Day 4 on the CT

Finally got phone service at a clearing in segment 4, so we thought we'd make a quick blog update. We've walked 56 miles and are planning on camping at mile 63. We did big miles the first couple days: 17 the first and 19 the second. Willy's uncle (first cousin once removed) was nice enough to drop us at the trail and walk the first 3 miles with us. Michael took the first big spill when he tried to skip across the rocks at the first creek. He ate it hard and it was hilarious. The second day went through a burned out section of the trail. It kinda looked like the place Scar lives in The Lion King. Michael took the next big spill on the third day when he tried to flip the pack from in front of him and onto his back. He tripped over a root and it was hilarious. The trail on the third day was basically a creek and all uphill but still fun. We'll be in  Breckinridge in 3 days for July 4th, and tomorrow night michaels family will be hiking with us so we got a couple eventful days coming up. Till next time.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Hey everybody! Adam here. So we've spent the last day and a half at Rocky Mountain National Park. As you can see from the photos, the views there were sub-par. Kidding. The campsite alone had incredible views. Our neighbor David (shown below) was really friendly and shared his dinner, buffalo meat, with us. He also gave us this awesome dreamcatcher he made, and we've had it hung up next to the car's rearview mirror ever since. 

On our first day at the park, we hiked Big Meadows Trail. The mosquitoes were terrible, so once we got to the meadow at the trail's end, we only stayed long enough to snap a selfie. We ended up running the second half of the 3-mile hike just to get away from the mosquitoes. We're putting bug repellant on the list of things we need for the CT.

Michael asked a park ranger about what we should hike the second day. When he mentioned Mt. Ida, she told him we could not hike that trail because we would need snowshoes. Michael took this as an insult to his pride. He said later, "Whenever someone tells me I can't do something, then I am definitely going to do it." So, of course, we would have to hike Mt. Ida. The night before, we attempted to build our own showshoes but failed miserably. But thankfully we wouldn't need them. For the most part, the trail was pretty clear, and we were able to make it up to the 12,800 ft summit by noon. On our way down, we came upon a herd of bighorn sheep sitting right in the middle of the trail. After waiting a couple minutes, we realized they were not leaving anytime soon, and we took a quick detour around them. We came away from the 10 mile hike unscathed except for some pretty rough sunburns. We're putting sunscreen on the list of things we need for the CT.

We are spending the night tonight at William's uncle's house in Boulder. Tomorrow, we will pack up our stuff and prepare to head off on the trail Saturday. Right now we're watching The Lord of the Rings because we keep quoting it, and Morgan doesn't understand any of the references. How has she not seen Lord of the Rings? I don't get it. Anyways, I've missed the first 30 minutes writing this blog post, so that's about it for now. Oh and enjoy the photos. Because of my long arms, I have been designated the camera holder for all selfies. We need to start finding people to take these photos for us.

- Adam

Big Meadows Trail

The Crew & David

 

Mt. Ida

 

A Day in Denver

We finally rolled into Denver Monday evening (after Adam drove nearly the entire way from Kansas because he kept wanting to get off the highway but also kept missing the exits) to spend a day and a half with great company and to see a little bit of what downtown has to offer.

We started outside the city at a beautiful escape that belonged to some of William's friends, Sam and Marcia Roberts. We ate Guido's pizza within view of the Great Divide while sharing camping stories and hearing about the trail from a local's perspective. They have section hiked the trail so they had some good insight, making me feel better about grizzles and a little worse about encountering a moose. 

After dinner we headed downtown. We met up with one of the guys' pledge brothers, Bradley aka B-smooth. He showed us down to 16th street market which was an awesome area of town with many restaurants and shops and locals. 

Tuesday morning we woke up in search of a "hipster coffee shop" per William's request and didn't have to look too far. We found one with coffee for $2.50 a cup and a collection of coffee mugs that could be found at goodwill to choose from. Then we met a friend of mine, Jack, at a place he suggested called Snooze that was AMAZING. If you're in Denver you have to go there. 

Post breakfast included a goodwill trip to the fanciest goodwill we'd ever been to and strolling downtown to eat some BBQ before the Rockies game--which we'd heard since we got here would be nothing special. Everyone was right. And it started pouring rain about 15 minutes after we got into the stadium. So we all raced down the street in the rain to meet Bradley after he left the game. 

It's currently Wednesday morning and were about 15 mins from the Rocky Mountain National Park. So I'm sure we'll be writing about the beauty and adventure encountered within the next 24 hours shortly... 

A conversation from taking this photo: 

Adam: "My arm is in the picture"

Me: "Don't worry we can crop it out" 

It's still there. Sorry Adam -- we tried. 

With an open heart ready for the trail,

Morgan 

Headed West

We left Atlanta this morning after an obligatory Waffle House breakfast! Drove through Nashville, St. Louis, and Kansas City. We are spending the night in Lawrence, KS with Chino, who I met on the Appalachian Trail. 

I am super excited about spending the next 7 weeks traveling, exploring, and hiking through some new places with good friends. Can't wait to see what's in store. 

Appalachian Trail Shakedown Hike

On Memorial Day weekend we loaded up the cars and headed north of Atlanta for a weekend hike on the Appalachian Trail. We decided to do a easy weekend of about 16 miles, hiking from Unicoi Gap to Dick's Creek Gap. The easy weekend also allowed us to spend Monday at our friend's, Matt, lake house. Morgan's friend, Gina, and dog, Minnie, joined us and everything went smoothly. Well almost. We had left a car at both our start and end points, but once arriving at Dick's Creek Gap Adam realized his keys were in the car at the start. After a ride from a friendly fellow hiker and and hour later everything was worked out.

On our way to Matt's lake house we decided we needed a nice hot breakfast and drove into town. Well there is only one thing that will fill a hiker' craving... Waffle House. We drove through downtown but only found a Huddle House. After a quick round of discussion we decided it would be better to settle and go to HH instead of skipping a meal all-together (breakfast was actually pretty good, but no where close to a All-Star Special). We left full and happy, but not a minute later we saw the unmistakable black and yellow sign, immediately being thrown into a state of sorrow and regret at losing faith.

The Plan

On June 21st Adam, Michael, Morgan, and William will embark on their journey from Georgia westward to hike 500 miles from Denver to Durango on the Colorado Trail. This blog will be updated as often as the internet conditions permit, and we all hope that you will continue to follow it.