From sea level to the Mile High City, somewhere along the way I’d picked up a head cold.
Unable to breathe through my nose, with lung capacity diminished and lacking the energy to hike under a relentless sun, I passed out at Waterton Canyon Trailhead. Dizzy and nauseous, I slept for hours before summoning the strength to begin the hike that had been evading me for so long.
Into the canyon, the clouds rolled in, offering a welcome break from the heat. When the cold rain started, I shivered, soaked to the bone, but it was still better than the burning sun.
I soon found my rhythm again. Waking up to put in miles, filter water, eat caffeinated potato soup with pepper jack cheese, while drying the rainfly in the sun. To then wheeze my way through another few miles, going slower than I’ve hiked in a long time, to camp under the rainfly, in the middle of nowhere.
I was starting to feel like myself again.
But when Pink Slippers offered me a ride into Jefferson, the call of a bacon cheeseburger was impossible to ignore…
#ColoradoTrail