Continental Divide Trail: Days 44-50
- Madelyn Dukart
- Jun 24
- 18 min read
Day 44
Forward progress: 13.7 miles
Total distance on trail: 676.3
It feels like we did a million miles today for how much effort was put in.
The whole day was hard. The first 11 miles were fun hard. The final 2.7 miles were brutal. I wanted to hit the SOS button and take an evac back to Chama. I actually meant to take today off, but I know the upcoming section is ripe with sketchy snow traverses, and I knew a lot of people were shuttling out, and there's strength in numbers.
The first 5 miles were normal hard, just a big climb. Then it got bad hard.
The low snow year was very promising until a few large late season storms rolled through a few weeks ago. The snow is quickly melting because the base is low, but it's deep and wet and slushy.
Bushwhack and I stuck together on many of the snowy traverses today and it was actually so fun, even though the hiking was hard. Each snow field we saw elicited a groan but also determination and laughter. We hiked crazy windy ridges together and got each other through some tough hiking. We both hike in shorts. Our legs are so cut up. Pants tomorrow.
It took us almost 7 hours to do the 11 miles to the 12,000 ft peak, the highest point we've been at on trail so far. It then took us another 2 hours to do the 2.5 miles down to our campsite. I found myself in deep postholes unable to free my foot because the wet snow on top of it was too heavy, so I had to dig myself out. Three times. I had myself a little pity cry on the third one because I was so tired, so cold, and so ready to be at camp, and I'd spent so long digging myself out only to get stuck again on the next step.
We'd intended for another 1.7 miles but simply couldn't make it that far before the sun went down, and we needed to be in our tents for warmth then. We found a dry patch of land and called it good enough.
I'm so grateful the sun was shining all day. I don't want to think about this kind of hiking in worse weather conditions. I know my shoes will be frozen in the morning, and I don't know how to get through 4 more days of this.
Day 45
Forward progress: 10.8 miles
Total distance on trail: 687.1 miles
LOL ok this is insane. The only way to not cry about it is to laugh. At least a bunch of us are in this hell together.
The day started so lovely. It was cold, certainly, but we all observed that our tents and quilts were condensation-free -- a luxury these days.
We did 10.8 trail miles today in 12 hours of hard hiking. There were some stretches that we literally were only able to do half a mile an hour. The snow and blowdowns and postholing and inability to find the trail is INSANE. We definitely did more than 10.8 miles, they were just accidental side quests. I'm so mad about it.
The best part of the day was the first mile. A big group of us were all hiking together, the weather was nice, the sun was out, the snow was crunchy, the trail was obvious. After I stopped to collect water, Bushwhack and I lost the group, lost the trail (as you can imagine, a duo with the trail names of Wrong Way and Bushwhack may be prone to getting turned around), found a guy called Shadow and a guy called Roli Poli who were also very lost, and did the craziest hiking to get back to the trail. We weren't alone in it, though; our small faction and three others emerged at the lake we'd intended to camp at last night around the same time, all from different locations. For now, the trail is impossible to follow exactly, easy to lose, and really is more of a suggestion than an exact location.
I have very little to say about the day that's positive. It was sunny. Bushwhack and I helped each other stay sane throughout the day. And I think that's about it.
The postholing is so demoralizing. Every few steps, you fall in hip to waist deep and have to crawl your way out, only to do it again in a few yards. I'm lucky to be on the smaller side with a smaller pack, so there were stretches of firmer snow that could hold me for longer. Poor Bushwhack is a burly Kiwi with a massive pack, and he postholed at least three times as much as I did. For how scratched up my legs are, his are so much worse. The trail of blood he left through the snow was depressing to see.
The absolute worst part of the day was a few miles in the trees going up and over massive snow drifts. We should have found a different route over the ridge rather than following someone's tracks, but by the time we realized our mistake, it was too late. We were in it. I checked my map every 10-15 minutes to see our progress, and it always hurt to see the lake we intended to camp at only 0.1 miles closer than the previous check. We were going as hard and fast as we could. For people used to going 3 miles per hour, going less than 1 for hours was devastating.
