Backpacking 40 miles of the CDT... Baby on Board
Dehydrated Milk Powder, Pounds of Full Diapers, and a Very Dirty Blankie
July 2023
Table of Contents
But First, A Little Ramble...
I met a fellow mom at a mutual baby friend’s birthday party just a week before starting this trip. She stared wide-eyed and jaw-dropped as I described the plan to take my 15 month old on this 5 day haul over some of the most rugged, exposed, and elevated countryside around. She shared her admiration and her frank longing for the ability to do the same with her similar aged daughter. It seemed to me that we would have had similar lives pre-baby: adventurous, outdoorsy. But post baby, it seemed perhaps that she had let go of that part of herself. No mother could blame her, life changes for all of us in big ways because of these tiny creatures.
However, I hope that in some small way, this blog can serve as inspiration to active, traveling families out there that you don't have to bid those beloved parts of your life goodbye when your family grows.
Yes, your ultralight days are over because now you have to schlep along gear for an additional person, let alone their weight as well! Use it as an opportunity to get strong, to do something that challenges you. If we stop doing those things post-baby, we forget what we are capable of, and we rob our young ones of unique and vital experiences. Think about the role model you can be for your child and the incredible memories you will make. Leave behind the fear and the “what if’s”. Honor the person that you were before and set an example for who you hope your children will someday become.
And maybe start small. Which I didn’t.
The Team
I was of course the leader of this insane scheme. I had ceased to exist as Rae and had reverted to my thru-hiker personality, code named Scout. Back in 2019, I had completed the Colorado Trail with my dog. It was the summer after a ridiculously snowy winter, so I spent days post-holing (up to my waist in many places), even through July. The snow had already caused lots of delays in my plan, so when I came to the intersection to choose either the East or West option at Twin Lakes, I gleefully set out on the lower and drier East route. While I completed the trail, I still felt like I was missing out on something on that West split. So John and I went back and did half of it (from Twin Lakes to Cottonwood Pass) in 2020 as a backpacking trip. That left Scout with a 40 mile hole in her soul, the last remaining miles to complete both options of the CT. (The Colorado Trail (CT) shares about 300 miles with the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT). We were hiking a shared section, so you may see me use the acronyms interchangeably.)
I was 32 years old, feeling pretty strong, and was determined to live like I did pre-baby.
I loved showing my son new things outdoors and was hoping to get John off his phone for a few days. I did very little actual training for this hike. I thought I was good since I carried Grey hiking a few times a week already. But I did throw in an extra gallon jug of water in the bottom of his pack for a couple weeks before this trip. (Photo below curtesy of Grey when he grabbed my phone out on the trail.)
Joining me was the above mentioned Facebook scroller, my husband John, code named Scoot. At 38 years old, he was still game to give any of Scout’s harebrained ideas a try. Scoot had been my resupply man on the 2019 thru-hike.
He once drove 2 hours one way to bring me a bottle of bug spray, and threw in a pair of nail clippers and a Twix because he figured I would need them.
This would be his 4th backpacking trip with me, although this one would be the longest in both days and distance. Scoot definitely prefers less mileage and more naps when out on the trail, only hikes in perfect weather, and is much faster on the downhills than the uphills.
Of course this wouldn't be a Baby on Board article if there wasn't baby Grey tagging along, code name Squirt.
At 15 months old, he usually spent half of a hike napping and the other half babbling and enjoying the sights. He hated it when mom sits down to rest but loved to use his newfound walking skills on longer breaks. When out of the pack, he liked to move things from place to place at camp and throw leaves or rocks into streams.
My dog, Lucy, would be coming along to complete this portion of the trail, seeing as she did the entirety of the East back in 2019 and half of the West with me and John in 2020. When we were thru-hiking buddies, I decided she needed to have a trail name too, so I planned to call her Foxtrot. Unfortunately, her pack had “Lucy” clearly written on it in Sharpie, so everyone we met knew her real name. Foxtrot never stuck, but it would have been the perfect code name for her with her foxy coloring and her peppy step. She was 10 years old for this trip, with some arthritis starting to affect her back right hip.
As when we were thru-hiking, she started each day full of energy to sniff and backtrack to keep tabs on everyone. She ended the day plopping in the shade whenever I stopped to rest and always had a good roll to scratch her back when the pack came off.
Typical of any mountain dog, she refused to drink when offered a bowl of water and barely ate her dinner while out on the trail. But I’ve never seen her refuse a Mother Hubbard bone.
Unbeknown to us at the time, Lucy was probably just starting a battle with cancer as we set out for this hike. It would proceed undetected as she showed no signs of illness until just a week before her passing in October that year. We were completely blindsided and shocked, thinking we had several more years to enjoy her company. We are grateful that she was able to enjoy these views on what would be her last backpacking trip.
Also making a celebrity appearance at both ends of this trek is Debbie, code name "The Best Trail Angel Ever!"
I first met her when she started shuttling thru-hikers along the trail. She gave me more rides than I deserved as I slack packed a couple of sections to nurse some aching foot joints. We became friends and she is now Grey’s “Mountain Grandma”.
Day 0 (Driving, Sweetie's Sandwiches, Splash Zone, and Packing)
We did not want to add a 3 hour car ride to the Day 1 hiking itinerary, so we set out to stay at Debbie’s house the night before. She was still an hour from our trailhead, but it was better than 3! And! It gave me an excuse to eat at my favorite sandwich shop since we were up there: Sweetie’s in Salida. (I always get the Rocky Balboa and John is a fan of the #23. I also always get a giant brownie there, it’s delicious and big enough to share… not that I want to.)
The weather was gorgeous (like it was forecasted to be for our whole hike) and just across the street from Sweetie’s is a little park next to the creek. So we took our meals to go and sat at the picnic table to enjoy the afternoon. It was better for Lucy too, since she got to roll in the dust and fetch sticks in the water. We watched some kayakers go through the obstacle course there and then took Grey down to walk in the shallow splash area. He loved it.
Back at Debbie’s that evening, after Grey had gone to sleep, we spilled out all the gear from the trunk and stared at it in its various piles, wondering how it was going to fit into our packs. John had a 65 liter GoLite pack (the company no longer makes backpacks) and I had Grey’s baby carrier backpack, the Osprey Poco Plus. (Which, coincidentally, was a gift from Debbie!) The Poco Plus had a nice storage compartment underneath the baby area which is great for all the layers and lunch you might need on a day hike… but it wasn’t going to hold a lot for a multi-day backpack. We decided to stuff that space with all of the clothes and accessories that were specifically for me and Grey.
I won't bore you with the laundry list here, but if you are hoping for some packing advice for planning a trip like this yourself, scroll down to the gear section at the end.
Rolled up and strapped on the outside was our 2 person sleeping pad, which was plenty big for all of us to sleep on. It was also very much meant for car camping, not backpacking. It was HEAVY! And a monster to roll up and deflate each morning. (Thank you again, Debbie, for letting us steal your kayak strap to secure the sleeping pad.) To make matters worse, having it hanging off the back of my pack really offset my weight distribution, so it felt like my pack was constantly trying to pull me over. But this crazy scheme was my idea and I was willing to put in the effort to carry my share of the weight to make it happen.
Read on to see how I discovered I was actually carrying far more than my HALF of the weight.
John ended up with pretty much the rest of the gear, simply because he had the room. Although, I still for some reason had to convince him that, yes, he was taking the whole tent. He was hoping I might carry the poles or something.
Lucy would be carrying her own supplies in her pack, so I double checked that her sleeping bag and food were in their sealed ziplock bags to prevent any water damage during creek crossings and snow rolls. It was a similar set up to what she had carried on the trail, although that particular pack had eventually been worn to shreds and she had a bright new shiny orange pack to break in.
It was late and we were exhausted from merely packing the items away, so we hit the sack with the plan to let Grey’s naturally early alarm wake us up.
