A Modest Folly: Denver to Breckenridge (June 21

The Gist:

OK, here’s the deal. I can’t really put into words how awesome the whole trip was. Basically, I’m stumped. What I’ve decided to do is sort of list chronologically my notes on the whole thing in what I think is the right order. If you really want to hear the longer and more colorful narratives you’ll have to ask me to tell you these tales around a dinner table or campfire. I suppose what I’m actually trying to say is that if you really want to feel like you can experience this trail or any trail you should just go do one yourself. It would take me forever to try and really give you a mediocre description of the altitude and how the thin air gets you, how the bugs eat you alive, how it gets really hot and really cold, really wet and really dry and how solitary it is. The challenge is immense to both mind and body in a way that’s unlike any other recreational activity.

Denver To Breckenridge

My first leg was to last 7 days. Very hot and dry and water was very scarce. A big bear stumbled through my camp just as I was going to bed. Met a couple of oddballs along the trail and also a couple of cool people. I think I came across some kind of cult and made them nervous when I wandered to close to their gated community. People and lightning are the two most dangerous and unpredictable things that I know of. Mountain bikers and cyclists of all kinds are the bane of my existence and I loathe them all and wish yuppies would stick to shopping and ruining the lives of im/migrant workers instead of ruining hiking trails and speeding down sidewalks with their very expensive bicycles. My first crossing of the Continental Divide was a rather awesome experience. Lots of snowpack up in the mountains; a few weeks prior it was still unpassable, I was told. I found myself up into altitude very quickly and discovered that I really enjoy it. I cannot fathom why we would rather have free range beef than a mountain stream free of enormous quantities of cow shit. My boots were not breaking in at all and were never quite comfotable even though this problem solved itself soon enough. The Colorado Trail Guide Book and its companion Data Book are, for the most part, worthless. It was a fun and challenging section, but the best and most difficult was yet to come, so on hindsight it is hard to think too highly of it. Breckenridge is a joke of a town and is full of either underpaid workers or yuppies. There is also a large Dubro population (i.e, guys who call each other Dude and Bro a lot. These people tend to work out in gyms, wear crooked hats, and, for whatever reason, only seem to hang out with other guys). The post office in Breckenridge is unusually busy all of the time.