Continental Divide Trail – Day 15
May 16, 2023
Miles Today/ Total: 21.4 / 303.1
I stopped before a big climb last night because I didn’t want to carry the extra 2 liters (4.4 lbs) of water up the mountain. Now I get to face a 1,000’ climb first thing this morning.
The climb really wasn’t that bad. It was a gradual climb and I took my time getting to the top. Once there I called my mother to wish her a (belated) Happy Mother’s Day, my mother-in-law to wish her the same, and posted some updates on social media.
I continued on the trail with a series of smaller ups and downs until I reached Wagontongue Mountain where I had another big climb to the top. I met Gabe at the summit who was sitting down for a snack after the hard climb. We talked a few minutes then I began descending.
As I descended down the trail, another thunderstorm moved in and it began to rain. As I stopped to put on my raincoat, Ben came up the trail behind me. We talked while donning our rain gear and began down the trail. We were talking and had gone about a mile when I decided to put on my rain skirt – the rain was getting heavier. As I put on my rain skirt I checked the trail map and we had made a wrong turn. I yelled to Ben and let him know and we turned back. We had gone a mile on the wrong trail.
Back on the right trail we once again began a small climb. On reaching the top we could see the valley below and began a rather long descent into the valley. Once at the bottom we continued about 2 more miles and stopped for a snack break. It was 4.6 miles to the next water source and we both needed water before stopping for the night.
I reached the pond about 6:00 and collected water before walking a little further down the trail to find a place to set up my tent. I set up the tent, cooked dinner, ate, and cleaned up before climbing inside for the night.