Day 1 (Mama Ptarmigan, Weird Encounter, Wildflowers, Snow, and a Fun Bridge.
Grey did not disappoint, and we found ourselves at the Cottonwood Pass trailhead ready to depart at 10am. I used an app called Guthook when I was hiking the whole trail with great features like an elevation profile (so you can see how much higher you have left to climb to the top of the pass) and suggestions for where to resupply on water and make camp for the night. That app is now called FarOut and I’ll be referencing mile markers from the Collegiate Loop map in that app. So we were starting at mile 35.2 (John and I had already completed those miles in 2020.)
There was no bathroom at the trailhead, which I found completely unexpected as there is a huge paved parking lot and it seemed to be a popular spot to get out and take photos for people driving the scenic pass. So I hid myself as best as I could between the car doors for a pre-hike pee while multiple cars pulled in and out around me. To anyone who got a show, I can only say… you’re welcome.
It was super windy in the parking lot, so I layered up Grey in his fleece suit and pulled up his hood. What actually convinced me to request the Poco Plus over the Deuter Kid Comfort was the much superior sun shade on the Osprey. It is pretty fully enclosed, which I appreciate in our very sunny state. And when it’s windy, the shade doubles as a wind screen, which really helped shelter Grey on this trip.
I resisted layering up myself since I knew were were taking off straight uphill and I would be shedding layers in no time as I worked up a sweat. By the time we were taking our group photo by the Continental Divide sign, I was shivering.
The initial climb warmed me right up as we gained about 460 feet in .8 miles. I felt like I was setting a good pace until we were quickly passed by some true thru-hikers with their ultralight packs. It ended up being a blessing because we hit our first snow pack (yes in mid July) and it was hard to discern where the trail went underneath the layer. We knew we should be on some switch backs, but it was impossible to see where the turns were supposed to be. The hikers in front of us at least left some footprints to follow. Hopefully, we thought, they knew where they were going. The FarOut app would have come in handy if we found ourselves too far off trail.
Just as we were nearing the crest, we spotted a ptarmigan mama with her CHICKS! Ptarmigans are like grouse, but live exclusively at high altitudes. They spend most of their time walking along the ground, although they can fly. They stay in the alpine year round and don’t hibernate, but stay active during the winter. Their feet are covered in feathers for warmth and to act as snowshoes as they walk. They are masters of camouflage, so I can probably count on 1 hand how many times I have actually seen one. And I have NEVER seen their chicks before! It was really magical, and that is why I am so jazzed in the video below. (Can you spot the mama in the photo?)
As the terrain became rolling, I felt like I was really getting into a rhythm. I was still being passed by a few people, but my body felt good, my gear felt stable, and the miles were slipping by.
It was the perfect time of year for wildflowers. This was also a year of fantastic snow, so many areas of the high country were just now melting down enough to be accessible. Which meant the flowers were bursting to life in the short growing season they would have. The surplus of water perhaps created better conditions than usual because I swear I saw several types of flowers I had never seen before. And I have spent a fair amount of time in the alpine, believe me!
At one point, I was passed by a fellow who then was sort of obnoxiously just in front of me, never really pulling ahead. I saw him pull out his phone and hold it down by his side with the camera pointing at me hiking behind him for a questionable amount of time.
What the hell was he doing?! Had he just filmed me?! For what purpose?! Who does that!?
The thoughts swirled in my head along with this violated feeling that I couldn’t shake. He eventually stopped to take a photo at a view and I passed him without saying anything. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the incident. Was I even right that he had filmed me? Was it even that weird? Yes, it was! And my rage was building. I was pissed that some entitled dude thought he had the right to breach my own and my son’s privacy. Sure, I planned to put this adventure on my public access blog, but that was my choice to make, not his with whatever he planned to do with that footage. And sure, it could have just been to go home and show his wife and say, “look at this awesome chick who was carrying all that plus her baby way up here!” But then why did his covertly direct his camera at me? Why not just ASK to take my picture? (Which I still probably would have politely declined because I don’t need to allow strangers to take my picture!)
Obviously, I was spending way too much time in this serene environment contemplating the absurd actions of this human being. He was doing what my mother would call, “molesting my vibe”. I decided that if we should cross paths again, I would confront him about what he did. If nothing else, I owed it to all future hikers (women especially!) that he was going to run into. Maybe I could make him see that what he was doing was not acceptable.
Sure enough, John and I took a break at the next crest and he caught up to us. The thru-hikers who had passed us earlier were also there, so I had a nice audience when I approached him.
Me: “Did you film me back there?”
Him: “No…”
Me: “It looked like you were holding your phone down with the camera pointed to me for a long time.”
Him: “Well, I was taking a video of your dog.”
Me: “Okay, so I was with my dog, so you have a video of me and my son.”
Him: Silence.
Me: “That’s really weird. Who the hell just secretly tries to film a stranger?”
He starts to reshoulder his pack and continue onward.
Me: “That’s really creepy!”
He left and I returned to John, Lucy, and Grey so upset my hands were shaking. John asked if I wanted him to go after the dude and insist that he delete the video. I said no, he wasn’t worth anymore of our time. I ate a snack and willed myself to let it go. I was not going to let this asshole ruin this outing with my family. I was proud of myself for saying something, since I am usually one to just avoid confrontation at all costs. And who knows, maybe he will be more aware of his actions in the future.
I knew he wasn’t a thru-hiker based on his small pack, so I knew we would run into him again when he turned around and headed back to the parking lot. A BIG part of me really wanted to make a big scene about filming him as he approached. Possibly I could have informed him I would be uploading that video of him to my blog and showing the world to watch out for this freak when you’re out hiking. I bounced the idea off John who didn’t seem to have a strong opinion about it either way. When the moment came, I chickened out. I just wanted this guy out of my day and out of this adventure. I completely ignored him when he passed and still question if I made the right choice. I am glad at least that all the media I have to offer you here is of my adorable son and the gorgeous scenery. This guy doesn’t get to defile my page. I even debated not including the interaction in my writing, but one thing my aunt really appreciated about this blog was that I told the full story, the bad with the good. She’s right. It is helpful for others to know that not everything is going to be smooth sailing on an adventure (see my article Up North Road Trip to learn about what I call the “fun tax”). Perhaps now after reading this, you may encounter someone who, even in a benign way, is “molesting your vibe” in the wilderness.
You have a choice. You can ruminate on it for the rest of your outing and completely ruin it for yourself and any companions you have... or you can take a deep breath and let it go. Focus instead on what you came for. I am thankful that I was able to do that here.
(A note to the ladies, I hope you will be braver than I was if ever you find yourself in a creepy situation. Trust your gut if something isn’t sitting right with you. I talked myself into thinking this guy with his video was no big deal. Maybe it wasn’t, but maybe it was. Be bold and be loud to inform someone that their behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable. If you are by yourself, try to buddy up with someone else out on the trail. I am sure they will understand.)
Moving on…
It was at this point that John and I came to an understanding about the individual strengths we each exhibited. I was MUCH faster on the uphills. Frankly, I would seemingly be leaving him behind, but to stop and wait for someone with that much weight hanging on your body isn’t enjoyable. And if I sat down to rest while waiting, I risked disturbing the rhythm that was lulling the creature in my pack in his frequent naps. So It was accepted that I would charge ahead and take a longer break at the top of the hill. That way, we actually had some time to take Grey out of the pack and let him wander around and have a snack while we waited for Dada.
It was on one of those solo uphill climbs that I passed this marmot, sunning himself on his Pride Rock. What a view he has!
Lucy was not a fan of us being so far a part. She stuck with me, but always remained on alert waiting for John to appear.
Once we left the peak behind, it was a completely different story. John was MUCH faster on the downhills. Having already blown out his ankles a million times skateboarding in his youth, he was much less careful than I was. Over the course of these 40 miles, we would climb and descend 10,000 feet, so there were plenty of opportunities for us each to take the lead.
