Backpacker CDT Trip- Goldstone Pass to Skinner Meadows

Well, you all know how much I LOVE mornings, but I was actually kind of excited to get out and start hiking. Our $10.00 camping fee included the hot springs and the lodge generously offered campers a $5 breakfast with the usual bagels, fruit, juice and cereal. We stuffed some food in our mouths, double-checked to make sure Skot had not had a change of heart, and loaded my truck with the gear. Why is Aaron constantly tying things to the top of cars? He has a real talent for that!

It is a good thing that we had some enthusiasm, motivation (and at least on my part) blissful ignorance, because the start of the hike was a little rough. We parked on the questionable 4WD road below the pass and decided to hoof it up to the start of the official trail. Oh, yes Cory had to walk a road- for almost 3 freaking miles, uphill! You can imagine my mood. I hate walking on roads ever since the AT out of Damascus, VA and I tried to keep a happy face, but I am sure it was pretty obvious that I thought it was a lame start. There were some decent views, and the road did actually get rather gnarly, so in the end there wasn't a whole lot we could have done to avoid the road walk.

Finally, mid-morning we made it to Goldstone Pass. It is extremely handy to have a nice guy with a GPS hiking with you because he can make relevant announcements like, "this is the official Continental Divide" or show you nifty little maps on the screen that alleviate a lot of arguing over which way to orient the map. He can also provide tips like, "We are on crack and walking completely the wrong way!" I liked it. Though I am sure that Jon was annoyed with the team's incessant questions along the way, a variation on, "are we there yet????"

After arriving at the nondescript pass, and snapping a couple pictures, we headed into the woods where we promptly hit a cliff-like ridge and huge drop-off with a view of a distant lake. No time like the present to jump right into our navigational duties, so Tom planted his hiking staff and made his way down this super-treacherous scree field. That is what mountaineers do. I, on the other hand stood there looking around for a trail, like a real trail (you know switchbacks and stuff), until it was obvious that everyone would abandon me if I didn't move it. So, I started down the hill and actually had no real problem, despite my normal clumsiness and tendency to twist my ankle.

After the lovely descent, we were on our own to find a route to Cowbone Lake. It really wasn't that hard to find, seeing how we had a general direction to walk, but it was an exercise in group dynamics to see how four people make decisions on where a non-existent trail is. We found the lake pretty fast and Jon, being the over-achiever that he is, ran a 1/2 mile back along the lake to try and map the "true" route for the project. Reminded me of Grizzly on the AT!

Cowbone Lake is well-named. I was shocked to find actual cow bones scattered all along the lake shore. Apparently a herd of cattle fell through the ice many years ago and the bones you see today are from this unlucky herd. I think the place was haunted. At the lake we met Larry- a CDT thru-hiker. He had that thru-hiker glint in his eye (maybe from hungriness, loneliness or from that weird distance you get when you are psychologically and physically removed from civilization for months at a time). He was using the Jonathan Ley maps and taking the shortcuts, like the bushwhack to Jahnke Lake. This seems to cut out some of the ubiquitous road-walking and probably keeps the thru-hikers sane. Larry was not phased in the least by the trek down the ridge, in fact he said most of the CDT was like that.

We left the lake and continued on. In the afternoon we passed, about 7 ATV'ers (and their dust), another alpine lake, a smattering of old miner's cabins, and encountered yet another boring road walk. The major bummer about the road walk was that we were actually, literally, walking right back to the car. About a mile from the actual vehicle, we veered into the road we drove up on and walked that for a mile or so, and then camped in a pull-out next to a cow-field. Yes, folks it's just all part of the trip! You never know what you're going to get on a long hike, but I'd say this is not the sexy trail section they should use to advertise the CDT!

Our first night camping. Well, we might have had wonderful conversation about the meaning of life, or found world peace, but it started raining and it's hard to do that when everyone is zipped up to their ears in their bivys and tents. The rain was a good thing for the fire, though, so it was a bit of a mixed blessing. I spent the whole night praying that a rogue ATV/redneck rig wouldn't run me over. Too traumatized from Strange Piece of Paradise, I guess.