Colorado Trail Self-supported Female FKT
Time: 9 Days, 14 Hours, 19 Minutes
Trail Stats: ~486.4 mile (89,032.5 Vertical Gain, 87,538.4 Vertical Loss) Grade: 363 ft/mile
Gear List: Click here.
Last summer I wanted to attempt to set an FKT on the Colorado Trail but because of the stay at home orders, COVID protocols, and unpredictability of everything it did not personally feel right for me. Instead, I had a wonderful time chatting with a few women who were going to go for the dream and found time to learn the mountains close to home really well!
This summer, I wanted to do it so much that I even started to share my dream with other people in the spring. It was as if telling other people would hold me more accountable for going through with the idea but still totally unsure that it would actually happen. June came around it just didn’t seem like it was going to happen. My training followed a very non-traditional route. Instead of planning everything out, I simply tried to get out every day. I hiked the same 6 mile loop every day for a week. I lead a three night over night for 9-10yr olds where we hiked 4 miles a day, I lead several Nordic adventure camps that were around 7miles each, and managed to get out on a few multi-night trips but didn’t hike more than 37 miles in a day since 2019. My last hike was from Twin Lakes to Cottonwood Pass to pick up a friend’s car and I felt great! Then, suddenly my work schedule opened up and I had 4 days to decide if I was going to do it / organize all my gear and food. It was wild how everything came together so fast and fell into place. The encouragement, support and confidence that my community gave me was awesome. Thankfully I had all the gear I needed except I had bought my shoes too big and couldn’t find a smaller size! That made me nervous.
Pre-hike: July 20
I put all the food I have gathered for the trail in my resupply containers – one is a cooler that will be left in my car and the others are two bear cans that I will cash along the way. It feels a bit crazy to be driving away after just finding out an attempt would be possible a few days before! I meet up with Koolaid in Poncha Springs and he joins me to drop off the bear cans. It is nice to have company on the long drive. On the way back through Salida I stop at the shoe store with hopes that they have a 9.5 lone peak Altra shoe. They do!! We then drive back up and drop my car in Twin Lakes. I put a chair, stove, extra “town food” snacks and my resupply in the car and then head to Denver. It is raining but we find a campsite about an hour from Denver to rest before heading to the start in the morning. We wake up at 3:50am and drive to the start. I am so nervous! I literally can’t believe how well everything is working out and am convinced something is going to go wrong or that I forgot something super important. I guess after thousands of miles of hiking it is ok to fly by the seat of your pants a little bit.
Day 1 (8/21/21): 49.7 Miles
(~9,773 gain, ~5,057 loss)
After a few pictures in front of the Colorado Trail sign I officially start hiking at 5:51am. The sun is just about to peak over the skyline of Denver and the birds are in full morning song as I take my first steps onto the road. I wave goodbye to Koolaid and am excited to be walking towards him as he lives in Durango. The road is peaceful and the sounds of my footsteps seem to echo off the canyon walls. I see some big horned sheep, western tanagers and countless other birds I can’t identify. Around 9:50am I’m feeling great and drop down into to the South Platte river to fill up water, eat snacks, take my feet out of my shoes and get ready for the long burn zone. It is hot!!!!!! I take a break around 3:00pm at mile 30 and then get my first thunderstorm. I’m in the trees and the rain actually feels great as I am so hot. However, the rain continues as a constant drizzle for the next 20 miles. I am soaked and tired as I find a spot to sleep around mile 49.7 just after 10pm.