I stopped for what I hoped would be our lunch break before a big descent, but it was pretty windy up there and John was ready to just keep pushing. That choice would bite him in the butt later, but our motto at our wedding was “onward!” so on we went.
We encountered many more snow patches over the next few miles that really slowed us down. Of course all of them are when the terrain is at a 45 degree angle or more, never when it’s flat, so you’re just praying that you don’t go for a slide. Sure enough, John did. He made it look graceful and he wasn’t hurt. We then understood some of the tracks we saw in the snow were slide marks from other hikers. I created a little song for myself that just repeated the line, “don’t drop your son” over and over as I picked my way through. Can you trace the line of the trail through the snow in the photo below?
At this point, we had been hiking for hours with just a small snack towards the beginning of the day. The snow was really affecting our morale as our pace was slowed and our socks got wet. It just took so much more energy to stay balanced on the slippery stuff instead of the nice dry dirt on the rest of the trail. We were all regretting that we didn’t have lunch. John was in full on hangry mode, wanting to stop and make camp. I kept us going because there weren’t any flat or dry spots for us to set up the tent. Plus, I had our mileage for each day carefully planned out. If we stopped too soon today, we’d be adding hardship to tomorrow.
I kept my mood up, admiring the cool tree section we were passing through amongst the rocky outcroppings. It was nice to be in some trees after spending the whole day exposed to the sun and the wind.
Finally, the FarOut app delivered on its promised nice camp spot just before a wooden bridge around mile marker 43.5. It was 3:30pm. John was bushed. He immediately plopped to the ground while I set up the tent for some shade and went to filter water to cook a dehydrated meal. I left that with John to prepare and took Grey back to the bridge to play. It was a nice flat surface for him to use his new walking abilities, much easier than the uneven trail or campsite where he had already tripped over a rock. He thoroughly enjoyed watching the water rush past and made up a game for himself plucking leaves from the willows and dropping them into the water to watch them sail away.
At one point, he picked something green from the brush, but instead of throwing it into the water, squealed and came rushing over to me. He opened his hand to reveal a little green caterpillar, thankfully unharmed in his palm. I was pretty amazed that he knew it wasn’t a leaf, since it was exactly the same color. And I was thrilled that he seemed so jazzed about finding the little creature, not at all afraid or grossed out.
Back at camp we scarfed down our Backpacker’s Pantry macaroni and cheese meal that we topped with some leftover smoked pork that we had made at the house a few days ago. While considerably heavy compared to all of our dehydrated meals, we knew we would be eating the pork on the first night and therefore wouldn’t be carrying it long. It was a nice addition to the mac and cheese. Grey ate plenty along with us.
Since Grey had gotten a couple of naps in while I was hiking, he was ready to party well into the night. He loved the bouncy house that we seemed to have erected for just the occasion (our tent, our sleeping materials, and our very bodies).
He thankfully knew to leave Lucy alone as she cuddled in her sleeping bag in the corner. When he finally collapsed, we repositioned him so he could lay between us for warm. We were all laying on the giant sleeping pad with our two sleeping bags that zipped together open like a big blanket over us all.
During the day, we had seen and heard plenty of marmots running about and squeaking. At night, John and I woke up to hear a rock slide coming from the cliffside, far enough away to be of no concern but loud enough to respect the force behind it. We have a habit of naming our campsites with ridiculously long and impossible to remember names. Those aspects of camp were added to Grey playing on the bridge and this site became known as Camp Billy Grey Gruff Rockslide Marmot Squeak.
Day 2 (Up, Down, Up, Down, Disappointing Pad Thai, and Hitch-Hiking Trash)
Breakfast in the morning was instant oatmeal and bacon I had premade at Debbie’s the day before. John chose to break into a bowl of Tapatio ramen which was too spicy for Grey, but he kept coming back for more bites. His initial reaction to eat mouthful was priceless. John chewed up some bacon for him like a mama bird and then gave it to Grey. He liked it a lot.
Grey and I went back to the bridge for one more play time. Grey walked down the trail on his own two feet. His first steps covering any distance on the CDT. The wheels in my brain started turning. I wondered who was the youngest person to hike the whole Colorado Trail. A brief Google search back home introduced me to a kid named Buddy who did it at age 7 and went on to become the youngest Triple Crown thru-hiker at age 9. I’m thinking Grey could probably beat at least the Colorado Trail record with his parents carrying his gear and planning the logistics for him. Stay tuned to Rae Around the World to see if we do it!
We were packed up and on the move again by 10am. We knew we had a big climb from the get go, only to descend that same elevation, and then climb it back up again. It’s the name of the game if you are going to follow the Continental Divide. (I literally laugh out loud every time I watch John’s video below. At least he knew from the get-go what he was getting into! But what beautiful country!)
I simply could not believe our luck in the weather. When I was thru-hiking, it poured rain every day in the afternoon, forcing me to be already hiking by sunrise and at camp by 2pm only to huddle in the confines of my tent for a few hours. Even then, we regularly got drenched while still walking. Then every morning I would have to wad up a soaking wet tent and strap it to the outside of my pack. Thankfully, I had invested in good gear to keep me dry and not overheated while hiking and our tent kept all the moisture on the outside. John had joined my thru-hike for the last 3 days with perfect weather. This trip was promising to stay clear and dry for us for its entirety, leading me to believe that Scoot must be good luck on the trail.
We stopped in the middle of the big descent for an actual lunch this time. From looking at the map, I knew it was our only sure chance of having water to collect for our dehydrated meal. I had hoped that being down lower and next to a creek would give us some tree coverage for some shade, but no luck. We unrolled our black sleeping pad under the blasting sun, enjoying at least a comfy place to sit.
Grey toddled around while we ate a disappointing Pad Thai meal with peanut sauce. It was like Backpacker’s Pantry had tried to get too elaborate with the lime powder and actual peanuts to add to the meal. It was an overly flavorful shock to the system.
Several friendly hikers passed us by, usually pausing to give the tail-wagging Lucy a pat and wave at Grey.
At the final crest of the day, we thought we could see a moose in the willows below. It seemed to be on the move, so it wasn’t just a clump of logs or something. We were too far away to get a good look, but the environment definitely seemed moose-y down there.
And boy was it DOWN there!
The long descent almost hurt worse than the uphill. It was so long and never-ending. We dropped into the welcome shade of the forest and continued our plodding. Grey must have sensed the strain my joints were under because he started an adorable chant that motivated me to keep going.
It went something like…
Bla bla bla bla bla bla WHOA!
Bla bla bla bla bla bla GO!
We finally reached the bottom and crossed quite the raging river followed by a 4X4 road. It was the track that Jeeps and side-by-sides could take up Tincup Pass. We found an awesome big campspot just across the road, at mile 51.
Our plan all along was to accost unsuspecting 4wheelers and day hikers to ask them to take our bags of trash for us.
It was the only way my pack was ever going to get any lighter. John’s would slack off as we ate through our food, but the weight in my pack greatly fluctuated with every full diaper. I had brought plenty of little grocery store bags to nicely package our trash for any potential hand offs.
Just as we were setting up the tent, I heard the distant rumble of an engine. I snatched the trash bag where it was hanging from a tree branch stub and rushed back to the road, waving my arms like a deranged lunatic. The teenaged drivers stopped and agreed that I could throw my bag in the back. I literally skipped back to camp, about 4 pounds lighter.
I needn’t have been in such a panic to catch that first passerby. As the afternoon rolled on there was a decent amount of traffic that could have helped us out. When the sun began set, the forest grew quiet again.
