CDT - Day 65 Leaving Frisco
Yesterday was a nice zero day. I took the bus to the other side of town, where I did my laundry and bought food for the next section. I spent the rest of the day relaxing, eating far too much food, and planning the upcoming sections of the CDT. This morning, I had a big breakfast at Butterhorn Bakery—biscuits and gravy, eggs, potatoes, and a cannoli—before packing up all of my gear. As much as I've enjoyed Frisco, I was ready to get back on the trail. For most of the day, I hiked through the forest, with only a few brief stretches above the trees. The climbing was gradual and steady, totaling about 3,300 feet of elevation gain. The views weren't as spectacular as they could have been, mostly because of the smoke from the nearby wildfires. The Willow Fire near Mt. Massive has already grown to more than 2,000 acres and remains at 0% containment. It's far enough a8way that I'm not worried about my safety, but the smoke has definitely become an annoyance. I set up camp exactly where I had planned, near the Middle Fork Swan River. A Colorado Trail hiker stopped to chat with me and pointed me toward an amazing campsite right beside the river with plenty of room for tents. I also ran into IQ and Steady again, which was nice. We didn't hike together, but we kept leapfrogging each other throughout the day as we stopped for breaks. They ended up camping in the same area by the river. We had hoped to hike a little farther since it was only 5:00 p.m., but the next few miles are a steep climb up to a pass. Another CDT hiker named Mesa Man also camped nearby. I think we all had the same idea: get a good night's sleep and tackle the big climb first thing in the morning.