CDT - Day 66 - Insane Climbs
This morning started like so many others. It was cold outside my quilt, and all I wanted to do was stay bundled up. At 5:35 a.m., I finally convinced myself to get moving. When I peeked out of my tent, I noticed a few other hikers had camped nearby during the night. I was up and on the trail before most of them. The first half of the day was spent climbing gradually through the forest. It was relatively easy hiking and made for a nice start to the day. Things changed quickly once I climbed above treeline and started working my way over a series of passes and ridges. I ran into Mesa Man, and we ended up hiking together for the rest of the day. From that point on, the hike turned into a relentless ridge and summit traverse. Every time I thought I had finished another climb, another peak appeared in the distance. By the end of the day, I had hiked 22 miles and climbed an incredible 7,000 feet. It was, without a doubt, the most physically demanding day of my CDT hike so far. Tomorrow will probably be just as challenging. I'll be climbing Grays Peak, the highest point on the official CDT at over 14,000 feet. I ended up camping exactly where I had originally planned, tucked into the trees beside a fast-flowing creek. This also turned into my latest camp setup of the entire CDT. I didn't finish pitching my tent until 8:20 p.m.—well past my usual bedtime.