Camp had a nice fire pit which became a little collecting area for the sticks and pebbles that Grey found scattered about. The dry, almost dusty, dirt on the ground was the perfect place to channel his inner Peanuts characters as he combined both Linus and Pig Pen into one disaster of a blankie. Grey also accompanied me to and from the river for water collection
Another hiker asked to set up their tent with us. Our campsite had room for probably 4 tents, but all in close quarters with not much foliage around for privacy. John politely tried to explain that we were camping with our baby who would likely put up a fuss at some point in the evening or early morning. We weren’t sure if anyone else would be interested in adding those wails to their nature ambiance. The hiker moved on, but I felt bad that maybe we had been standoff-ish. I really didn’t want to have to restrict Grey to stay near our tent or be quiet or vice versa I didn’t want someone else keeping my baby up late. But I remember thru-hiking by myself and LOVING the rare nights I ended up camping with another human being. Hopefully he found a comfy place just a little ahead, we didn’t cross paths again.
Dinner was pasta primavera from Mountain House. I feel the need to explain here that these were dehydrated meals I had purchased in 2019 for my thru-hike. Normally the passage of 4 years wouldn’t matter at all to these bunker ready supplies. But in order to lighten my load on the thru-hike, I had poured the contents out of the original packaging and into a much lighter and compact sandwich ziplock bag. I know, this seems really silly considering across a dozen meals I may have saved like half a pound, but every ounce counts! More than that, I hated the sharp corners of the packaging. On previous trips, I have had scratch damage to my pack and stuff sacks from them. Anywho, John was convinced that now these 4 year old, previously opened meals were stale. I didn’t notice a difference.
Surprisingly, Grey hadn’t taken a second nap on the move, so he did go to sleep at a decent hour that night. I was able to enjoy some time reading my Kindle in peace. I was working my way through the Clan of the Cave Bear series (highly recommend- link below). Right as I was closing my eyes, I heard another tent going up near us, but thankfully Grey was already fast asleep and our new neighbor was quiet.
Day 3 (Signing "Bird", Little Foot, a Lighter Pack, Type 2 Fun, and a Boulder Problem)
Unfortunately, Grey woke up on the wrong side of the sleeping bag in the morning. That tent that arrived late in the night did not get to sleep in if that’s what he was hoping for. This is why we were hesitant to share a space. The dude certainly packed up fast and hit the trail.
Breakfast was oatmeal and bacon again. John steadfastly refused to eat anything remotely resembling breakfast food for breakfast and instead had a Cup O Soup.
Lucy seemed a little stiff when she got out of her sleeping bag, so I took her on a little stroll to the river to loosen up and stretch. I took about half of the weight out of her pack to try to give her an easier day.
Grey borrowed our toothbrush to keep up on his dental hygiene.. for his 4 teeth. We have electric toothbrushes at home and he has taken to going “mmmmm” when he uses that, mimicking the sound of the vibration.
As we continued to play/pack up camp, Grey kept pointing out the birds flitting about. I was teaching him sign language that he was picking up to converse about food: more, milk, all done. I had modeled the sign for bird along this journey and sure enough he signed it back! It was his first sign that wasn’t related to eating. That moment made the entire trip worth it. He was so surrounded by birds for a couple of days that he picked the sign right up. It was one of those benefits from this prolonged time outside that he would have never gotten if we had been home this week.
Aaaaand… he got to get very dirty…
At the risk of going into a prolonged tangent, one other adorable thing happened this morning before we left camp.
When I was thru-hiking by myself, I woud notice the consistent footprints of hikers who were obviously just ahead of me. One footprint in particular had the imprint of a tiny foot inside the tread. I followed this person I named “Little Foot” for days before finally catching and passing him. The mind does silly things when too much time is spent in isolation, so I had developed this notion that “Little Foot” was this invisible friend of mine leading the way. When you follow in someone’s literal footprints for days, when you notice where they stopped for lunch and where they floundered in the snow, they are somehow not a stranger when you do finally meet them. My interaction with the real “Little Foot” was completely anti-climactic. I smiled and nodded to a middle aged man who was resting on the side of the trail. As I pulled ahead, I instinctively glanced down and simply noticed the “Little Foot” prints were gone. He was now behind me.
I have since seen many “Little Foot” trails on random adventures, it must be a popular brand of shoe. I had explained the story to John and he will even point them out on trails. I can’t resist a smile when I see them. It’s somehow like discovering your favorite stuffed animal from childhood safely tucked away in a box in the attic. Comforting, even though it does nothing for you and you will just give it a hug and put it back in the box for another decade.
Often when my mom tells a story, I have to interject for her to "land her plane" or sometimes she just gets a "ding!" that her time is up, my attention span has reached its limit. I sense a "ding!" to this story.
So to land my plane, Grey was tromping around in the dirt in his little sock/shoes. I purchased them as he started confidently walking to give him just the slightest bit of protection from pokey rocks while still being flexible enough for him to continue to develop the muscles in his feet and ankles properly. I love them. Easy on, easy off, I just throw them in the washer when they get too ridiculously stinky, and they dry really fast. Never did I ever look at the bottom of them.
Just as John and I began to wrestle the sleeping pad into submission, along came Grey and walked right over it. He left behind a trail of dusty footprints that really should be brushed off before we rolled it up. Before my hand erased the evidence, my mouth dropped and my eyes actually filled with tears. My little boy is a “Little Foot”. It was as if your cherished stuff animal would suddenly blink and hug you back. That mythical hiking buddy of mine was real, and he was right here with me. For this and many future adventures.
Anyone who has never done a solo thru-hike is probably aghast that something so trivial could bring true tears to my eyes, but I swear I am not the only one who has had this experience! Back on my thru-hike, I was passed by a couple who came to an abrupt halt about 20 feet ahead of me, whirled around, and embraced me like a long-lost sister. I was their “Waffle Foot” that they had been tracking. They were so happy to have finally met me, but bewildered because they swore I had been traveling with a dog. Sure enough, Lucy came bounding out of the brush to complete the happy moment.
The timely sound of an engine prompted me to run back to the road one more time to get rid of our trash from the last 16 hours or so, not much, but EVERY OUNCE COUNTS! I think the couple that got out of their Jeep was sort of hesitant to accept my questionable bag of refuse, but I just kept up a big smile and acted as if this was a completely normal request. They permitted me to toss it in their trunk as they got out their dogs and strapped on their ultra-light trail running gear. We wouldn’t run back into them for MILES, I have no idea how they ran so far so fast!
Speaking of ultra-light, our gear was not.
And the last 2 days had done a number on my back muscles. John was exhibiting some chaffing on his hips from his pack, so I proposed the idea of switching bags for the day. I was hoping the different waist belt on the Osprey would somehow sit better on him and relieve his skin. I was also hoping to enjoy a day where the weight I carried was properly situated tight to my back instead of towards the outside of my pack which was slowly killing me. Never did I suspect that I was easily carrying AT LEAST 10 pounds more than John. When I grunted and put all my strength into hefting John’s pack on my shoulder, I nearly threw it over my body and across the trail. It was so light and comfortable that I only made it about 20 feet down the trail before I demanded that he strap the sleeping pad to the pack that I was carrying. I couldn’t go on knowing how unfairly the weight was distributed. Scoot seemed to have no such qualms and let me keep the baby pack with all its weight, plus the sleeping pad, when we traded back at lunch time.
We were looking at the elevation profile on FarOut with dread. All that joint crushing downhill from the day before would now be muscle squeezing uphill to climb back out of the forest and into the alpine again. The trail was well designed with switchbacks that actually made it tolerable and it passed by quicker than expected. Perhaps the different weight distribution was feeling better to me. Perhaps it was nice to get the big climb over with while we were still fresh from camp. Perhaps we were getting stronger.
John and I are big game hunters, so of course John was going to use this outing as a scouting mission for new territory. We passed by some good looking terrain and sure enough ran into 2 young hunters scouting for their upcoming tags. Grey and I had a nice sit by a creek while John traded intel with them. It was encouraging to see the next generation of hunters out and about, excited for their season and doing their due diligence to try to have success.