Day 2 (8/22/21) : 50.8 Miles
(~7,689.3 gain, ~8,818.2 loss)
I wake up around 2:00am and hike through the dark. I am hopeful for some moonlight but the clouds are thick above me. At the 24hr mark I am just shy of 60 miles and feeling great. I am grateful for some mellow terrain and the motivation daylight brings. It is exciting to see a place that I drove through just the day before on our way to the trailhead and take a break at Kenosha Pass to dry out my tent, feet and eat snacks. On the climb up towards Georgia Pass it starts to thunderstorm at around 1:30pm. I figure that I will keep hiking until tree line and then scurry over the top between storms. I get to tree line and wait for a bit for what seems like a safe break and make it up and over. Small pieces of hail are flying through the sky and my hands become small ice chunks. I’m excited to be back on the CDT! I make it into the trees at the other side and start the long decent down towards Breckenridge. I catch up with two guys who are hiking together. It is their first thru hike and are a joy to chat with for about a mile. It is nice to be part of a conversation! I say goodbye to them after a quick “legs up a tree” break at a creek and continue into another thunderstorm while eating a bag of chips with my spoon. I hit the 100 mile mark at 8:30pm. I look at the weather for the next day and it says thunderstorms are going to start at 12:00pm! URGGGG. I decide to camp at around 8:45pm and sleep for a few hours, then try to make the push past Kokomo Pass and the exposed terrain.
Day 3 (8/23/21) : 50.1 Miles
(~10,058.7 gain, ~8,391.1 loss)
I wake up to the moon and clearish skies at 11:30pm. I quickly get up and back on the trail. It is beautiful with the moisture glowing on the leaves in my headlight beam. In the dark I pass by houses and cross the road onto the bike path that leads into Breckenridge. I’m surprised at the amount of traffic actually on the road at 12am. The climb up to the top of the Ten Mile range is steep. I am struggling to eat and find energy. Everything in my food bag is making me feel nauseous and it takes me about 2 hours to eat one bar. I take a break at tree line around 3:50am to watch the lights in the valley and eat a Snickers. By 4:30am I am on the top of the ridge and see the lights of Copper Mountain. I think of how many times I have looked up here from the highway going to visit wonderful people and places. Right now, it looks like a completely new landscape of colorful lights between big dark mountain shapes. I’m practically falling asleep while I walk down the decent so I curl up on the side of the trail for a 15 min nap around 5:50am. At a picnic table behind some condos I stop to sit in the sun and attempt to eat some food. I feel like a turtle going up Copper mountain and make it to the top of Searle Pass at 10:50am. It is beautiful. About an hour later I flop to the side of the trail in the alpine flowers for a quick nap. I look at the tiny creatures in the grasses and look at the shapes of the clouds. This break works wonders and I reach Kokomo pass at 12:00pm for lunch with three other hikers. The questions, “where did you start this morning?/ when did you start the trail?” start to happen. I sheepishly shared not trying to belittle the challenges of their first thru-hiking experience. Then, literally as I hit the trees on the other side of the pass the hail and downpour/ thunder and lightning begin. It paid off to start hiking early and make the push over the exposed terrain. I am so happy I’m not stuck over on the Copper side because it continued to thunderstorm the rest of the afternoon. I hike with three other hikers for a bit which is amazing! We get to Tennessee Pass around 5:00pm and there is amazing trail magic of hot ramen, pizza, drinks, garlic sticks and more! It is incredible and SUCH a moral boost as I am a cold, wet, and tired rat. It is so hard to pull myself away from the company and food but ventured back out into the rain around 6:30pm. The 1.5 hr break, food and short nap was so perfect. I stop hiking at mile 150.9 to warm up and rest as I am feeling mentally drained.