Tonight, we're camped in an open snow field at 11,700 feet. Finding a spot without snow, wind, or obstacles is impossible right now. Bushwhack, Shadow, Prancer, Triple H, Goosebump, and I were hoping to catch up to Cookie Monster, Voltaire, and Rabbit, but at 5:30, we didn't know if we would be able to do the mile and a half to get to them before dark, and we found ourselves a patch of snow that was flat and compact enough to camp on. Good enough, right? I'm gonna freeze my ass off and all my stuff is gonna be frozen, or worse, wet. We're all in our tents, quilts bundled around us, tents fully shut, and it's not quite 7:00. So much daylight left. So cold.
Some of us really want to bail out to an easier alternate tomorrow. The main trail has taken enough of my sanity. I want out. Unfortunately, the closest bailout is an unmarked trail with some scary river crossings, and the next bailout is in 26 miles, which is 2-3 days here over, from what I've heard, some really sketchy areas. Honestly, I'm scared.
Day 46
Forward progress: approx. 10 miles
Total distance on trail: 697.1 miles
My watch says I slept for 4.5 hours, but there's no way I got that much. I was so cold all night long. I chose to use some of my quilt to cover the plastic grocery bag that contained my sopping shoes so they didn't freeze overnight rather than fully enclosing myself, and the bag was too bulky to put in the toebox of the quilt. Every once in a while, I shook from a solitary violent shiver that would jolt me from whatever comfort I had managed to find.
We wanted to be hiking by 5:30 to get a jump start on the snow conditions, and as we were all getting packed up, a hiker called Montana came by, already several miles in, and informed us that the snow was already too soft. But we were awake, so we proceeded.
The anguish of putting on cold, wet socks and shoes that were only not frozen because I kept them under my quilt inside a plastic grocery bag cannot be adequately described. That, after putting on damp pants and damp gloves, made me want to hit the SOS button. My tent ground sheet froze to the snowy ground, and I had to use my ice axe in a new application: chiseling out my tent stakes. I started the day wearing my rain pants over my regular pants over my shorts, and my rain jacket over my puffy jacket over my fleece over my sun hoodie. It was well over sun up before removing any layers.
The first few miles were begrudgingly incredible. We started in the soft purple morning light and watched it become golden and beaming. The snow-covered mountains were stunning. We also had some fun glissades (sliding down the slope instead of hiking it), and my rain pants are now sufficiently destroyed from the ice. A price I'm happy to pay. I actually had a really lovely time this morning.
We ultimately decided to take the bail out. The first 4 hours were much of what we're running from -- constant postholing, navigating blowdowns, wet and cold feet all the time. When we were able to follow El Rito Azul, the rivet was beautiful, but we often had to navigate snow bridges to cross from side to side. When the path led us to the trees above the river, it was slow going. We kept reminding ourselves that we had an imminent out.
We eventually even found ourselves on an actual trail. Like the CDT thus far in Colorado, the trail often disappeared beneath mounds of snow and debris, so following it was impossible, but it was at least there.
The worst part was the first of three actual river crossings. The water was only knee-high on me where we crossed, but super fast, and any misstep would increase the depth significantly. When I saw that that was our crossing -- no other place along the trail was even remotely feasible -- I burst into tears. I really hate sketchy water crossings. Bushwhack went first, then me, then Prancer and Triple H.
Immediately back to the snow after the frigid water.
But finally, after 4 exhausting hours, we found ourselves in a meadow. Without snow. With grass. We took a long lunch break there and relished our surroundings. For now, we're free from that snowy hell.
And then... a trail. A real honest to goodness dirt trail with only minimal obstructions and obstacles. I must have been hiking 4mph out of pure glee.
I was almost to a trailhead when I saw a woman. Just a regular woman, not a thru-hiker. She was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. We both made each other jump because we were not even a little bit expecting to see another person. I'd heard from Fomo, who had done this bail out a few days prior, that the road to the trailhead was blocked by trees, so hitchhiking to the town of Platoro wouldn't be possible until later down the road. She was just going into the woods to pee and also wasn't expecting another person to pop out of the trees. She noticed all my gear and was asking about where I'd come from, and I manically launched into a story about the snow and postholing and river crossings and fear and exhaustion. I'd assured her that I wasn't alone, and there were three hikers somewhere close behind. She asked if I was hungry, and even though I'd just eaten lunch, I was so happy to be offered food.