When we were packing for this adventure, I had grimaced as I put Grey’s water sippy cup into my bursting pack. I wondered how old he would be before I could teach him to drink from my water bladder hose. It would be so much more convenient, saving me space and he could drink on the go like me. I figured he would be 3 before we could communicate well enough for me to explain that you have to bite down and suck at the same time. Nope. Grey figured it out on this third day and has been slurping like a pro ever since.
Do I love the way the hose rubs against my face while he chews on the nozzle for mere teething pleasure for miles at a time? Not really. But it keeps him entertained and hydrated. Win, win.
There was a tricky intersection at mile 56.2 where the CDT is labeled going one way (the direction we were coming from), but not labeled the other way (southbound). There was some snow in the area too, making it hard to see where the trails went in their long term trajectory to make an educated guess about which option to take. Thankfully FarOut is SUPER accurate and we only went about 10 feet the wrong way before I could see we were off trail. We corrected and continued onward, passing 3 mountain bikers who were MILES away from a trailhead and had clearly ridden through some very deep snow on some very tricky switchback sections to get there. Hard core.
We finally were on some ground that I would call “free miles”. The trail was following an abandoned railway bed, so the grade was gentle and the trail was wide enough for the two of us to walk side by side. On sections like this, it feels like you are really just swinging your feet in front of you to catch yourself more than actually putting effort into hiking.
Free miles.
We paused in the shade next to some running water for a Mountain House chicken and rice meal. John rested while I took Grey to throw rocks into the water. He insisted on picking up these stones that were huge and slippery because they were wet. I was certain he was going to drop one on his foot and then our hike would be ending in an emergency evacuation to a hospital for broken bones. Thankfully he didn’t. He also seemed to have no fear leaning way out into the rushing water to get a good throw. I’m watching the water tumble over the edge of the cliff and drop down, down, down. If he would have got swept away, there would have been nothing I could do, he would be gone, gone, gone.
There is a balance I try to achieve between common sense caution and over zealous protection.
I want him to explore and test limits and be fearless. I want him to learn lessons from his own experiences (yup ice is slippery, now you know). But I don’t want him to disappear over a drop off either. John would probably say I let him slip and trip and scrape and bonk a little too much. If you’ve read my Bio, you will learn about the death defying relationship I have with my dad. Perhaps Grey will someday say something similar about his adventures with me. (I am literally this moment listening to him cry after he clearly hit his head in the care of the young neighbor children who come over to babysit him so I can write. He’ll live.)
Perhaps you are reading this blog and thinking of your own older baby/toddler who would surely throw fits on the trail and secretly hating me that this trip is going so perfectly. Here’s a video just for you of me trying to tell Grey that we are only throwing one more rock and then it’s time to go.
But truthfully everything was going remarkably well.
The weather couldn’t be better, I was having such fun enjoying these outdoor experiences with my son, my Scout personality was living her best life. I joyfully confided in John that I had only been having Type 1 fun this whole time, I hadn’t even crossed into Type 2 yet! (Don’t know the difference between the Types of Fun? I’ll be writing an article about that soon. Subscribe for notifications when new content is released!) He took this to mean that I deserved to continue to carry way more weight than him, since he was struggling and I (clearly) was not. So onward we went, with the sleeping pad reattached to the Osprey which was reattached to me.
It was a steady, but tolerable, climb from lunch to our campsite by Hancock Lake. Here was a perfect example of what my family would call “don’t compliment a horse until you’re back at the barn”, meaning “don’t say everything is going great until you are done, or else you will ruin it.” It’s like saying, “I’m so happy it didn’t rain!”, when you’re only at the top of the mountain and you still have to hike back down. It will certainly rain on you. Or like the guy on a recent flight I was on by myself with Grey. The pilot came on the intercom and made an announcement about our “initial descent” into our destination. Everyone knows that means there are 20-30 minutes left of the flight, and yet the guy next to me had the audacity to turn and smile and enthusiastically say (about Grey), “He did great!” In that moment, I felt my blood run cold and sure enough Grey had a complete meltdown for the remainder of the flight.
So the mere mention that I was only having Type 1 fun was enough to tempt the universe into throwing me a curve ball.
It was our longest day (10.5 ish miles), and the sun was sinking lower on the horizon. While I frequently checked our progress on FarOut to estimate how much longer we had before camp, John was on his own app called OnX that he uses for hunting. He kept showing me these 3D terrain maps and pinching to zoom and swirl them around as he pointed out that there was a Jeep track below us going to the same place we were headed. I wasn’t sure why he was wasting my time with this information. Was he questioning the route finding ability of Scout?! Who had done this for WEEKS by herself before?! Did he really think that it was smarter to DESCEND to the Jeep track, only to climb back UP to the elevation we were currently at and then KEEP CLIMBING up to the lake?! The point of this trip was to finish up the miles I had left on the TRAIL. Not to put in miles on a rocky 4X4 road. Didn’t he think that (for the most part) the trail engineers had designed the route to be as efficient as possible?!
And he just kept bringing it up! GRRR I was fuming.
I eventually stopped waiting for him and just plowed on ahead to find our campsite.
We did eventually cross paths with that Jeep track and there were 3 vehicles inching their way over the rocky obstacles. I was already in a mood and was not willing to just stand around with the weight on my back while they crossed my path at the pace of a snail. Besides, the people who were SITTING in AIR CONDITIONING could surely yield the trail to someone who was actually working for it. I just walked on through and they stopped for me.
I found us the perfect campsite at 62.3 miles, just high enough off the lake to avoid the mud, but with quite the view as the sun was disappearing.
I was pretty far ahead of John who had the tent, so I tried to just unpack and organize what I had been carrying. I tried some deep breathing to get over my irritation.
When he caught up, he continued on, asking about that stupid Jeep track and the parking area. I was exhausted and hungry and starting to get cold and I had heard ENOUGH about this supposed alternate route. I snapped.
What do you want to do now that we were here at camp?! Go back and try it your way?! How does that change or help anything right now?! Why were we still talking about this?! Thanks a lot, NOW I’m not having Type 1 fun, having to defend and justify the official route we are supposed to be following every freakin’ time I stop to catch a breath!!!
Then I stomped off into the swampy lakeside to retrieve water for our dinner.
To anyone who has ever adventured with your life partner... you get it. We moved on.
After realizing how marshy the shore was, I wanted to get the tent set up right away in case we got swarmed my mosquitoes. Thankfully, we didn’t. Instead, it just got COLD for the first time on our trip. Dinner was nice and warm and we made hot chocolate from the powder we had been lugging around this whole time. Grey was a huge fan.
Scoot and Scout re-bonded as we watched Squirt conquer his first bouldering problem next to our campsite. Just look at those skills! Nice heel hook, kid!
As we continued with our camp chores to and from the lake, Grey toddled after us in his little bear suit. I’m sure my mother (if she were there) would have been worried he looked like a little abandoned black bear cub, perfect potential prey for a mountain lion.
Maybe you are turning a little green about my perfect little toddler out enjoying mother nature, free from the distractions of modern technology. Not entirely. When he was getting fussy that evening, I soothed him by showing him videos of himself on my phone.
What a perfect little narcissist I'm raising...
We all fell asleep pretty quickly that night, drained physically and emotionally, but thankfully warm huddled up together.
Day 4 (A Thief, a Yellow Bird, a Dirty Face, Thirsty Mosquitoes, and a Blinded Baby)
It was another rough morning for Grey who pitched a fit the entire time we were trying to accomplish our morning chores. This led to the name of this camp site being “Grey’s Boulder Problem, What’s Your Problem?!”
