John and Sally attempt the Continental Divide Trail

We lay on our backs, deep inside our sleeping bags looking at the night sky.   Our faces are cold in the frosty air.     Our beaming smiles are not frozen, they are warm, as we take in the thick twisted cloud of billions of stars that make up the galaxy.     The vastness is deadly quiet. Camped at 13,000’ we are in the final section of the hike in the state of Colorado; the San Juan Mountains. From the beginning we have been in a race against time.    An urgency to beat the autumn snows that have been known to arrive as early as mid September and abruptly end any attempt to complete the journey on foot from Canada to Mexico following the Continental Divide Trail. The Great Divide, a watershed that determines rainfall’s destiny.    Whether a raindrop follows a path to the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Arctic, the Hudson or the Gulf of Mexico. Just this morning we made a cup of tea at our 1130 nut break from a trickle of a stream, known as the Rio...

  A lot happens in two weeks Arriving in Grand Lake Colorado on Labor Day weekend gave us a chance to see this second home town vibrant with locals, summer residents and visitors from nearby Denver at its zenith. Queues formed outside restaurants and the sunshine gave everyone a warm welcome as boats cruised the lake and vendors sold their wares. Sally and I passed through though and made miles beyond the town camping for a night between Grand Lake and Meadow Creek reservoir.    Clocking an additional 30 miles. The reason for this was twofold.    Firstly to catch good weather for a NOBO (Northbound) Slackpack (a light pack for a day’s hiking).    And secondly to meet my nephew Josh and his girlfriend Leigh who live a couple of hours away in Boulder. View from Flat Top Mountain After hitching back from Meadow Creek we stayed at Shadowcliff Mountain Lodge.    A very relaxed vibe with wooden clad dorms and kitchens.    We felt at home ...