SUMMARY:   We are both so tired out from battling the snow on the CDT ever since Chama, that we decided to take a zero in Salida. That also meant we got to go to church—perfect timing because the church youth group had just returned from a mission trip to Thailand, and were ‘reporting back’. It was wonderful.

We also watched the kayakers on the Arkansas River that runs right through town—they are having a big kayaking shindig. But we had a big decision to make—do we return to battle snow on the CDT tomorrow, or take the lower elevation Colorado Trail? After much discussion of ‘stubborn’ vs ‘sensible’ options, we finally went with the Colorado Trail. We will see what happens!

DETAILS:   Even though we are now behind schedule, we decided to take a zero day in Salida.  We thought the Rockies would be like the Sierras on the PCT–wrong!  Battling the snow and steep trail and high altitude has just worn us out.  Being 68 and 76 years old, we can’t bounce back like we used to.  We need this zero!

Staying in Salida also meant we could go to church, hooray!  So after breakfast, we walked over to the nearest church, 1st Baptist of Salida, and arrived 15 minutes early.  Good thing we did–when we got there, we found a note on the door that said, “Only one service today, 10:00, at the high school.”  Hmmm, now what?  Just then, up drove a little pickup truck, and out jumped what turned out to be the youth pastor.  He gave us a ride to the high school–and that meant we had a whole hour to wait.  Fixit opted for walking back to the motel (not far) and trying to get something on the internet, and I opted for just sitting comfortably in a sunpatch at the high school to read the Bible.

Finally it was 10:00, and we found out why they were only having one service–their youth group had just returned from two weeks in Thailand, and were doing a presentation.  Rather than have them do everything twice, the church opted for one service.  But there were too many people to all fit in the regular church building, so they went to the high school.  Turned out that the kids went over to help a group that takes in children (especially girls) who are in danger of being trafficked.  They helped put up a new building, taught English, played soccer, and also travelled to a desperately poor village up in the mountains where some of the children come from, so they could see first hand how awful the situation was and understand why families wanted something better for their children.

Best of all, the Salida teenagers got to see God’s perfect timing at work in several situations, and they each grew spiritually by leaps and bounds.  I was so impressed by the stories they told and it was a great experience.  So glad we could be there to hear all they had to say!

After that, we walked downtown to a sporting goods store, where Fixit hoped to find new tips for his trek poles.  No luck–they only carried Black Diamond, and his poles are Lekis.  But he did get some new socks, and I got a map that shows the Colorado Trail and CDT from Monarch Crest to Twin Lakes.  Then we went and hung out by the Arkansas River for awhile to watch the kayakers.  The whole downtown is crammed with people for the kayaking shindig.

Back at the motel, Fixit and I looked hard at the map I’d bought and discussed our options for tomorrow.  One side of us (the stubborn side) says, “We are CDT hikers!  Back to the CDT!  The snow is melting more every day!  And the CT doesn’t look any easier than the CDT, except for no snow.”  The other (sensible) side is, “Be real.  We are old.  We are DONE with battling snow. We can’t do another 70 miles of it.  We want to make it to Canada, not beat ourselves up in Colorado.  The CT and CDT are parallel.  Let’s do the CT.”

In the end we decided for the CT.  The two trails come back together again at Twin Lakes, which is our next destination.  We’ll get back on the CDT at that point.