He snapped out of it long enough to scarf down most of our biscuit and gravy breakfast meal and then (hallelujah!) a German Shepherd appeared on the horizon to further distract his attention. Grey loves dogs and even more so any dog who will accept a pet, unlike our dog Lucy who prefers not to exist in the same room as Grey.
The dog’s owner, Jacob, took our trash and then hung out to chat while we packed up. He seemed like a cool dude at first, a raft guide who had been all over the world and was currently working on the Arkansas River. John asked some questions about fishing on those waters, which led to John’s favorite topic of conversation, hunting. That’s when Jacob became a lot less cool, as he revealed that he had poached a deer before. He proceeded to dig his own grave in my book when he offered us a set of walkie talkies to use in case of an emergency. We declined, citing the fact that we wouldn’t feel right taking his gear without being able to get it back to him. He waved it off and confided that he “didn’t need them anymore” and that he had stolen them from Walmart anyway. Now I was hoping Grey’s dirty diapers were really going to stink up his car. We made our excuses and high tailed it out of there, a few pounds lighter and a whole lot more jaded about humanity.
It was a sharp climb from the get-go to get out of the bowl that the lake was sitting in, but at least it was quick. Then it was mostly downhill for a loooong time and back into some trees for some shade.
At one point, we stopped for a rest and saw the brightest yellow bird flitting around above us. It made me realize I had been seeing a lot of yellow birds this summer that I never noticed so much in Colorado before. I wondered if they were a result of the increased foliage caused by this year’s particularly wet winter and spring. (Can you spot it below?)
I got to pull the ultimate hypocrisy later that afternoon when I intentionally skipped .5 miles of the Trail and instead stayed on the Jeep road we were on. While I was driven to rage when John proposed leaving the trail the day before, I had read on FarOut prior to starting this trip about the PUD in this section. (A PUD is thru-hiker lingo for a Pointless Up and Down.) The Trail split off from the dirt road for a brief time, climbed a hill, came back down and reconnected to the same road again. So much for the efficient trail engineers I mentioned. So we stayed on the wide and easy route and missed 300 feet of elevation gain and loss just before we stopped for lunch at Boss Lake Trailhead. (I am honestly not sure how so much dirt got on my face! I look like I have 5 o’clock shadow…)
I was on water duty again and met a nice couple at the bridge. I was letting Grey stretch his legs and they loved how he would wave at them, walk across the bridge, wave at the water, walk back, and wave at them again. They also offered to take our trash on their way out from their hike to Boss Lake.
We took a nice long break for lunch. I stripped off clothes to hang in the sun and air out. Even though we had been going downhill for most of the day, it was hot and being back down low meant we were missing the refreshing breeze in the alpine.
Lunch was mashed potatoes and beef chunks which was just okay. Grey was super active, stealing his dad’s glasses and being silly. Then he grabbed my phone and got creative with some photography angles. In one of the photos, I am mixing up his powdered milk for him to drink. It was one way I was hoping to still give him lots of calories without a lot of weight. I had tried out the mixture at home and he seemed to really like it, but now out on the trail he refused it almost every time. Note to self, take the next kids backpacking for their first time while they are still breastfeeding. So much less to think about and pack!
We dallied, stretching out on the sleeping pad in the shade, letting Grey work out some energy. We were in no rush to take on the tough climb that FarOut said was ahead of us.
Finally we could delay no longer. It was 2.2 miles and 1,100 feet up to Hunt Lake, and I was dying the whole way. Grey cried every time I stopped to rest, and the mosquitoes finally made their appearance with a vengeance. I couldn’t even wait for John like I normally would because I was being eaten alive. I handed Grey everything I had handy to try to entertain him, like my Garmin inReach and my cell phone and flowers I picked, but he wasn’t having it.
He was done for the day and so was I. It was mile 69.
The photo below is a brief moment where a flower/phone combo worked to get him to stop crying.
When we finally made it to the lake (the only potential place to find flat spots for camping and water for cooking), there were several other campers already there. I dropped the pack and staked out a spot right on the water which had a breeze to blow away the bugs, but it was pretty close to another hiker. We had crossed paths before so I knew he was doing the Collegiate Loop on his own. When John caught up, he dropped his pack with me and scouted for a better option and found a big spot up in the trees. I carried his bag to the spot and realized exactly how much lighter his pack was than mine. I was pissed.
The bugs were brutal. We considered starting a fire in the hopes the smoke would help, but ended up just setting up the tent without the rain fly and hiding in there for dinner. Grey was not pleased since he had just been cooped up in the pack all day. We gave him a headlamp to distract him, hoping he didn’t damage his eyes enjoying his new toy.
Grey took forever to fall asleep, but finally conked out in my arms. I was really enjoying those moments of sleeping cuddled up with him, especially now that I had stopped breastfeeding. When we were nursing, I felt like I was always so attached to him throughout the day that I would get “touched out” and be very protective of my own space to sleep. Now I didn’t care as much and really enjoyed that physical bonding that we weren’t getting through nursing anymore.
So, much like the terrain we were walking, there were highs and lows throughout the days.
A definite low is struggling with every muscle to carry your screaming child up a hill while mosquitos threaten to drink the very blood that is pounding through your veins. It’s easy to forget all that when you are snuggling a soft and warm baby against you as you drift to sleep amongst the trees to the sound of… nothing.
Day 5 (A Final Climb, a New Friend, a Goal Completed, and a Celebratory Meal)
We attempted to hurry out of camp the next morning. It was our last day and we had plans to get to the Monarch Crest Store before the restaurant closed at 5 for a celebratory burger and shake. Also, the mosquitoes made you move quickly anyway. Even so, we didn’t get moving till our usual 10 am departure.
Perhaps struggling to get out the door with a baby on time applied even where there was no door.
All we had left was a brutally steep section before we would top out and have a mostly downhill finish to our stopping point. We knew that .6 miles ahead was the last water on our hike (which we didn’t need because we just filled up) and the possible other campsite for last night. We had debated pushing onward when we saw how crowded Hunt Lake was, but I couldn’t have pushed Grey for another half hour when he was miserable in the pack. The spot we had found tucked up in the trees felt very much our own anyway. This last little lake was very pretty and would have made a nice campsite if you didn’t need any cover from storms. We rested for a bit because we still had .7 miles and 600 feet of climbing to do before our day would ease up.
John got cell phone service and took some work calls. There was one from the director of HR which was a little alarming, considering he didn’t officially take PTO for this trip. He just worked out some comp time with his boss for all the extra hours he’d been putting in during the first quarter. He was going to be taking this call literally at the top of a mountain. Luckily he was just over the ledge and out of the wind enough for the two of them to hear one another. He had been selected to represent the company in a video interview celebrating that the company just won the “best workplace in Colorado and New Mexico” award. He was going to be highlighting the company’s great work/life balance in the interview, what a perfect guy to do that job!
We got passed by a woman who was TRUCKING just before the top. But everyone always stops for a rest at the crests, so we got to talking. Her name was also Lucy and she seemed to be living her best life. She and her partner were going to be living on a sailboat soon, just amazing. Her friend Katie, who caught up with us while we chatted, was also a recovering teacher (like me) looking for her next career. Lucy and Katie had done the CT together 10 years prior and this was their reunion hike to do the West option. The West route had opened the year they were hiking, but they weren’t even aware of it back then because it wasn’t in any of the guidebooks yet.
Lucy took our family photo and we exchanged phone numbers. See? Not everyone you meet out there is a weirdo with a camera or a poacher trying to pass off stolen goods.
Our group leapfrogged with theirs a couple more times as we stopped for snacks and rests. We clued them in on the restaurant at the Monarch Crest Store. This was the first year the restaurant was operating. Debbie had told us the food was great. The store had also added a cool hiker lounge to cater to all the CT and CDT customers they were sure to get.
We enjoyed the rolling section through our last bit of alpine, including the highest point on the Collegiate West.
It's easy to smile big when you feel like you're on top of the world.
