Day 176-Day 179 (CT 14-17)

Day 176-179 (CT 14-17): 160 miles

The four-day fortay foray, and on a larger scale the Colorado trail, was a success. The first day was a 50 miler and I rolled into a camp with 2 hunters around midnight. They came out of their tent to say hi and we ended up drinking beer and whiskey for the next hour before I finally had to go to bed cause I was freezing to death out in the open.

I did 25 miles the next day and ended by 5 to watch the buckeye-Wisconsin game if you wanna call it a game and not a beat down. I camped near the top of Georgia pass cause it had good cell reception on the west side but none in the east. It was another cold freakin night camping over 11,000 feet.

The next day was a 36 miler. When I was around Kenosha Pass, it was a zoo. They must’ve been giving out broncos season tickets around there somewhere. There were so many people. I decided to hitch into town quick for some football, food, and Dr Pepper. The hitching was pretty easy given the sheer volume of people. And you only need one. I arrived in town just in time to witness an absolutely insane witching hour. There were at least 4 different games that came down to the wire. The hardest part of thru hiking is missing football season and I stand by that

The last day was 49 miles. It’s always a good feeling knowing you’ve got one final push left and that’s it. The last day felt like it was all downhill so it was easy to cover ground at a pretty good clip. I’m sure for southbounders starting out, this isn’t a very enjoyable part of the trail. But I loved it, almost all downhill and it was beautiful. It was a dry forest with interesting rock outcroppings. I’ve never been to North Dakota, but it felt like North Dakota to me. I had an amazing sunset with a glorious pink sky.

On the final roadwalk in waterton canyon after dark, I saw more wildlife than I did the rest of the trail. I saw 2 bears and saw a lot more eyes that I couldn’t tell what they were cause it was dark. By the end, my leg was cramping, my feet hurt, my heels felt extremely sensitive and painful, but when I reached sign it was all worth it. I was done walking across Colorado.

Denver!! City by the bay!