Day 4 (8/24/21): 50.8 Miles
(~10,181.4 gain, ~10,078.4 loss)
I’m up around 2:00am and it’s not raining! It is still very wet. I am very motivated to get to my resupply in Twin Lakes and also excited to be going by the Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert trailheads on a Saturday morning! SNACKS!?!? My body still doesn’t want to eat anything I am carrying except chips. I reach the Mt. Massive parking lot and it is completely empty! Apparently, no one wants to hike in the rain. I take a moment to dry out my tent and eat a quick snack. At 9:40 it starts raining. I find beauty in all the mushrooms that are exploding along the trail and the aspen groves that are so green. There are also so many runners training for the Leadville 100 race that it is nice to say “hi”. I reach the sagebrush fields surrounding Twin Lakes and strap my still wet tent to my back to dry. I can see rain in the distance and it is very smoky. I’m crossing the dam and see two people walking towards me. I KNOW them! It is wonderful to reach my car at the trailhead with my resupply and get to hang out with a crew of bikers who are training for the Leadville 100, familiar faces, and trail magic of delish eggs and bacon! I had packed myself some tasty bites and noodles that I scarf down from the comfort of my camp chair. Between the many vans that are in the parking lot I have lots of charging options other than keeping my car running. SO awesome! I go through all my resupply food and am very selective in what I choose to carry with me as my body still doesn’t want to eat most of the things I planned. I figure if I need some more snacks I’ll buy some at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. Around 3:30pm, after about 2hrs, I head off waving goodbye to such a supportive group of people who cheer as I disappear into the woods towards the eastern collegiate route. At around 10:00pm I reach mile 200 and find the worst spot to set up my tent near Morrison creek at mile 201.3. My legs and hips are so tight and tired. It was so cold that I don’t sleep much but just shiver in a cold sweat for a few hours.
Day 5 (8/25/21) : 50.2 Miles
(~8,733.9 gain, ~11,025.9 loss)
I decide to stop shivering and get up around 1:00am and hike about seven miles before setting up my tent again to sleep for an hour before the sun comes up. I am freezing and can’t seem to warm up. All I can think about is a warm cup of coffee at Mt. Princeton Hot springs. The climb out along Sliver Creek is so long and hard. I am a turtle on the way up but once I crest the top I find some pep in my step to fast shuffle down the hill to the Avalanche Trailhead. I take a break, air my feet out and eat snacks. It is getting easier to eat some of my food which thankfully no longer includes banana chips. The trail gets pretty easy but as I begin to climb my legs feel like they are collapsing beneath me and my eyes are shutting as I am moving. I curl up on the side of the trail for a 5 min nap and it works wonders. After a while I decide to see if I have service and get a mental boost from friends and family. My phone starts to go crazy with messages that my Inreach isn’t tracking. Because of how fried I am mentally this becomes a much BIGGER problem in my mind than it really is. I can’t figure it out and am super frustrated. Really all I need to do is turn tracking back on but I get all these messages from Garmin saying I didn’t give permission to share on my MapShare. I sit in the trail feeling sorry for myself and angry that technology can’t be simple. I get on my phone and log into my account to give permission (which I know I already had done) then realize that the message was sent at the beginning of July. My brain does not have the ability to compute and is making really fast stupid conclusions and decisions. I chill out with a phone call and make my way down the pavement to the Hot Springs. Angry that I just spent 30 mins on the side of the trail trying to figure it all out. In my mind I am saying things like, “well now you can’t stop at the hot springs because you just stopped to figure out your Inreach,” and “you are now not going to have a full track to prove you did this,” and “you should have been better prepared,” and “no one is going to believe you.” I get to the hot springs and there is NO way I am not going into the gas station and getting food. I beeline for the store and get a ham and cheese sandwich that I add two hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise and a gigantic pickle in a bag to. The woman at the register is so sweet and says she hopes that I hang out for a bit because she just looked at the radar and there is “quite the thunderstorm brewing.” I say, “thank you” and go sit outside the door to the hotel where they allow hikers to charge things. I’m sitting there, eating my gigantic disgusting looking pickle, egg sandwich covered in mud and smelling like a hiker while at least 50+ people come in and out. I feel very much like a wild animal. I make a break for the bathroom during a lull in traffic and realize how dirty I am. I don’t care. Warm water feels amazing and I go and order a coffee from the bar. I tell the bartender that this is my first cup of hot caffeinated coffee since June 1. His response is unenthused. It tastes amazing and head out around 3:30pm. I feel slow and tired during the next section but am happy that the thunderstorm rumbles just north of me and I temporarily escape the storm. Just when I am feeling lonely and like there is no one else out there, a bike-packer comes behind me and kindly decides to bike slow and share a few miles together. It is awesome! We reach the half way point together and he sets up camp. I continue on and just around 9:00pm, as I am hoping to camp, it starts to pour rain. Even though I didn’t see anyone really all day on trail, every possible flat spot has a tent in it. I hike until around 12:00pm in the pouring rain and find a spot around mile 251.5 to sleep for a few hours.
