting up camp and eating dinner, a couple of CDT thru-hikers showed up—Alan and Stashe, both SOBO. After chatting for a while, I decided to crash. I was tired, and the multiple long days were taking their toll.

Shortly after crawling into my sleeping bag, several more CDT thru-hikers showed up and gathered around the flameless firepit to eat. Unfortunately, I had pitched my tent really close to the firepit, so I put on some tunes and dozed off into the night.