Weminuche Wilderness Boundary to Palomar Mountain 20 mi :: 727 mi :: 45,740 steps :: Sunny, windy on ridges I wake up early, curious to see if I can make 20 miles for the day and ensure I won’t be late for my rendevous with Ann on Wednesday. I stop for breakfast just before a…

East Fork San Juan River to Weminuche Wilderness boundary 14 mi :: 707 mi :: 31,658 steps :: Sunny, windy I get right into the car camping gear for breakfast and make coffee, eggs stuck to the pan, and toast. Ann comments about how quickly I’ve adapted. It’s hard to say goodbye, so I stay…

Indian Hills to East Fork San Juan River 0 mi :: 693 mi :: Rain storms, sunny hot afternoon It rains and hails like mad all morning as we start our drive back to Pagosa Springs. Then it clears up and gets hot when we enter the San Luis valley. Crazy mountain weather. At a…

Indian Hills 0 mi :: 693 mi :: Stormy It rains and hails even harder today. I worry about the hikers out there who may be without much shelter in the storm, and continue to wonder if more snow is being deposited in the high country. We spend the day packing, organzing, and fussing with…

Indian Hills 0 mi :: 693 mi :: Foggy, light rain We pick up the car and race around doing errands today. All but one possible oil leak in the transmission, which would be a major job, have been fixed. The mechanic shows me all the parts he replaced and the replacement parts, which I…

Indian Hills 0 mi :: 693 mi :: Afternoon showers We drop the car off at the shop this morning for some fairly major oil leak repairs. We make our budget plan. It looks like we have enough money if I can make it to Canada in October, which means 20 mile days. On the…

Pagosa Springs to Indian Hills 0 mi :: 693 mi :: Afternoon sprinkles We pick up our packages at the post office, but forget to ask if they have a CDT logbook. We’re dying to know what the hikers ahead of us have to say about the San Juans. Soon enough we’re at my Dad’s…

Pagosa Springs 0 mi :: 693 mi :: Sunny, hot It’s Sunday, of course, so we can’t pick up our package. Because we’re concerned about budgeting for our new plans, we don’t do our usual town-feast-splurge either. We eat our last pack breakfast, thankful that it doesn’t taste like citronella. The great news of the…

Adams Fork Headwater to Pagosa Springs 8 mi :: 693 mi :: Sunny, warm Thankfully the night passes without too much wind, and we stay reasonably warm. The only problem is that the space blanket bag Ann used got her bag wet with condensation. We’ll have to remember to dry it today or she’ll freeze…

Middle Fork Conejos River to Adams Fork Headwater 8 mi :: 685 mi :: Sunny, gusty, cool The morning spares us some of the usual sufferings. It’s a little warmer than usual (but still cold enough to freeze my boots). Our morning trail is on a southern slope, which eases our snow difficulties. There’s a…