Day 6 (8/26/21) : 37.7 Miles
(~7,630.9 gain, ~5,649.3 loss)
I can’t really remember when I wake up but it must be around 4:00am. It has stopped raining and the moon is beautiful! I make my way down to hwy 50 and cross it at 5:15am. I start making my way up the Fooses Trail. I feel so strong and like my legs could do anything! I sign into the first trail registry that has paper in it. It feels funny to write. I get to the ridge and intersection of the Collegiate east and west routes just before 8:30am and take a 30 min break to dry out my things and eat. I am amazed with how well my feet are doing and credit it to my constant foot massages and quick out of shoe/shock breaks. It is also fun to be back on the CDT and up high. There are a few bikers who wiz by me but it is surprisingly peaceful and quite up on the ridge. I make my way down to Marshall Pass and take a quick break, then continue into the beetle kill zone. I’m hiking along and meet several bikers to stop and give me gummy snacks! Awesome. Over the next few hours my mood goes from feeling amazing to feeling horrible.
The Sargents Mesa section of this trail is rocky, tracked out, steep and so muddy/wet. I remember I hiked this section in full raingear on the CDT because of how bad the mosquitos were. Even though the bugs are not bad this time, something in my left lower quad/knee feels like it is going to rip away from my bone and I can barely bend my leg. It is excruciating to descend some of the steep rocky sections. Officially a big low point. To make it even worse it starts to hail and rain. I hunker down under a tree and have my first melt down. I cry. I get over myself and hobble about 1.5mph down the trail until around 8:30 when I set up my tent at the one nice flat spot I find at around mile 289.2. I know my body needs rest, my knee needs a massage, and I mentally need to take care of myself or I won’t be able to finish. It is a big bummer to set up in the daylight when it is not raining but I set my alarm to 12am and pass out. I can’t even look at the mileage for the day as I know it is super low and disappointing.
Day 7 (8/27/21) : 45.9 Miles
(~6,108.9 gain, ~6,936.4 loss)
I wake up around 12:15am and hear the sound of a bike whirring down the trail. I remember that the CT mountain bike race started the other day and I should be seeing bikers. This is super motivating and I enjoy seeing bikers every so often during the rest of the night. My leg hurts but not as much as it did the day before which is encouraging. At around 5:39am I hit the 300 mile mark just before my official 6-day mark. This is mentally super exciting. I’m also super excited to find my resupply cash and hope it is still there. I arrive at 6:20am to my cash just before hwy 114. I sit in my sleeping bag eating the “town food” I packed and organize my resupply. My last one for the trail and 180ish miles left. Cows are everywhere and their sounds are comical. I am so excited by a root beer that I packed that reminds me of other thru hikes and friends from Vermont. I spend about an hour eating and reorganizing. I re-tape both my legs with Kt Tape and take a fully charged battery pack with me.
