No job and a little bit of savings... Hike another trail!

Well friends, I'm boarding a train from Chicago to St. Louis on Saturday. JC will be picking me up and we are driving through the night to Denver. As of now we are planning on hitting the trail Sunday July 20th. I posted about this hike on facebook and our friend Yappy said she will be starting on the 21st. JC and I hiked with her on and off from Virginia to New England. It'll be a great reunion.

As many of you know by the lack of updates on this blog, I don't blog much. A month ago I turned in my flip phone for a smartphone. Hopefully I'll be posting photos on instagram and my twitter account. So check those out for updates. The blogspot app seems a little clunky.

Quick facts about the Colorado Trail

• 486 Miles from Denver to Durango
• Only one shelter on the entire trail
• Shares 234 miles with the Continental Divide Trail
• Many opportunities to climb some of Colorado's 14ers, including Colorado's High Point, Mt. Elbert. 
• Average elevation is 10,000 feet. 
• Over 89,000 feet of elevation change
• Violent thunder and lightning storms may ravage the afternoon sky, then quickly give way to warm sunshine and cloudless skies.
• Much of the CT is above tree line
• Trail is open to hikers, mountain bikers (with the exception of Wilderness Areas), equestrians and pack animals. 

Check out PMag's End to End Guide of the Colorado Trail for more information.

While hiking from Denver to Durango will be lots of fun. JC is taking it up a notch. He hits the Western Terminus of the CT he will hope on his mountain bike and had back to Denver. He could not find any blogs, or accounts of a adventure like the one he is planning. This is not to say it has not been done, if he completes a hike/bike yo-yo of the CT he'll have some serious bragging rights. His newly recreated Instagram account is one to watch, with a great handle, JCfoundtheinternet.

Let me dust this this off.....

In case you have not already heard. My hike on the LT was a great success. We launched from the US Canadian Border on October 18, 2013 and stood at the Vermont-Massachusetts border on November 6, 2013. It was a trip of reunions, cold challenges, and nearly deserted trails. I took the train from Chicago to Rutland, VT. I then hitchhiked 60 miles up Highway 100 to Waterbury, VT. Once in Waterbury I met up with JC and Sherps. We zipped around Vermont caching food that we would pick up along our hike.  

Sunroof (AT '12) and Grumpy (AT VT-ME '12, 1,200 PCT miles '13) met up with us along the way, this hike had a reunion feel to it at times. Hell even the trail was an old friend. The last 90ish miles of the Long Trail are coincide with the Appalachian Trail. 

All in all it was a wonderful trip.

Only took me to hitches to get from Rutland, VT
 to Waterbury, VT. Gotta love Vermonters

Starting off the hike at the US-CAN
border with a little night hiking! 

JC, Sunroof and I packing up at Spruce Ledge Camp.

The Long Trail is blazed with 6x2 white blazes, just like the Appalachian Trail. 

Nothing beats a great spring! 

This is where Vermont's world famous maple syrup comes from. We saw the last bit of fall color only at lower elevations.

Sherps whipping up some amazing dinner in Taft Lodge.

Mt. Mansfield. Highest Point in Vermont.

A little UNO by candle light, thanks to Grumpy!

Mt. Abe! 

The LT after a nice dusting.

Maine Junction, where the LT and AT meet. Quit your job, sell your house, rent out your car, lose the spouse, come walk with us, we're going to Maine. Life is never going to be the same. -- Rabbit '09

Vermont is still recovering from Hurricane Irene. There was once a bridge here.

This is Mount Snow's North Face from the Glastonbury fire tower. My dad's side of the Family grew up skiing those slopes.

Sky blaze!

Another trail completed. We maybe hung out for a 10 minutes and high tailed in to North Adams for free Mexican food!