Her name is Dalee, and she brought me back to her truck where she, her husband Keith, and their friend Randy had just eaten a picnic lunch. Randy was visiting from Texas, and Dalee and Keith have a property nearby, so they came to this trailhead somewhat spontaneously to eat. She made me a sandwich, got me a cold Gatorade, and wouldn't take no for an answer when she offered more and more snacks. We got to talking about the trail, and I wish I had a picture of their faces when I answered their question of "Where did you start hiking?" with "Mexico."
When Bushwhack, Prancer, and Triple H rolled up, they were given the same treatment. I thought our faces would explode from smiling and laughing so much. They gave us a round of beers from their cooler and offered us a ride to Platoro in the back of their truck. They were there just for fun, had never heard of the CDT, didn't intentionally bring anything for us, but they became some of the best trail angels we've had all trip.
When we were about 5 miles away from Platoro, Prancer realized that we didn't have to actually go there, and we were driving south on the green line instead of north. Partway through the windy road, the trail diverted from that road and continued in a different direction. I'd sort of assumed we were supposed to go to Platoro because that's what a lot of people on the bailout do, but we had no reason to go, but we had no way to communicate this to the driver inside, so we just went and decided to air out our stuff before getting a hitch back up the mountain.
We were all so beat up and bruised and exhausted that we had no real intention of hiking anymore today. We know another group -- Rabbit, Cookie Monster, and Voltaire -- had bailed out just hours ahead of us, so we wanted to find them. We'd hoped they'd be in Platoro, but when we didn't see them, we decided to hitch back to trail. But we didn't want to get to the road junction and then hike a road. It was already about 4:00. We felt ok skipping a large swath of trail to get to Elwood Pass, the junction of the red line (which we bailed from), green line (which we bailed to), and blue line (which we wanted to hike to get from Elwood Pass to Pagosa Springs).
We didn't think the likelihood of hitching all the way up to Elwood would be high, especially all four of us at once, so we split into pairs to try to get hitches. Triple H and Prancer went ahead and were walking the road, convinced they'd be unable to get a ride. Bushwhack and I had not even gotten to the road when a side by side stopped for us. They originally were going to just drive us a few miles up the road, but they talked each other into giving us and any other hiker we found along the way a ride all 17 miles to Elwood Pass -- or at least as close as we could get.
By the end of the ride, we had 7 hikers + all our gear, the driver and his nephew, their fishing stuff, two canoes, and a cooler in the side by side. Definitely not street legal, definitely not the safest, but mannnn was it amazing. We all were nearly bursting, we were so freaking happy. We were safe and warm and ready to be away from the scary snow.
The side by side couldn't get all the way to the pass, but we only had probably less than 2 miles to get there. There's a cabin there that's owned by the US National Forest Service and can be booked on recreation.gov, but we figured with the snow blocking the entrance, no one would be able to go. The padlock code mayyy or may not have circulated between certain hiking groups, so a lot of us were fully expecting to stay in the cabin. (In our defense, none of us have had service since Chama, even in Platoro, so we couldn't have booked it anyway.)
I was the last one to get to the cabin, but everyone was just sort of standing around. I went over to the door and noticed there wasn't a padlock on it. I opened it, and Stitch was already in there! She took the green line from the start, too smart to deal with sketchy snow conditions, so she had been in the cabin for hours. When I had rudely barged in, she was drinking tea and listening to classical music on the Panasonic radio that was in the cabin. I was so glad to see her, so glad to be out of the snow, so glad to sleep inside and be warm, so glad to finally relax.
Tonight, I'm going to sleep with a smile. I'm safe, comfortable, and surrounded by friends. Can't ask for much more than that.
Day 47
Forward progress: 18.1 miles
Total distance on trail: 715.2 miles
Waking up inside after waking up the previous morning on snow was a dream. We all woke up around 7:00 and had a long, lazy morning. We only had 18 miles to do, trending steadily downhill, on a road that was reported to be snow-free. We were in absolutely no rush.
