Colorado Trail Day 20
Monday, August 18, 2025.
We camped at 3,320 meters (10,892 feet) after a very tough day yesterday, and I was anxious to see how my body would feel today.
It was 4°C (39°F) when we started hiking at 7 a.m. I immediately knew today would be completely different. I barely noticed my pack, and I asked Inger to give me her sleeping bag so her pack would be lighter.
The section of the trail between the towns of Salida and Lake City is 170 km (106 miles) long, which takes about 6 to 8 days. I’m carrying all of the food, which means at worst, I’d have 16 days’ worth of rations. That’s a bit too much for me. So, we decided to make a stop in Gunnison to resupply, even though most hikers skip the town because it’s far from the trail and can be difficult to get to, and especially from.
We had a long stage yesterday, and today was only 15 km (9 miles) to Highway 114, which leads to Gunnison. This was our primary goal for the day. The hike went much better than yesterday, even though the trail was occasionally covered in a lot of loose rock of all sizes. Most of the section was through the forest with just a few overlooks.
We reached the highway at 11 a.m. We knew there wasn’t much traffic on this road, and hitchhiking could test our patience. We didn’t see many cars. After 25 minutes, car number 10 braked and pulled into the turnout we were standing at.
It was Michael, a young professor from Western Colorado University in Gunnison.
It was 60 km (37 miles) from the trail to Gunnison, and we had a pleasant ride with Michael. It was an interesting break to see a different landscape than when we are hiking. Michael was an outdoorsman and shared a lot about the area we were driving through.
Our dinners consist of freeze-dried meals. We can’t always get them in every town, especially the brand we prefer. So, we had ordered some Peak meals from Amazon to be delivered in Gunnison. We had planned to arrive in town tomorrow, Tuesday, which was the standard delivery date. But I paid a little extra to have the package delivered on Monday just to be sure it would be there on Tuesday. You never know with these kinds of shipments.
Michael dropped us off outside the post office, and we said our goodbyes. I had checked with Amazon, and the package was delivered less than two hours ago. The tips on both of my Black Diamond Distance Carbon FL poles had broken, so I had also ordered two new pole tips from Amazon. They were in the box as well.
I had promised Inger that the first thing we would do when we got to town was to get her some coffee, so we went to a café. We got large cups and sat on a bench on the sidewalk right outside. The temperature was closer to 30°C (86°F), and it was nice to sit there and watch small-town life go by. Gunnison has about 10,000 residents.
Of course, we also took out our phones now that we had service. We both use Happybytes as our provider. They’re the cheapest for use in the U.S. Inger’s subscription is working fine, but mine stopped working five days ago. I’m struggling to get a response from their customer service. Luckily, I also have an Airalo e-SIM, but it’s only for mobile data.
Our plan was to try to hitchhike back to the trail. It was so calm and relaxing sitting on that bench that I suggested to Inger that we could take it easy and stay in town for the night. Inger was easy to persuade.
Today’s hike was 15 km (9 miles) and 424 vertical meters (1,391 feet).