We ate a snack near some prehistoric traps used to catch big game thousands of years ago. There are some great informative signs to explain what you are seeing. Kudos to whoever hiked those up there.
I enjoyed some last shots of the unique alpine flowers before we started our final descent.
We dropped into Monarch Ski Resort, which was fun because we usually have season passes there. We recognized all of our favorite runs. We even passed the spot where John is always strapping on his board and I am always staring at the CT sign, daydreaming about coming back and finishing those miles. Now here I was! Although when I was looking for the sign, I didn’t see it at first and had to look up several feet higher than I was expecting because I am used to standing on the snowpack and seeing it down low.
We took one more slight detour turning left onto a side trail. The true route had us climbing back up the road and back up on the trail only to descend down switchbacks again to US 50. The trail we took had a very slight and gradual up and down that I preferred.
We saw the store and then had to walk on passed it a bit to where the trail dropped down to touch the road. We took a photo at our last CT sign.
And that was it! Scout and Foxtrot completed both the East and West options. We had walked every mile of the CT together.
At the time, I thought we had many more miles to go before she passed. I am thankful beyond words that she was still alive and healthy to accomplish this milestone with me at least.
We were back in civilization, for better or for worse. I was surprised there wasn’t a crosswalk for hikers going over the road to the store! They should really add one! But we crossed without a problem and walked across the parking lot towards the outdoor seating of the store.
John took Grey in right away to order food while I gave Lucy water and a treat and swapped my boots for flip flops. I immediately put back on some layers since I was sweaty and getting chilled in the breeze. There were some dark clouds that covered the sun all of a sudden. Of course they came the instant we were done because Scoot only hikes in perfect weather. John got the brisket sandwich and I had the pulled pork. We both got milkshakes, I had chocolate but wished I would have gotten the Butterfinger like John did.
The fries were so good, everything was soooo good, flavored with a dash of success and accomplishment.
Debbie met us and we debriefed our very challenging, but very rewarding, adventure. Lucy and Katie caught up and got their food. We exchanged one more round of pleasantries and then we were on our way back to Cottonwood Pass to pick up our car. Thank you Debbie for yet another shuttle ride.
As started loading our things in Debbie’s truck, Lucy got up very stiff and pitifully hobbled. It was a shame because she had seemed fine ever since we lightened her pack. I believe her early passing due to cancer was actually probably her preferred way to exit this life. At the time of this trip, I was thinking that this would be her last backpack with us. She was already cut off from mountain bike rides for the length and fast pace. I didn’t think she should be summiting any more 14ers because of the technical boulder fields at the top of many of them. I was debating reducing how often I took her on my regular 5 mile runs and I questioned if she would be up for cross country skiing in the coming winter. She was a true adventure dog her whole life, she would have hated to be left behind more and more. Due to the sudden and aggressive nature of her cancer, she was still able to enjoy regular day hikes until just a few weeks before her passing. She was fine, until she wasn’t. You can read more about her full, adventurous life here.
In Reflection
While I wish that I could say that the focus of this trip was a final hoorah with my first baby, I have to be honest and confess that Lucy was not the center of my attention here. She hadn’t been since Grey was born.
I simply didn't know that my time left with her would be so short. It should be a reminder to us all that you can never take for granted those that you love.
It reminds me of the times when my grandpa’s health was declining back in Pennsylvania. I would fly in as often as I could to visit, wondering if this time would be the last that I would see him. My mom would remind me to also think about having some special moments with grandma. After all, it could be an accident or a sudden health issue that took her first when we were all focusing on grandpa. (I thankfully had years of visits with grandpa before he finally passed and grandma is still going strong.)
So while I am able to look back on the pictures and smile to see Lucy enjoying the sun and the snow and the views…
…this trip was really about my new adventure buddy.
I could not have asked for a better first backpacking trip with Grey.
Sure, I was a little less foot loose and fancy free. Pre-baby, I would have been able to cover a lot more miles per day with a lighter pack. Then maybe I would have just cruised right through territory that I got to savor this time. I definitely would have spent a lot more of my afternoons and evenings reading while I lounged to sooth my aching muscles. But perhaps I actually enjoyed this trip more without my nose stuck in a book the whole time. Yes, there was a little more urgency to set up camp each day and get food available to Grey right away. But I’m kind of a Nazi when it comes to camp chores before relaxation anyway. Okay, it would have been nice to have more romance with my Scoot in our zipped together sleeping bag. Instead, my arms were filled with the warmth and baby scent of my Squirt.
There are trade-offs, but boy were they worth it.
My son thrived, immersed in nature for 5 straight days. The little games he made up with the dirt and the water and the rocks were fun to watch and play. He learned so much! How to sign “bird” and drink from a bladder hose. That a Jetboil is hot and hot chocolate is yummy.
There is a gondola ride next to the Monarch Store with a giant painted sign that says “No place in America has the view you will see from the top. Take cameras.” I nudged Scoot and gestured towards the sign.
“I dunno,” I said. “I think we had some pretty good views.”
Many times on the trip I was reminded of the Dixie Chick song “Cowboy Take Me Away”. There is a part that says:
“I wanna look at the horizon,
And not see a building standing tall.
I wanna be the only one,
For miles and miles.
Except for maybe you
And your simple smile.”
That’s what I had for five whole days.
The Gear
Here’s the laundry list of stuff that got us through this adventure. Links provided will take you to Amazon to purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There won’t be a link provided if I can’t find the item on Amazon. Check back often as I plan to partner with more sellers soon! Anything linked here is something that I actually own and used on this trip, unless otherwise noted. There are some rare instances where a product is no longer being manufactured, but I found an equivalent product by the same company.
The Big Stuff!
The Osprey Poco Plus (Generously gifted by Debbie for our baby shower! We call this big boy Baby Blue, since most of our luggage and gear turns out to be blue, that’s the theme. It helps when calling out which bag to bring in from the rental car…Big Blue, Scuba Blue, Little Blue, Burton Blue… I wavered back and forth between the Osprey and the Deuter Kid Comfort when putting together my registry. I went with the Osprey for the SOLE REASON of it’s superior sunshade, which in the alpine of Colorado is soooo necessary and often doubles as a wind screen. Very happy with the choice I made.)
John’s Black Diamond Trekking Poles (These were the ones I used for the whole Colorado Trail and then generously gifted to John when I upgraded to a pair that are adjustable- see below).
My Black Diamond Trekking Poles which are ADJUSTABLE (You might be wondering why it should matter if the poles are adjustable, since you choose the size that fits your height. Well! In Colorado, usually the trails are straight up on your way in and straight down on the way out. Or even on thru-hikes like this one, you are going predominately one direction for a while. It’s nice to be able to drop your pole height a little when powering up steep and especially rocky areas. That way you don’t have to lift your arms as high. That probably sounds like it would be such a small and pathetic difference, but it matters when are covering miles. Then on the downhill, you lengthen your poles slightly so they catch you faster.)
John’s pack, a Golite 65 liter (This company is no longer making backpacks. This pack is green and somehow got the unfortunate nickname “Slime”.)
New 3L water bladder (I got this one specifically for the Osprey Poco Plus Child Carrier. The water bladder spot is VERY narrow. It’s a pain in the butt to take a bladder out to refill and then force back in. So I liked that this bladder has the opening at the very top. I only have to pull it out an inch or so to fill. I also like that feature for when it comes time to clean the bladder. I feel like it can actually dry out all the way because of the big opening. I was a fan of the other circular opening because sometimes you just want to chug some water instead of suck it out of a hose. I liked the included cap for the nozzle to keep dirt out. BUT! After this trip I ended up switching the bladder that we use in the Osprey because this one requires more of a bite to open the nozzle. It’s a little harder for Grey and the bladder mentioned below is much easier for him to use.)