It took us 6 hours to do those miles, including a half hour lunch break. Returning to a 3mph pace after being slowed to less than 1 felt so good. We were playing the trail on easy mode. All of us had really lovely conversations going down the road, all of us so giddy and excited.
At one point, I noticed that the pants I had strapped to the back of my pack had fallen off. I'd seen them at lunch, but it had been several hours, so going back for them wasn't an option. I was mostly sad about littering, but these are some of my favorites for hiking and climbing, and even though I have them in another color, I liked having multiple.
When we got to the junction for Highway 160, we were trying to figure out how to get 8 of us to Pagosa Springs. Obviously hitching, but that's a tall order for such a big group. We decided to split up into 3 groups and test our luck. Immediately, the first group hooked a pickup truck. The guy offered to put as many packs as possible in his backseat and take all of us to Wolf Creek Pass, which is where the red line intersects with Highway 160, in the bed of the truck. Even on highways, riding in the bed of a truck is legal as long as your waist is below the top of the bed.
When we got to Wolf Creek Pass, our driver got out of the car, advised that we all put some more layers on (it was cold and snowing up on the pass), and told us he'd drive us the remaining 20 minutes to town. We couldn't believe our luck.
Our driver and his 9-year-old son humored us and got lunch with us. The son was very uninterested in the food (even though it was like burgers and fries and fast food) but super invested in the quarter machine toys. He got a weird green axolotl-looking figure and, for whatever reason, gifted it to me. I told his dad that I would take photos with it on trail and send them to him, and the son seemed really excited about that idea.
Shortly after getting my food, a truck pulled up outside. The driver got out and asked our group if any of us lost a pair of -- get this -- pink hiking pants. They had seen us while biking the road and recovered them, figuring it was one of ours. They drove to Pagosa Springs and just looked for a bunch of backpacks outside of an establishment. Which is CRAZY because the trailhead we were closest to would have been an easier hitch to South Fork, not Pagosa, and we could have been in a hotel. Either way, I'm so grateful and so surprised to have my pants back!
I'm sharing a hotel room with Stitch and Bushwhack. One by one, we all took glorious showers, and one by one, we all remarked how that shower was the best we'd ever taken. The shower itself had 4 different settings, including waterfall and jets, and the pressure was great, and it was consistently hot, and we were clean and cozy and happy. Hard to believe that just 48 hours ago, I was sleeping on snow.
Days 48-49
Forward progress: 0.0 miles
Total distance on trail: 715.2 miles
We woke up and immediately went to the nearby free hot springs under the bridge. Sanitary? Who's to say. Free and hot and easy? Absolutely. Then we took another shower at the Quality Inn.
There are 16 of us in town now, all staying at 2 Airbnbs. These last couple of days have been uneventful but relaxing. Well... as relaxing as can be without knowing what to do on trail.
The red line looks scary, and no one is too keen to return to that snow. Pagosa Springs is too expensive to stay in for too long. There's a cutoff that goes more directly to Creede, but there's still snow in the mountains after Creede, so rushing ahead seems dumb because then what do you do when you hit Creede? Some people are toying around with flipping up to the Great Basin in Wyoming, which is just a boring and flat (but snow-free) section and then hiking south to Colorado, but that sounds logistically complicated. So... no idea is great.
At one point, someone somewhat jokingly suggested going to Moab for a week or so and waiting out the snow. All of us agreed that it would be preferable to any other option, and we went to bed musing about how fun that could be.
Day 50
Forward progress: 0.0 miles
Total distance on trail: 715.2 miles
The river trip that started as a joke seems to be actually underway. This morning when we woke up, we had concepts of a plan but nothing booked. We knew the order of operations was: 1) find a river company that could and would accommodate 16 last-minute paddlers, 2) call an emergency meeting of all 16 hikers and figure out how many days we want to be canoeing, and 3) rent vehicles to transport us all here. But first we had to wait for the companies to open. We were going to be kicked out of the airbnbs at 10:00, so we spent the morning packing up and hoping things would go well.