I find a new friend to hike with who is absolutely wonderful. He is full of new energy and wildness that I need. We break several times as my feet swell up a bit in the heat. Still no blisters! We hike together for several hours and then part ways. A few minutes later I pass a girl flying down the trail .She looks at me and says, “are you Nika?” I say, “yes” and she tells me that she is going for the unsupported FKT! I am so excited for her and overwhelmed by emotions. I know how hard I am pushing myself and cannot imagine the challenge she is facing by caring everything she needs from the start and excepting no support along the way. I look into her eyes and know she has what it takes but can tell she is hurting. It is wild to share a moment with someone who is experiencing something similar to you and share a deep connection of emotion. She is wonderful and I wish we were hiking in the same direction but cheer for each other as we continue in opposite directions. I think of her often for the rest of my trip, gathering inspiration from her incredible badass challenge. The moment I can see Cochetopa Creek I have to get into it. A family is swimming at the spot I want to be in and shamelessly ask if I can join. I strip off my clothes and enjoy the cold on my body. AMAZING!!!!! They are a family with two young girls from Durango who are also thru hiking! How cool! The youngest girl, I think around 9yrs old, gives me a pink lemonade package as trail magic. I am so grateful especially that it comes from another hiker. I know how special food is at this point in a hike. Refreshed, I start up the drainage. At around 7:00pm I must take a nap. I can barely function. I nap for 15 mins in the grass and get up to continue. At 8:45pm I set up camp around mile 335.1. I’m so ready to lay down and know that I would be getting up early to get into the alpine before the storms. I am also sad to be stopping early when today was the first day I didn’t get rained on but know that it will make me better for the next section.
Day 8 (8/28/21) : 46 Miles
(~10,404.9 gain, ~8,778.5 loss)
I think I get up around 12:30/1:00am and continue the hike up to San Luis pass. The sky is cloudy and windy. I reach the pass around 2:24am and think about the jumping photos I took here on the CDT. There is no way I was going to be jumping now. I wind my way around the alpine basins full of deer eyes and running water. The climb up to the high point after the San Luis pass trailhead nearly kills me. I am so slow. I see another headlight heading towards San Luis peak that makes me feel happy there is another person out there. The sunrise around 6:00am is incredible. It brings so much love and excitement for this place. Just after Middle Mineral Creek I start hiking with another thru-hiker who is full of energy and motivation to get to Spring Creek Pass where he will be going into town. We talk about life, dreams and goals. He is so interesting and such a positive addition to my morning. We enjoy hiking across Snow Mesa together and marvel at the wild beauty of this place. I crab walk down off the mesa, trying to baby my knee a bit. Is comical at this point and we can joke about it. Whatever it takes!
At the road, I continue up to the next water source for quick break. I pass hundreds of sheep and successfully escape any contact with the sheep dogs. I can see a storm coming and unfortunately, I’m about to hit a section of trail that goes up to the high point of the CT and is an exposed ridge for many miles. I get to tree line and it is a 100% a no go with the storm. It is 2:30pm and I set up my tent. It is a crazy storm with hail, lightning and thunder. I try to sleep but it doesn’t really work as I had just drunk a cup of coffee and am wired. Frustrated that this is eating up a lot of my day time hiking, I eat food and try to stay positive knowing that there is no way I would be having a good time up on the ridge. The storm last until around 5:30pm and I am in my tent for about 3 hours before I think it is safe. It is beautiful and green up on the ridge and reach the high point around 7:30pm. I continue to hike until mile 381.1 when I find a spot to sleep under a bunch of willows. I can’t remember when I stopped by I think around 10pm. At this point I have no idea how many miles a day I am doing but simply just moving through space.
Day 9 (8/29/21) : 46.8 Miles
(~9,131.2 gain, ~10,205.1 loss)
I wake up sometime early and am freezing. I hit the snooze and surprisingly sleep for another hour. I get up and begin to flow through the alpine terrain in the dark. There is no moon and the sky is cloudy. The feeling of traversing basins and quietly moving through a humongous landscape is very much in my mind. The valleys are dark and quiet, the silhouettes of the high peaks are barely visible against the dark sky and the crunch of rock under my feet doesn’t echo but dissipates in the vastness of it all. I turn my headlight off and it is just so beautiful. It is incredible. How lucky am I! Descending down into Stony Pass the wildflowers are amazing but also crunched under piles of hail from yesterday’s storm. I also realize that I have less than 100 miles to go and have a happy cry and begin to think about everyone I love and miss. I get to the pass around 7:00am and for the first time in a while put music in and drink coffee! I am amazed with how fast I begin to hike. I feel like a strong badass mountain fairy! I get to the Elk Creek intersection around 9am and dry my tent out quickly before starting the decent down to the Animas river. I see so many people on this section of trail. Also, I am beyond excited that the avalanche paths that took me forever last year to hike over have been turned into cut trails with only a few downed trees! I get to the bottom of the climb just as the Train is coming up the valley around 12:30pm. I stop and watch it chug by throwing plumes of smoke into the air like a wild beast! As the passenger cars pass me I hear, “go Nika” from someone. Who is that? I think! Very cool. Right on!
