Chapter 16
@mycrazyadventurescalledlife
Day 16, July 23, 2021
West Collegiate Mile Marker 4.8 to 18.9 (14.1 miles)
"Learning to Be Flexible"
Debbie, a trail angel in Salida, gave us a ride back to Monarch Pass. I am always so thankful for trail angels because honestly, town stops can be a bit stressful and having someone to take you back to trail when it is quite a bit distance away is so convenient.
And once again, my pack is full and heavy, with 6.5 worth days of food. I'm also glad that I bought this Hyperlite Junction for this trek because this pack carries weight very well.
Ski lifts at the Monarch Mountain Resort
A monarch compass! So cool.
Hiking along the top of Monarch Mountain Resort with Bald Mountain in the distance
I got back on trail relatively early at 8:30am, and thankfully it is nice and sunny. However, by 11am, dark clouds had already started rolling after leaving Monarch Mountain Resort. It's not great because the trail is now at 12,000 ft and all exposed, no tree to escape to if lightning strikes. But so far, there is no sign of lightning, and I went on. Though I must admit my pace was rather quick because you never know what the weather would do in the mountains.
The motivation to go fast fueled by potential thunderstorms when you are in an exposed area for miles is not really a good motivator. Adrenaline was running extremely high at this moment. Right when the trail was circling around Bald Mountain, I came upon SJ, who started from that dirt road that goes into Butterfly House. I must admit she's moving pretty well too because it was a steep uphill from when she started today. But we're not in the clear yet. So we wished each other good luck on the rest of our trek and kept going. As I was getting down to Hunt Lake, the dark clouds finally subsided. I can breathe better now.
Going up to Bald Mountain
Dark clouds coming in early today
At Hunt Lake, I took my first break by the stream. No bugs here which is nice. The trail downhill from here is quite steep and I'm so glad that I am going down in this section. I saw a few volunteers setting up new switchbacks on this trail, to make it easier for future hikers. Thank you for all your hard work!
Once I got to the bridge on the Middle Fork South Arkansas River, I took a little break. I could see that the dark clouds are once again making their presence.
Taking a little break at the bridge on the Middle Fork South Arkansas River
Mt. Aetna
I wanted to go over Chalk Creek Pass today but the weather was not cooperating. It started raining two miles before the pass so I decided to pitch my tent to stay dry. However, the sky became very active after. Thunder and lightning in all directions so I was forced to stop here for the night.
Camped early at 4pm before Chalk Creek Pass as thunderstorms halted my progress
Since my day started early, I decided to look at the West Collegiate section more closely. I really needed to plan this section carefully since it is mostly above 12,000 ft, and mostly exposed. Getting caught in bad weather here can be bad.
After making some plans, I came to the conclusion that my campsite for tonight puts me at a good spot for the next campsite and will still allow me to finish on time. It's tough having a hard finish date.
End of Chapter 16