I woke in a better mood this morning. Being on a trail helps, but also my tent wasn’t soaking wet from the dew. From camp, the Silver Creek Trail follows the creek for several miles before veering away to stay higher on the hillside. This provided many great views with dense forest around large rock formations. There were also blueberries in this area!
Once at the lower Silver Creek Trailhead, the route continues on County Road 16 where the route joins the Great Divide Biking Route which leads from Mexico to Canada (and beyond). I believe it was the precursor to the idea of the CDT.I woke up in a better mood this morning. Being on a trail helps, but my tent also wasn’t soaking wet from the dew.
From camp, the Silver Creek Trail follows the creek for several miles before veering away to stay higher on the hillside. This provided many great views, with dense forest surrounding large rock formations. There were also blueberries in this area!
Once at the lower Silver Creek Trailhead, the route continues on County Road 16, where it joins the Great Divide Biking Route, which runs from Mexico to Canada (and beyond). I believe it was the precursor to the idea of the CDT.
Immediately after turning onto County Road 16, I met a bikepacker out on the Great Divide Route. Rat King was his name, and we chatted a bit about his adventure and mine before continuing on with the four-ish-mile road walk. About halfway, the rain let up, and I found some access to Morrison Creek, where I decided to stop and eat some lunch.
As I relaxed in the shade, two more bikepackers rolled up—Tim and Mattaias (Matthews), two men from Germany out on the Great Divide Route. After a short conversation, they decided to stop and eat lunch with me. We exchanged stories of our travels—they were 26 days into their 40-day adventure. They also shared their stoke for the Northern Colorado Trail and asked many questions about long-distance backpacking. I, in turn, asked my fair share of bikepacking questions—an idea I’ve tossed around in my head since being out on the CDT. I just like the speed of hiking so much more.
After the longest lunch break I’ve taken so far, the three of us decided to get back on the road. Shortly after, the rain began to fall again. Have I mentioned how happy I am to have a trekking umbrella? It’s the best. The three of us leapfrogged each other a few times as we put on and took off our rain gear with each passing shower.
The road walk terminates at the Morrison Divide Trailhead. The climb up to the top of the divide was a butt-kicker, but fortunately, there was water flowing about halfway up, reducing the amount I needed to lug up the mountain. Once at the top, I set up camp, and the rain began. It poured hard until just after sunset, when the storm passed east and opened up a star-lit sky, bringing day 12 to an end.
Immediately after turning onto Country Road 16, I met a bike packer out on the Great Divide Route. Rat King was his name and we chatting a bit about his adventure and mine before getting on with the 4ish mile road walk. About halfway the rain let up and I found some access to Morrison Creek where I decided to stop and eat some lunch.
As I relaxed in the shade, two more bike packers rolled up. Tim and Mattaias (Matthews), two men from Germany out on the Great Divide Route. After a short conversation, they decided to stop and eat lunch with me. We exchanged stories of our travels, they were 26 days into their 40 day adventure. They also shared their stoke of the Northern Colorado Trail and asked many questions related to long-distance backpacking. I also ask my fair share of bike-packing questions, and idea I’ve tossed around in my head since being out on the CDT. I just like the speed of hiking so much more.
After the longest lunch break I’ve taken so far, the three of us decide to get back on the road and shortly after the rain began to fall again. Have I mentioned how happy I am to have an trekking umbrella? It’s the best. The three of us flip-flopped each other a few times as we put on and took of our rain gear with each passing shower.
The road walk terminates at the Morrison Divide Trailhead. This climb up to the top of the Divide was a butt-kicker, but fortunately their was water flowing about halfway up the climb, reducing the amount of water I needed to lug up the mountain. Once at the top, I set up camp and they rain began. It rained hard until just after sunset when the storm passed east and opened up the star lit sky, bringing day 12 to an end.