I fill up water and dip my shirt in the creek before the climb up to Molas Pass. I put music in my ears and am powering up the climb when I round a corner and know a hiker who is suddenly there in the trail! We hike together up the climb but at this point I cannot really have a conversation and must save all my energy for simply putting one foot in front of the other. I stop to soak my feet in a creek and make it to the million dollar highway where I eat some trail magic fruit!
I get to tree line around 3:45pm and a crazy storm hits just to the south. A few bikers and hikers pass me saying they turned around on the ridge because of the storm and are going to just wait as they have plenty of time to finish the trail. I feel like I don’t! I don’t have time. I must keep going. Lighting is everywhere and you can see the high peaks turning slightly white with hail or a light dusting of snow. I hunker down under a tree and am incredibly frustrated that I have to wait out another storm when I am SO close to being done. After about 20 mins I simply can’t take it any longer and know that the ridge out of Molas is still kind of treed and still kind of sheltered. At least this is what I am telling myself. I hike on, feeling on edge but not completely out of my mind. I reach the trees and am relieved the storm is staying a little off in the distance. I contour round the basin and make a push to get over a pass before the impending storm engulfs the mountains. I reach the pass at 7:00pm and remember a peaceful lunch I had here last year enjoying the amazing views. There was nothing relaxing about this time and I run down the other side just in time for thunder to start as I hit the trees. An hour later I am fully in one of the craziest storms I have ever hiked in. I sit under a tree so full of emotions. I am grateful I am in the trees but there is lighting everywhere. I can’t sit with the amount of adrenalin pumping through my body so I hike on. At 8:20pm I can’t take it anymore and see a flat spot with strong trees around it. I know that I contour a steep mountain side for the next few miles and this might be the best spot I will find. I set up my tent as the storm escalates and is directly over me at around mile 427.9. Lightning is flashing ever few seconds and the thunder is electric sounding and feels loud enough to break glass! I sit in my tent with insulation under me. Is this lighting position? We learned this in my WFR class. So stressed and alone and scared I manage to eat some food and eventually my body lays down. I set my alarm for 10:30pm hoping the storm will be over. At 10:30 it is still raging so I wait until 11:30pm. I can tell that storms are still happening in other parts of the mountains but it is not directly over me so I pack up and head out. I am stressed and my anxiety is through the roof.
Day 10 (8/30/21) : 58.5 Miles
(~9,199.8 gain, ~13,006.6 loss)
There are flashes of light glowing around in the distance. I hike across exposed areas with fear and crouch low. I round the arm of a ridge and begin an exposed section of trail across the Hermosa park drainage. The trail is a deep muddy wallow of tracked out earth. Every step I feel like I’m going to slide into a puddle. Suddenly a crack of lightning, instant roar of thunder and driving rain come out of nowhere directly above me. The lightning shows that the silhouettes of the trees are about 100 yards head of me and I full 100 yard dash sprint for their safely. I give zero Fs about mud and have a near panic attack once I reach the trees. I feel stupid, scared and angry about my decisions and am just desperate to finish. I cry but keep moving. I pass people sleeping in their tents at the Celebration Lake trailhead around 1:30am. “What am I doing?!?!?!” The storm rages but I am in the trees. At some point on a slightly exposed section I smell smoke and turn my headlight off to see if I can see anything burning. I am grateful for the rain and making this landscape so wet because with all the lightning I’m sure there would be crazy fires at this point. There are trees that are exploded. Pieces of wood skewered into the landscape. I wait on the other side of Blackhawk pass for the glow to stop and scurry over the top only to be threatened by thunder on the many switchbacks on the other side. I full sprint my way down the mountain. Again, remembering how peaceful it was last time I was there. By 5:30am when it is starting to get light out and I feel like I just hiked through a nightmare. I am worse for ware and am beyond anxious that I still have 5 miles of exposed ridge to cross before Durango. I reach a section of trail that is relatively flat and try to run/hike as fast as I can. I meet another hiker and I am so happy to see someone. He says he also had a crazy scary night in his tent and saw a burning tree across the valley and heard trees explode. He is also very motivated to get over the next exposed section and we end up hiking together. He has such a long stride and is cruising! Even though I am giving it my all I still feel like I am crawling behind him. I try to enjoy the incredible views of the La Plata Mountains and wild rocks but my anxiety is still getting a hold of me and my calves are screaming at every step. I see a mama and baby ptarmigan moving among the rocks. So peaceful and cute.
