Continental Divide Trail – Day 18

May 19, 2023
Miles Today/ Total: 26.2 / 364.2

I was up and around fairly early this morning, but got hung up in the chatter at the hostel before leaving. Dana ( the toaster house caretaker) took my obligatory picture under the toaster arch and I started down the trail.

The trail out of Pie Town is a 33 mile roadwalk. It is a gravel road that goes by many ranches and ranches that have been subdivided into small subdivisions. About 16 miles in TLC Ranch has a CDT rest area set up with a table, chairs, water, and even camping available. I stopped and took a break as a rainstorm moved through.

After the rain, I started back down the trail. The next water source was a tank about 9 miles away. The road had been going upwards all morning was now beginning to descend into the valley below. As I neared the water tank, I realized that another, bigger, thunderstorm was coming up behind me. I got to the tank just as the rain began.

I collected my water and began looking for a place to setup my tent. The ground cover was very sparse and with the rain it left nothing but mud to setup on. I decided to keep walking hoping to find a better location.

I walked through the rain for about an hour before it let up enough that I could setup my tent without getting it wet inside. I finally found a spot that had a little more grass and setup my tent. I crawled inside, changed out of my wet clothes and ate a meal bar for dinner.

A cold wind is blowing across the open field as I write this. It’s going to be a cold night.

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