When Bushwhack and Fresh Prince got the word that the river trip was able to happen, we all met at a coffee shop nearby to have our meeting. We decided on being away from trail for 12 days: 8 days on the river and 2 days of travel on either side. Even though Moab is only a 3 hour drive from Pagosa Springs, the drivers of the rental cars would have to pick up/drop off everyone before bringing the cars back to Durango, which is an hour away but the closest place to rent vehicles. Plus, that would give us the option to explore around Moab a bit more.
While we were discussing logistics, one of the owners of the coffee shop approached us and asked if he could be of service. He offered to drive as many people as would fit in his van to Durango so that drivers wouldn't have to come back to Pagosa. He could fit 10 people and everyone's backpacks. The remaining 6 went with the Texans' friend Brittany, who was visiting them in Pagosa Springs and was convinced to join our river excursion. I know the AT and PCT are known for their epic trail magics, but we have gotten so freaking lucky with our hitchhiking magic along the CDT.
I was one of two people who were assigned to rent cars. We both got Ram 2500s, which are MASSIVE pickups. I honestly feel so powerful driving it, especially when the majority of my passengers are men.
We went to Walmart to do our grocery run. None of us know how to pack for 8 days on a river where we're allowed to bring coolers, where weight and space aren't concerns. We did our best, but realistically most of the contents of our carts was alcohol. (The outfitter did tell us to budget for 6-8 cans per day per person, so we were just following instructions!)
From there, we drove to Moab and found a campsite. It was a paid group site that was already occupied, but we paid the guests the full price to let us cowboy camp in their site along with them. It was a massive site and there were only 3 of them, so we definitely took over. We put all our food in the interior of the trucks so animals wouldn't have access to it, and then we set up for camp.
I can't believe a few days ago, we were postholing up to our waists and setting up our tents in the snow. Tonight, we're camping in the desert, neglecting our tents altogether, too warm to use our quilts.
Day 51
Forward progress: 0.0 miles
Total distance on trail: 715.2 miles
We woke up elated. This was the first time we'd woken up warm in quite some time. The trip that began as a joking remark was actually happening. Pure joy.
After packing up, we drove to the Moab Diner. Thank god for their massive parking area, because parallel parking these trucks on the main street would be a nightmare. The truck beds hold a ton of stuff, but perhaps it would have been prudent to cover the food. We saw a crow pick up and empty a mostly-empty box of donuts from inside the diner, and the other truck had a victimized bag of tortilla chips. From then on, we decided each truck needed at least one person to guard if the food was on the outside.
After a few hours of everyone doing random chores around Moab or hanging around the parking lot defending food, we decided to actually take advantage of Moab's proximity to national parks. Most people here aren't from the US and have never been to this part of the country, so most of us went to Canyonlands and drove around the Island in the Sky district. My car had four people from Germany (Rabbit, Gearhead, Shadow, and Triple H) and one from Holland (Prancer). I've been a few times, and Triple H and Prancer came here a few years ago, but the others had never been to the US at all. I had the best time listening to the camera shutters and oohs and ahhs from the backseat.
After Canyonlands, we went to Wendy's to get food on the cheap before meeting the others at a bar. The others are still enjoying the novelty of American fast food. The bar was really just a placeholder to figure out evening plans. I don't know how it happened but we decided to go to a rodeo?? We went to our campsite to establish sites and get stuff set up so we could just get back and go to sleep.
The rodeo was crazy. This was, in fact, my first rodeo, and I wasn't sure what all to expect. I think I wasn't expecting to feel so sorry for all the animals. The best event was the barrel racing because the horses were just running, but there wasn't anything getting wrestled or wrangled or roped or chased. The skill involved was objectively impressive, but man you must be a little insane to think, "I'm going to ride a horse, jump off of it onto a steer, and fight it to the ground."
When we got back to camp, the people who didn't go to the rodeo had a nice campfire going, and we surprised Prancer with a cake. His birthday is in a few days, and bringing a cake onto the canoes isn't going to work. He's turning 43, so naturally the candles read "50."
Tomorrow, we're waking up early to make sure we have enough time to organize our stuff before our trip. I'll probably say it every day, in my head if not here, but I can't believe we're actually doing this.
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