Well, it has been over a month since my last update on the Curmudgeon, Desert Dweller, and Weatherman. Time flew by for me, but not fast enough for my hikers! Why they have chosen this crazy passion is beyond my imagination! Last post, I had picked them up 172 miles into their hike. Desert Dweller had twisted her ankle and had an aching knee, but was determined to hike on! She is one hiking animal! Their next resupply spot was to be in Salida, where they thought they could get to without me, but they couldn’t catch a ride to town. They were almost out of food, so they decided to keep hiking and hopefully get a cell signal to call me to come to North Pass. When Curmudgeon had a signal, he called to see if I could pick them up that day to get food and take a 0 day. They were four miles from North Pass. I was three hours away in Parker, plus I needed to repack the camper with everything I had stored at Patti's for three weeks. Between Patti and me, it took over an hour to repack, get gas, and hit the road. My hikers ended up waiting over four hours in the trailhead parking lot...with nothing but the hot sun! They were sun burnt, tired, hungry, and thirsty! We spent the night at a campground nearby, then returned to the trail. I moved further southwest to be closer to the next trailhead. I hadn't stayed more than 1 night in a campground alone, so I decided I would feel safer at a nice RV park in lieu of a campground with no hookups. Mountain Views RV Park is located just two miles from Creede and located 33 miles from Spring Creek Trailhead. Oh my gosh! What an incredible town!! Restaurants, shops, and a fabulous repertory theater. I saw two matinees, had some incredible drinks and food at the local restaurants. I would recommend Creede as a destination when in CO. The repertory had five different plays going on between their two locations downtown. Both locations reminded me of Fort Findlay Playhouse.

Thanks for the Kleen Tank, Everett (and Rachel)

While I was staying at Mountain Views RV Park, I met a great young couple camping next to me. Everett and Rachel Manson. They liked playing cards, so I knew they would be fun! He owns a franchise called Kleen Tank. Everett was there to have a seminar on tanks! I went to his seminar and now know more than I ever thought I needed about keeping your poop and grey water tanks clean! To all my fellow RVers, I highly recommend this company. Everett cleaned my tanks before I headed out. They are located all over the U.S.

Lake City was 17 miles west of Spring Creek Pass. I chose a campground in Lake City so Weatherman and Desert Dweller could have a bed at the hikers' hostel there. It had been four weeks since they had slept in a bed! We spent twp nights there. All three were totally drained from hiking in the rain every day! The thunder and lightning were frightening. Lightning actually struck just a few feet from them! We ran into a fellow hiker, Beans, at the campground. She was here from Sweden. My hikers had met her a couple of days earlier on the trail. She met her husband in college and has raised their kiddos in Sweden. She has some reunions going on in CA and CO, so she decided to do some hiking. She is amazing! She was doing over 20 miles a day and would reach Durango four days ahead of my hikers. After their much-needed rest, I dropped the hikers off at the trailhead and headed to Durango. When Beans got to Durango, we got together for lunch. What an interesting lady! Really enjoyed getting to know her.

Next and last stop for resupply would be at Molas Pass, near Silverton, which is 55 miles north of Durango. I headed southwest to stay with Angela and Dan Graves. They both retired from Marathon and have lived in Durango since 2016. Tim and I have stopped to visit a couple of times when we have been in the area. Got there on Aug. 26. They are great "Roomies"! Enjoyed swimming at the rec center, walks to town, and awesome food and libations! Mondays are Manhattan Nights at the local speakeasy! Right up my alley! Dan is an excellent bartender, and cocktail hours were great! He makes a mean Dan-arita! On Manhattan night, we were walking home, and there was a big ol' bear a block away, in town, walking around. They warned me to be sure to lock all doors at all times because they know how to open them! I had a sliding door in my room! It has a bar in the slider so it can't open more than 6", but if a bear came anywhere close to the door, I would panic! So I kept the door locked, blinds closed, and a sound machine on loud so I couldn't hear or see anything at night! One bear did try to get in the trash can and pulled it down the driveway! I fortunately slept through the noise!

August 30, I drove to Molas Pass, 55 miles from Durango. The pass was 1/2 mile from the campground. They were soggy and tired! So ready to be done. We drove into Silverton so they could do laundry. Everything was wet and muddy! I had already picked up enough food for their final 73 miles. I thought they needed a second day of R&R, but they were insistent on getting back to the trail and getting the hike over with!!

