SUMMARY:  Well, we thought we were done with the big mountains and steep climbs at high altitudes. Nope. Today was a re-run of some of the toughest challenges, as we went through the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness. There were big snowfields to negotiate, miles and miles of following cairns (no trail) way high on the Divide, and steep climbs at 11,000 and 12,000 feet.

We were totally wasted by the end of the day, because to add to the fun, we had super-heavy packs with 6 days of food (enough to get us all the way to Rawlins) and full loads of water. Whew. But glorious views and beautiful weather.

DETAILS:  We headed out today very happily, thinking, “We’re almost done with Colorado–should be a lot easier now!” And indeed, for awhile this morning we had nice trail–especially nice because somebody had recently been through and logged out the blowdowns, which made for MUCH easier going!

But it was a steady uphill, which gradually got steeper and steeper (tough on us with full packs of 6 days worth of food) and when it finally leveled out again, we were at well over 11,000 feet, at which point the trail disappeared.  We were back to hunt ‘n peck for cairns and rock ducks.  With two of us on the lookout, we did manage to follow the route–but then it climbed yet higher, to over 12,000 feet again, and we were dealing with snowfields as well.  It was tough.

But we are in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness, which is dramatically beautiful, and being up that high made for some amazing scenery–we felt almost as if we were on top of the world.  We saw a number of very pretty alpine lakes, and there were wildflowers galore.  The weather was gorgeous–sunshine, puffy white clouds, not too much wind, not too hot or too cold.  And no mosquitoes!  Wow!  I could list a whole lot of superlatives and that would still not adequately describe what we were experiencing.

By day’s end, Fixit and I were both totally wasted, from heavy packs, rough trail, steep climbs, altitude, and the stress of having to spend so much time hunting for which way to go…..balanced by the joy of the awesome beauty around us.  We should sleep well tonight!