continental divide trail

ben and i pulled into the driveway late on saturday night after spending 3 weeks in colorado at his parents cabin in south fork. for 8 of those days, we hiked 90 miles of the continental divide trail across the weminuche wilderness from wolf creek pass to stony pass. i was nervous going in. we backpacked across the west coast trail last summer for 6 days, but i new this trip was going to be much more difficult—most of the trail was above treeline at 12,000 feet surrounded by almost 500,000 acres of colorado’s wildest and most beautiful wilderness.

during the day, we scrambled across thin mountain spines, climbed steep rocky slopes, and passed open meadows dotted in wildflowers. we escaped a few intense afternoon thunderstorms, napped on grassy flats, and, when we stopped to look up from our feet, there was one endless panoramic view after the other.

at night, we camped by isolated mountain lakes and rivers, dipped in icy water to cool off and clean up, wolfed down freeze dried channa masala and pad thai, and curled up in our sleeping bags while rain and hail came throughout the night.

i was sore and tired by the time we ended, with huge blisters and aching muscles, but after a shower and a victory beer, i felt proud—i was a burly mountain woman after all.

(photos by: ben & erin)