On September 2, Deb texted that Chris would like to drive to Durango from San Diego to be there when Tim finished his hike. I hadn't heard from Tim since I left Molas Pass but figured they should be done on Friday or Saturday. They loaded up the car on the 3rd and drove 12 hours to be here by the 4th. Angela and Dan (so awesome and generous) said they had room for them to stay here if they wanted.

I didn’t hear from Curmudgeon until the morning of their 5th day. He sounded horrible! He was weak, had hiked the last four days in continuous rain and high winds. He got hypothermia twice in that time. Desert Dweller said they were very worried about him! They camped right beside him and kept checking that he was okay. It continued to rain throughout each night. On Sept. 4, we went to the trailhead to wait for the amazing hikers to finish. Chris walked down the trail about a mile before they finished and surprised Curmudgeon. Desert Dweller and Weatherman were close behind and were greeted with cheers and clapping from everyone near the trailhead! Hugs were given all around, beers were handed out, and camp chairs were put up so they could sit, relax, and enjoy the end of their adventure. The three 75-year-olds conquered the most strenuous hike they have done. They weathered the storms, high winds, elevation changes, rocks and boulders, wet clothes, wet tents, wet sleeping bags, hypothermia, and one sprained ankle, to the end. So proud of all three of my hikers!!

Still celebrating the hikers!

We all went back to Dan and Angela's, where we enjoyed hearing the stories of the hike! Dan and Angela got home the next day to a house full of people. They walked in and immediately gave everyone a welcoming hug and seemed like they had known them forever! They are so awesome! We headed out on Sept. 6 to take Pat and Ron to Pueblo to their camper. We stopped at Great Sand Dunes National Park on the way.

After dropping Pat and Ron off, we headed north back to Parker to stay with Patti Rooney again. I guess I didn't wear out my welcome staying most of August with her! She is an awesome roomie, too! Tim got to see all his cousins that entertained me at the beginning of his hike. Patti had a wonderful cousins party at her apartment's clubhouse. It was so fun! I took Tim to see Mark and Peggi Crates, and we got to have lunch with Monica Rooney while we were there. We also had dinner with our daughter-in-law’s Mom, Kelly, and got to meet her husband. It was great to see them all!

We headed toward Steamboat Springs to see Phil and Cheryl Spahr. We made a stop in Rocky Mountain National Park on the way. It was getting too late to keep on to Steamboat, so we went to Boulder to see Di Slough and Randy Leever. Had a great time enjoying food, libations, and visiting with them for the night! Parked in their driveway, then headed out in the morning.

Stayed two nights in Steamboat with the Spahrs. The bears are crazy there also. Their neighbor had an outside camera video of several bears wandering in her yard the night before. Everything must be locked at all times to keep them out! It is a bit unnerving!! Deb texted me while we were there that a friend of hers in Steamboat had a bear go in through a window while she was away and ripped open the refrigerator door and I guess had a snack!?!? Went to Phil's favorite Mexican restaurant the night we got there. Walked to the farmers market and had lunch at a bar we have gone to in the past. Cheryl and I played cards and listened to the guys yelling at the TV during the OSU game. They both went to bed crying over that one, as I am sure many fans did! We had another great time making memories with the Spahrs!!

Another of Tim's high school buddies lives in the Grand Junction area. We were passing thru there on our way to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, so we looked up Roger Thompson. Had a short but nice visit with him. He has a wood shop where he builds furniture. He has some awesome pieces. He is so talented! Wish we had more time to visit, but we needed to move on to Black Canyon.

Black Canyon is amazing! We drove to the South Rim and stopped at all the pull-offs. The views were fabulous!! Very scary how deep the canyon is! It only took 2 hours to get to the South Rim, so we decided to move on to Ouray, CO. Ouray is a quaint little town with some beautiful historic buildings. Lots of shops and eateries to see. It is surrounded on all sides by mountains. Gorgeous! The waterfall as you are headed south out of town is really cool.

We are back at our roomies in Durango. Angela and Dan are leaving for Europe Thursday, and Tim and I are going to house sit while they are away. It was Manhattan Night at the speakeasy when we arrived on Monday! Another fun night!

The next 2 weeks we will enjoy Durango and hopefully not run into any bears! When we hit the road, we will start heading south to our spot in the desert for the winter.

Trail Angels, Bear Tales and the Finish Line

New Trails, New Firsts, and a Few Stinky Hikers