Part Sixty Nine

     October 21st - 23rd                Guanella Pass, CO                        (Go to Pt 1)
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I pulled the new tent out of its stuff sack and could genuinely feel my motivation and commitment begin to regenerate… when everything just froze.  Berthoud Pass.  Every time my thoughts touched on Berthoud Pass all I could see in my rear view mirror were flashing red and blue lights.

For over five months the vision of traversing the backbone of the Continental Divide had been bent and compromised in all kinds of ways but until now there had always been continuity.  Now that continuity had been breached.

I wanted to change what I’d done but the only way to fix this would be to go back to Winter Park and start again from there, and as guilty as I felt about the breached continuity of the trip, I just couldn’t make myself go back to Winter Park.
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Of course, the sad story of it all was that those elements necessary to arrest my flagging spirits and rejuvenate my motivational will had been waiting for me in Georgetown and all I had needed to do was hike the road for one more day. Just one more day. That’s all.

Click on the map for a larger image

But I had been disillusioned with my purpose, confused by the circumstances, uncommitted to a course of action, and spit out onto the most despised terrain of all, asphalt pavement.

Of course this was when a free ride out of my mental/moral dilemma was going to show-up. And what I learned, not through perseverance but from failure, was that the human spirit simply cannot know when the light at the end of the tunnel will appear, only faith in purpose and committed action can bridge the void.
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Dale and Judy arrived in Georgetown the following afternoon and that evening ran late with our little, three-person party quaffing beers amidst laughter and reminiscences about ski bum days in Vail.  A warm and sunny day followed and after breakfast Dale and I set out walking up the dirt road leading out of town while Judy drove their car up the to a campground below Guanella Pass.

That afternoon I finally got to set-up my new, North Face Tuolumne tent, and while I was admiring its sleek, one person design, Dale was rummaging through the nearby forest for firewood.  Returning in short order with a good-sized limb branched with plenty of fuel, he set about building a nice, little campfire.

“So, you probably make campfires all the time” he inquired.  “No,” I replied, “except for burning some trash now and then, I never make campfires.”  Dale was surprised “Really? Never? You never make a cheery, little campfire at night?  Why not?” “Well,” I said, “as much as I love a campfire, they’re dirty, time consuming and just generally a pain in the ass.  I guess I’m just too lazy.”  Dale laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you how us southern boys cheer-up a campsite.”  And on this particular night, the campfire felt like a warm glow from heaven, filled with laughter, easy conversation, and much needed friendship.

We didn’t rush around camp in the morning and it was close to noon by the time we started ambling up the road for the pass.  It was fun to be hiking with these guys who were in such wonderment over the beauty and serenity of the alpine landscape; a really positive thing for me to observe and recollect because it made me see how jaded I was becoming to my environment by constantly approaching the mountains as adversaries.

From the top of Guanella Pass, Dale and I made the short hike to the top of Square Top Mountain directly to the north.  After reaching the rolling summit I sat down among the rocks to inspect the western view overlooking my next several days’ worth of travel along the Continental Divide.

I was surprised by how little snow I saw out to the west, and South Park looked to offer easy resistance if the mountains proved to be too quarrelsome.  While I was surveying the landscape, Dale was absorbing universal energy into his soul.  He was no stranger to the Rockies, far from it, yet he always looked out at the mountains as though he were seeing them for the very first time. It was inspiring, really.

The three of us camped over a second night below Guanella Pass and the following day I was practically heart broken to watch Dale and Judy leave. I didn’t want to have to turn and walk away but the time was over and I needed to get on to my next camp.
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Unlike the previous day, the weather had turned cold and overcast and I was buffeted by strong wind gusts as I crossed over Guanella Pass, descending to Duck Lake.  I made my solitary camp that evening feeling like the loneliest soul on earth, so thank God for the Hobbit book and the escapism it provided.

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Go to Part 70

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The CDTC was founded in 2012 by volunteers and recreationists hoping to provide a unified voice for the CDT. Working hand-in-hand with the U.S. Forest Service and other federal land management agencies, the CDTC is a non-profit partner supporting stewardship of the CDT. The mission of the CDTC is to complete, promote and protect the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, a world-class national resource. For more information, please visit continentaldividetrail.org.

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