At last we realize we will make it over the ridge before the storms and I flop down in the wildflowers around 11:30am. My first break in 35 miles and I am worked! I feel like I could sleep for days. I expectantly also have started to develop my only blisters on the trail from the wet, muddy, conditions and pounding feet. After about 15 mins I slowly trundle down off the ridge. I’m just about at the intersection to Taylor Lake when I hear a bike behind me and it is my friend from just before hwy 50! We give big hugs and share that we both were thinking of each other during the storms. It is so nice to see a familiar face again. Most hikers aren’t hiking my same mileage but bikers are! It is so fun to know that we are finishing on the same day! He bikes on to his wife and pizza. I am so excited to have just over 20 miles left and a flood of emotions erupt from my face. I take several videos just before Kennebec Pass. I know the rest of the trail is mostly downhill but my knees and legs are so pumped and not wanting to move. I force them down the trail. There is no way I am spending another night out here. Around 12:50pm, on sliderock traverse, I am so excited to get my first glimpse of Durango. I call my mama to say I’m 20 miles from the finish. Her voice is full of excitement and determination. I call my sister who I can’t wait to see and hug. Then I call Koolaid to let him know that it will be slow going but I WILL get there.
About half way down the decent to the first crossing of Junction Creek I have to lie down for 5 mins with my feet up a tree. There is nothing fast about what I am doing at this point. I get to the junction creek campsite around 3:30pm and there are several hikers planning to spend their last night there. I take a quick nap, soak my feet, eat some snacks and gear up for the last uphill. I reach the top of the climb around 5:10pm and start the decent. I thought I might run but there is no way my legs will respond to that sort of movement so I shuffle down the trail. At around 6:20pm I can see the thunderstorm approaching but am so lucky to be in the trees. However, because of my night, I am still super fragile and emotionally the thunder and lighting are horrible. It starts to drizzle and eventually turns into a full downpour. It is some of the hardest rain I experienced all trail and it doesn’t let up. I am cold, wet and motivated. I start running down the switchbacks from Gudy’s rest with 4 miles to go. It is as if the Colorado Trail sky creatures are making it so I have one last chance to get very very wet. The trail has turned into a small river and I am just splashing through the middle of it. I have to laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of the situation. About a mile out a trail runner comes behind me and asks if I am the one who is trying to set an FKT. I say, “yes.” She is so excited and shares that my friends are in the parking lot. She is an ultramarathon athlete and training for UTMB! She runs ahead. I finish trying to run as well. Splashing and spraying my way to touch the sign at 8:10pm.
It’s done. Carly and Koolaid jump out of the car and run to hug me. My sister and Morgan aren’t there because roads are closed due to mud slides. Classic. Carly made me a crown that makes me feel like a wild thing. We take a few celebratory pictures and jump inside the truck to escape the rain. There is pizza and drinks. I am so shell shocked and have no idea what my overall time is. I am sad because it is raining but happy to be driving away from it. It is the fastest exit of any trail terminus but I guess it also is the fastest I have ever hiked a trail. Grateful and happy.
