CDT - Day 80 - Wyoming Border!
The first half of the day was hot and miserable, with barely a cloud in the sky and very little shade from the trees. Even though the air temperature wasn't all that high, the sun felt incredibly intense. Combined with a few short, steep climbs, it wore me out quickly. I took a few breaks along the way and even made myself a coffee for lunch. Things started improving once the clouds rolled in. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change in the mountains. About six miles from the Colorado-Wyoming border, we stumbled across some incredible trail magic. Two coolers were filled with sodas, Starbucks Frappuccinos, and a variety of chocolate bars. While I was signing the logbook, a guy named George pulled up to restock the coolers. I sat and talked with him for a while. A few minutes later, Airbud and Fitbit arrived and joined us. Not long after, it started to drizzle, which quickly turned into a heavy downpour. I put on my rain jacket and rain pants and continued hiking. The rain brought a welcome break from the heat, and it actually felt refreshing. As usual, though, the storm only lasted about twenty minutes. As soon as the sun came back out, I stripped off my rain gear. The final six miles to the border passed quickly. I made a short detour off the trail to collect water, but it turned out to be awful—stagnant and filled with leaves and dead bugs. I kept it in my CNOC bag as an emergency backup, knowing it would need extra filtering if I ended up using it. I figured we'd reach the Colorado-Wyoming border around 7:00 p.m. since today's hike was about 26 miles. We arrived right on schedule and had our tents set up by 8:00 p.m. We camped just a few feet south of the state line, making it our final night in Colorado.