Day 93, Monarch Pass to Windy Peak

A hiker named Smokescreen arrived at the highway about that time and waited with me for the next vehicle to stop. Just as a pickup truck stopped, Top O' came running down to catch up with us. He got there just in time.

The three of us climbed in the back of the pickup for a chilly ten-minute ride to the gift shop.

The driver dropped us off just a couple minutes past 8 a.m., so our timed arrival worked as planned.

We knew the store had a small lunch counter and had waited to eat breakfast until we got there.

By the time we left the shop, the sky was beginning to look brighter, with only a thin layer of broken clouds hanging above us. For the moment, rain looked less likely.

Where we stood was the third spot to be called Monarch Pass. The first one was a stage route and toll road, which was constructed in 1880. The second pass of the same name was located 0.6 miles from here. That was near where I saw a crew clearing dead trees yesterday as I approached the current pass.

This spot became Monarch Pass when road engineers decided this was a safer route for U.S. Highway 50, which was constructed in the 1930s.

We picked up the trail again at the edge of the gift shop's parking lot. It followed a gravel service road a short distance, taking us past an aerial tram that went to the top of Monarch Ridge.

The weather remained pleasant, with sun rays trying to burn through the thin layer of clouds. The temperature was in the mid-50s with a light breeze.

That was far different than what was recorded here on February 17, 2016. An automated weather station 700 feet above the pass on the top of the ridge recorded a wind gust of 148 mph, the highest wind speed ever recorded in Colorado.

Oddly, another weather station located next to the highway recorded at the same time a wind speed of only 32 mph. The National Weather Service has verified the accuracy of the record wind speed. It is said the mountaintop often gets higher-than-normal gusts because of the shape of the mountain.

The trail split off to a single-track footpath. The CDT and the CT were still following the same route.

A couple of mountain bikers passed by us, but we didn't see any hikers.

The trail at first went along the slope of Monarch Ridge. A short distance was on top of the ridge, which was also the Continental Divide.

There was very little elevation change in this section. After going around the peak of Mt. Peck, the trail picked up the ridgetop again.

We stayed above or just below the treeline for most of the way. The open terrain offered some good views to the west, where I could see the road cut for U.S. 50.

By 10:30 a.m., the sky had become noticeably darker. The cloud cover was thicker, making me less hopeful the forecast of rain had been wrong.

A light mist began to fall as I passed where the Collegiate East and Collegiate West sections of the Colorado Trail rejoined. These two segments had been apart since we left Twin Lakes on Day 88.

The mist turned into a drizzle. Would this be the extent of the precipitation, I wondered?

Heavy clouds descended to completely envelope the ridge. Visibility was reduced to less than a quarter mile. Before long, my question was answered. Heavy rain began to fall.

I trudged down the trail in the soaking rain until I came upon a three-sided shelter. It was an unexpected sight. I only knew there was a shelter nearby because of a brief mention of it in the Guthook app. It was built for skiers and snowmobilers. What was surprising was it looked similar to some of the shelters on the Appalachian Trail.

Top O' and OT were sitting inside when I arrived, as was a section hiker. The shelter was a perfect spot to get out of the rain and eat lunch. They told me they arrived just before the downpour started.

The terrain wasn't difficult, but I wasn't able to take much advantage of that because the weather conditions made the trail sloppy. By 3 p.m., the clouds had lifted some, though a light rain continued to fall.

I fell behind OT and Top O' when I stopped to collect some water and they didn’t.

The trail passed through another wooded area severely damaged by mountain pine beetles. It can take as little as two to four weeks for them to kill a tree, and many here were dead. Fortunately, a maintenance crew had recently cleared the trail.

By late afternoon, the rain had soaked the trail enough to make it a muddy mess where dirt bikers were allowed to go. The precipitation had reduced to a light mist, but the temperature was dropping.

Despite the conditions, I stopped for a few minutes to chat with Hippie Longstockings, who was hiking northbound. We compared notes on being long-distance trail serial offenders.

The sky remained darkly overcast after the rain ended. I tried to walk swiftly because of the chilly temperature, and the day was getting late.

I met two more hikers near a small stream. Their names were Jiff and Scout, and they told me Top O' asked them to warn me this was the last water source for several miles.

This was a good reminder. I expected that he and OT would be stopping before long, though I was unsure where that would be because there weren't any tentsites marked in the app.

I only had to go another 0.3 miles before I found where OT and Top O' had stopped for the night. They chose a spot at an elevation of 11,500 feet on the edge of a field overlooking Windy Peak. Though it was somewhat exposed, we found a depression next to a fence that kept us out of the worst of the chilly breeze.

The afternoon's heavy clouds were beginning to break up when I arrived. This made me optimistic about the weather tomorrow.

Jiff and Scout arrived soon after me and camped nearby.

OT, Top O', and I now have 70 miles to go before we reach an alternate called the Creede Cutoff. That will take us to South Fork and the end of our hike in Colorado.

The trail conditions and our late start prevented us from walking as many miles as we hoped today, but we still have enough days to make up for that.