Continental Divide Trail – Day 48
July 10, 2023
Miles Today/ Total: 19.4 / 813
I’m still backtracking on the trail with the hope of using Middle Creek Trail to get to Creede. It is 2 miles back from where I camped last night.
There were a couple of steep snow crossings this morning and I put my crampons on since the snow had frozen over last night. There was also a couple of areas I walked around the snow including the big cornice I had to walk around.
I reached the Middle Creek trail junction about 7:30 and as I started down the trail it went down into a valley and passed through some nice forests. About 1 mile in it started climbing up to the top of the mountain and then followed the top until the end of the range.
On my map the last 1/2 mile was orange instead of green and I wasn’t able to find out what that meant without an internet connection. Well I found out this morning as the trail stopped at a cliff overlooking the Trailhead area below. It appears that the orange section doesn’t exist anymore.
I was able to find a way down by scrambling part way down on some large rocks and then walking down the rest of the way. The trail marked on the map below the cliff did not exist and I had to bushwack my way through a previously forested area. (Lots of dead limbs and debri n the ground)
I made it to the road about 10:00 and ate my breakfast before starting on the roadwalk. The roadwalk was on Forest service road 523 which was in remarkably good condition. I saw a few cars on the road and several people at a lake fishing about 6 miles down the road.
I continued walking with the intention of hiking into Creede tonight, but when I passed Marshall campground after walking 17 miles on sore feet, I stopped in to see if anything was available. I got there last spot.
It was pretty early still so I set up my camp and went down by the Rio Grande River to soak my aching feet. The cold water felt good and I washed off my legs and feet while there.
Back at camp I fixed dinner and updated my blogs as the sun slowly sunk behind the mountains.
