South Fork Soda Creek to Slavonia 22 mi :: 1268 mi :: Warm, heavy afternoon rain The mosquitos are waiting for me in the morning. I get going quickly, hoping I can find places with fewer mosquitos to eat my meals today. I stop at a snowfield for water and notice there aren’t many bugs.…

Rabbit Ears Pass to South Fork Soda Creek 18 mi :: 1246 mi :: Partly cloudy Dad takes us to a good breakfast in Steamboat. Afterward I say farewell to Mom, who thinks she’ll head back East tomorrow. A few last bites of birthday cake and I throw the pack in Dad’s truck, since he…

Steamboat Springs 0 mi :: 1228 mi :: Partly cloudy, warm We decide to celebrate my birthday a day early. Mosty it involves laziness and hanging out with my family. My dad and Sarah show up around lunch. We snack at the picnic table, then lounge at the pool. I whoop my Mom in a…

Steamboat Springs 0 mi :: 1228 mi :: Partly cloudy, warm A classic rest day, it begins with pancakes sticking to the pan on the camp stove and ends with good beer, wine, and conversation around the picnic table. In the evening my Mom and I see Farenheit 9/11. I’ll probably review it separately later.…

FS104 to Rabbit Ears Pass 25 mi :: 1228 mi :: :: Warm, humid, cloudy I’ll be on roads all day today, so once I get started I concentrate on making miles. My road stays on the divide for awhile, then descends north at Chimney Rock to avoid private property. I encounter six large elk…

Willow Creek Pass to FS104 23 mi :: 1203 mi :: :: Sunny, afternoon rain storms Ann gets me back to the pass at 8 am, after coffee. There is no obvious trail headed west, so I bushwhack up the ridge until I find one. It leads into a little web of trails and old…

Illinois River Headwaters to Willow Creek Pass 11 mi :: 1180 mi :: :: Sunny, warm, afternoon and evening rain storms I bushwhack to the trail in the morning with no trouble. I have breakfast early as I’ve been doing to make sure I have some calories to burn for the day. I make one…

Shadow Mountain Dam to Illinois River Headwaters 21 mi :: 1169 mi :: :: Sunny, warm, afternoon thunder clouds I wake from a fairly good sleep. It’s the first time I’ve tried sleeping under the stars with a mosquito net to protect my face. It works, but requires some management when turning over during the…

Devil’s Thumb Creek to Shadow Mountain Lake 25 mi :: 1148 mi :: :: Sunny, warm It’s a nice, dry morning. When I start walking through the woods, they seem especially tranquil. The sun isn’t up yet, so the air is cool and still with an occasional hint of cinnamon and mint. It puts me…

Berthoud Pass to Devil’s Thumb Creek 18 mi :: 1123 mi :: :: Afternoon clouds I get a fairly early start up the divide because I hope to climb some peaks today. By breakfast I’ve made the first, Mount Flora (13,132′). From here the trail plunges down toward a bunch of popular little reservoirs, but…