10.6 miles to Illinois creek, elevation 11,037’
Morning was chilly and there was frost on the vegetation near the creek. The trail continued downhill toward South Texas Creek. Another mile past our camp we walked past a stunning little lake with great campsites. If only we had the energy to go a little further last night. We also met a couple older men breaking camp there and we would see them again over the next couple days.
North of Texas Creek we began climbing again but the trail was miserable in places. This was the only stretch of trail we had seen where motorcycles were permitted, and predictably they had ripped up the steep trail, leaving it eroded and strewn with loose rocks. Sorry, no pictures.
Next we had a pseudo-celebrity encounter on trail! The Wander Women are three late 50-60 year old women who are long distance backpackers and they document their adventures on a YouTube Channel and Instagram. They are very inspiring, and Ellen is a huge fan. A few days earlier, Ellen learned through an Instagram post that the Wander Women had to abandon their hike on the Pacific Crest Trail due to fires in the Sierra Mountians. However, they would be continuing their journeys southbound on the Continental Divide Trail along the west side of the Collegiate Peaks Loop. We would be meeting them in a few days as we hiked northbound! Now today, while we were eating lunch at a stream, the Wander Women came down the trail. We talked for a bit and then posed for some group photos. As is their custom, they included our photo at the end of their latest YouTube video.
Here is a link to their YouTube video. https://youtu.be/0LKooTbdfvo
That night we camped near Illinois Creek. Jim was a 70-something hiker who set up his tent nearby. We learned that he was hiking the Colorado Trail alone, southbound on trail but traveling north. Kind of confusing, but he had two vehicles in play. He would hike south to one vehicle and then drive it some distance north of the second vehicle. He would then hike south to the second vehicle and repeat the process over and over.
Journeys with Jeff and Ellen 