Older 3L water bladder from Camelbak (Should have just stuck to my tried and true bladder. Although I wish it was easier to refill and had a bigger opening for drying out. Plus the nozzle on this one is always filthy as it drags through the dust when I set the pack down, no included cap. But! It’s easier for Grey to drink from and therefore will remain in use for a while.)
Big Agnes Manzanares 3 Person Tent (This is an older model that is no longer available. Both the Big Agnes Copper Spur 3 person tent and Big Agnes Black Tail 3 person tent seem comparable. Our tent has the MTNGlow lights included in it. This seems so superfluous, but I love them and would highly recommend purchasing a tent with this already attached.)
Trekmates 2 person Self Inflating Sleeping Pad (I got this from the REI Outlet, so I think the brand or model was already on its way out and I can’t find it on Amazon. I think it is a fine product for car camping, although the phrase “self inflating” seems a bit like an over statement. I would NOT recommend for backpacking because of the weight and bulk, but it was big enough for 2.5 humans and a dog to all share the same sleeping space, which is what we needed for this trip. And the R rating kept us warm on our colder nights. Normally, we use our separate Big Agnes Sleeping Pads, but we didn’t want there to end up being a gap for Grey to slide into and be exposed to the cold ground underneath. This one was significantly cheaper than getting a double sleeping pad from a brand we love, like Big Agnes, but it probably would have been worth the extra money to have one that is more backpackable.)
Big Agnes Lost Ranger 15 degree bag for John and Big Agnes Roxy Ann 15 degree bag for me (Both of these links will take you to a 3-in-1 sleep system that is the new model from Big Agnes. We just have the original sleeping bags without the extra outer bag. Ours zip together to make a big quilt that we all shared on this trip.)
Sea to Summit Inflatable Pillow
John’s Wilcor Inflatable Pillow (His is a little bigger than mine. Can’t find it on Amazon.)
Garmin inReach Mini (I include this under the “big things”, even though it is small, because it plays a big role in a backpacking plan. John got this for me in 2019 for the trail and I have used it a ton since. It has been dropped and crushed and soaked in water with no damage. The battery life is amazing, it will last for months if you’re not really using it and be ready in an emergency. I can’t say enough good things about having this as a peace of mind for anyone who leaves concrete and cell phone service far behind.)
The Clothes!
John’s Columbia Hiking Pants
My REI brand women’s zip off hiking pants (2)
Beanie for each of us
Seirus Gloves (I love these gloves! I’ve had them for 5 years now and they have held up through countless outings. I take them on every backpacking trip, every 14er summit, every cross country ski trip, and use them for a dozen other little things in between. They aren’t bulky at all, I have lots of dexterity with them on. They are the perfect thickness to provide warmth but not overheat while being active.)
Baseball cap from Glacier NP
Avia Sports Bra (2)
2 short sleeve and 2 long sleeve shirts that are light, breathable, and good sun protection (I was wearing the All in Motion brand, can’t find on Amazon.)
1 pair of underwear per day (for me, John on the other hand…)
John’s Reef Flip Flops
John’s Salomon Hiking Shoes
North Face Camp Booties (My cousin Sarrah got these for me for Christmas one year. I wear them pretty much daily, 9 months out of the year. They are warm, not sloppy at all, and (the best part in my opinion) have real soles with traction! I’ve been seen in them just quickly taking out the trash or spending an hour shoveling thick, wet snow. They have been with me on every backpacking trip and to every campfire since I’ve got them.)
The Baby Stuff!
Pampers Bay Dry Diapers– 5 per day (I counted Day 1 and 5 as full days and we had extras when we finished.)
Huggie’s Natural Care Wipes (6 per day for Grey, 2 per day per adult. We had plenty extra when we finished.)
Travel Changing Pad (This just always lives in his backpack for diaper changes on rocky surfaces. I’ve also been known to pull it out to sit on for lunch when the ground is damp.)
Burt’s Bees Nonslip Footed PJ (2)
Fleece Baby Bear Suit (We got this secondhand from a friend when it was WAY too big for Grey, but we used it for probably an entire year. It was great to layer with when he needed just a little more warmth. I liked that it had a hood and flips for both the hands and feet to protect those extremities.)
Thick, fuzzy sleeper suit… I got this second hand and I cut the tags out of everything, so I don’t know what brand this one is. But it was very important to me that it had a hood and flips for keeping his hands and feet enclosed throughout the night. Very much like the above product, but thicker.
Baby Blanket (I liked how big these ones were because I am a terrible mother and couldn’t swaddle with any of the regular sized baby blankets we own.)
Grey’s Baby Sock Shoes
Munchkin Weighted Straw Sippy- used for milk
Munchkin Trainer Sippy Cup– used for water
Happy Tot Granola Bars (We brought one of each flavor: Spinach, Blueberry, and Banana. Grey loves them! I like that they aren’t crumbly like other baby granola bars we’ve tried. Plus they have less added sugar than many other brands and actually have a couple of grams of protein per bar. Very few store bought toddler snacks seem to have any protein!)
Beech-Nut Melties (The Strawberry and Yogurt have 1 gram of added sugar, but 2 grams of protein. The Pear and Apple ones have no added sugar, but also less than a gram of protein… so pick your battle.)
Beech-Nut Dino Biscuits (Two grams of protein for 2 grams of added sugar. Not the worst.)
The Little Things!
Clan of the Cave Bear, Book 1-Kindle Edition
Knockaround Running Sunglasses for Women
Sawyer Bug Lotion (Really works, lasts forever with one application, and very low odor. I only had the lotion version, so I brought the spray below for using when bugs were trying to get through my thin clothes.)
Herbal Armor Bug Spray (Also REALLY works, despite being DEET free, which usually makes me suspicious. This is what John drove 2 hours to bring me on the trail back in 2019. I’m probably still using the same bottle because a little goes a long way, you don’t have to keep reapplying it.)
An extra pan from my Coleman Camping Cookware (This was really just for Lucy’s dog food, although I have actually cooked with these before.)
Platypus Hanging 4L Water Filter
Campsuds (Which we never used, because apparently we are disgusting.)
Toothbrush and Toothpaste (We leave behind the more delicate Philips Sonicare and bring the cheap ones you get for free at the dentist.)
Battery Pack and Cell Phone Chargers
Hand Sanitizer
Kula Cloth
Cell Phones
Trash Bags
Emergency Kit- Always make your own, don’t just buy one at the store and throw it in your pack.
Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets
AAA Batteries (replacements for the headlamps)
Hothands Body Warmers (stick-on)
Fast Fire Cubes (couldn’t find on Amazon)
Dog Stuff
Ruffwear Dog Sleeping Bag (I took this to a tailor to separate the two halves and make the zipper run all the way around the bag. That way it could be stored evenly on both sides of her pack.)
Victor Hi-Pro Plus Dog Food (for active dogs and puppies)
Dasuquin Pills (Glucosamine, MSM, and chondroitin all in one.)
Hyaluronic Acid Drops for Dogs (Helps with arthritis.)
The Food!
Bacon
Smoked Pork
Mountain House and Backpacker’s Pantry Dehydrated Meals (unpackaged from 2019). (Faves are Biscuits and Gravy from MH and Three Cheese Mac and Cheese from BP. We brought 1 for lunch and 1 for dinner each day and shared them. We packed 1 extra just in case and didn’t use it.)
Reese’s Take 5, Butterfinger (John’s trail snacks)
Hot Chocolate
Cheerios
Tapatio Spicy Ramen Bowl
Cup O Soup
Wish I would have brought… Grey’s Baby Sunglasses. What was I thinking to leave these behind?!?!
Additional Reading
Sawdust and Sunshine– Lucy’s Adventurous Life
Thru-Hiking the Colorado Trail- Coming soon! Subscribe to get updates when new content is released!
Dog Days in California– Our dogs’ first trip to the ocean