Where: SOBO Rawlins, WY to the CO/NM border.

When: 2024/07/18 - 2024/08/25

Distance: 687 miles hiked.

Conditions: Summer conditions with daily rain almost every day.

Lighterpack: https://lighterpack.com/r/y18u81 A few items changed over time.

Useful Pre-Trip Information or Overview: My plan was to take alternates and shortcuts, and I did.

Photo Album: https://imgur.com/a/campsites-on-colorado-cd-2024-rawlins-wy-to-new-mexico-border-cWLAFgB Also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffb2208s_n0&list=PL-9yXoCfg54MelNsQot5tbFDmZNPQ6T2l

The Report: There's enough day-to-day info in the photo album but here's a little detail.

1. I started in Rawlins to start roughly where I left off last year. I've been hiking one state per year SOBO on the CDT. Next year is New Mexico.
2. I could not decide if I should hike the Silverthorn alt or hike the red line to the top of Gray's Peak and then back down and hitch to Silverthorn and continue from there. I did not want to hike the knife edge to Edwards. I ended up hiking down the South Ridge Route of Gray's which was a mistake for me. I'm not good with exposure.
3. Over time I had difficulty with either the altitude or hyponatremia. I'm not sure which. It's possible that altitude causes hyponatremia. It was hard figuring it out because it didn't seem like electrolyte drinks were doing any good. To get out of the altitude, I took the Creede cutoff and then hiked the last 100 miles along the Elwood and Great Divide alternates.
4. I was often amazed how these enormous-looking mountains were not as far away as they looked. They're not very remote, either. People are out trail running, pushing mountain bikes over the passes and even driving up at 12,000ft. Planes went over constantly.
5. After a while, seeing yet another high alpine tundra zone lost its appeal. Maybe a shorter trip would be better than trying to drink a firehose of Colorado mountains.

Gear Notes:

1. Bought a Deschutes Plus specifically for this trip. I had only one day of horrendous mosquitoes, otherwise they were mild to non-existent. I appreciated having the mesh perimeter netting. I found the inside to be spacious for me (5'3"). I had to put things on the mesh to make it touch the ground and keep mosquitoes out. The tarp would be very wet most mornings from rain and condensation. If it didn't rain (rare) there wasn't usually any condensation if I got a good spot under trees. I used a piece of polycryo for my floor.
2. I did not bring gloves and ended up buying some in Creede because mornings were getting cold.
3. I used a rain poncho. It kept me pretty dry as long as I kept my arms inside. I would attach it to my pack and use it like a pack cover and then when it rained I could quickly pull it over my head. I also wore a rain skirt because the poncho would stick to my bare legs and ride up. The rain skirt was good for wet bushes when it wasn't raining.
4. I wore one pair of Lone Peaks the whole way. They were pretty smashed down by the end but no holes.
5. I found Darn Toughs would get wet and then never dry so I ended up wearing thin synthetic liner socks most of the time, which allowed my feet to dry out between storms. I bought some wool liners in Creede because my liners eventually got holes.
6. Best clothing items: Wind pants - warmth, sleep pants, even pretty good in wet conditions because they dry fast. Senchi - 60gsm. I wore this a lot as static warmth, useful for hiking when cold, a warm dry layer to sleep in if I got my shirt wet in the rain. Timmermade SDUL 1.5. It's like sleeping with a warm security blanket. I'd stick my head in it on cold nights, put it on when I got a chill and couldn't warm up otherwise.
7. Worst clothing items: Homemade 2oz rain jacket. I did not make it loose-fitting enough so it would make me very sweaty very quickly. Glad I had a poncho because it was only useful as a layer over my Senchi. The Senchi could absorb my sweat without making me cold.
8. Best gear items: Deschutes - mosquito protection, weather-worthy (have to make sure your site won't flood, otherwise protects from rain and holds up in wind.) Silicone stretch lid over titanium pot - Cold soaked half the way and switched to cooking after a while. Pa'lante bottom pocket - I prefer the easy side entry and trash port. Also it's really big, holds a lot.
9. Worst problems: The altitude/hyponatremia (whatever it was) was a really bad problem. Also an issue: constant post nasal drip. Flonase barely does anything. Claritin doesn't do anything. Breathe-rite strips help a little but don't stop it. It drove me nuts.