Day 46 – 6/7/13 – 10.9 mi (798)

Camping at 12,500′ was really cold, but we had great motivation to get out of bed this morning: it’s town day!

We chose another alternate today to go up Hunchback mountain. It was a fun slightly exposed scramble and the views were great, definitely a good decision.

We rejoined the official CDT and a couple miles later the CDT joined the Colorado Trail. The CDT and CT will mostly coincide for the next few hundred miles. This is good news as the CT is well signed and a better maintained trail.

We had notes to call a trail angel for a ride into Silverton from a peak about a mile before Stony Pass, the dirt road leading into town. However, thanks to the snow shower, no one had reception.

So we had to try our luck at hitching. Within the first half hour, two ATVs came along. We talked them into taking LoveNote down the mountain with them, where we figured she’d be able to get cell service and call the trail angel to come get the rest of us. Shortly after LoveNote left, a jeep came by with room for two, so Ninja and I got in, leaving the boys up in the cold at the pass. We got into town and met up with LoveNote and called the trail angel…who was out of town until the evening. But our boys were still stranded! Anyone coming over the pass would give them a ride, but what if no one came? It’s early in the season, and not much traffic goes up there. We walked around the main street in town feeling helpless. We went to cross the street and a guy driving slowed down and told us to go ahead through his open window. LoveNote responsed, “wanna drive us to Stony Pass?” And would you believe it worked!? The guy took her up the pass to retrieve the boys. It turns out they’d already gotten a hitch and LoveNote found them on their way down.

All in town, we got some dinner and then went to Trippin’ Ant’s house (not the previously mentioned trail angel). Oh, this is a long story. So the night before we got to Chama, we were camped by the side of a dirt road. A truck came by and the guy stopped and chatted a bit. Turned out he’s done a lot of thru hiking and is a superstar ultrarunner. He ended up hanging out with us in Chama a bit, and when we found out he lives in Silverton, conned him into taking a box of resupply food to his house for us to pick up when we came through. Well here we are! He also offered to let us stay at his house, which of course we took him up on. We made ourselves at home until he got home from work and all hung out the rest of the night. Thanks Trippin’ Ant!

The pile of running shoes on the front porch told us we were at the right house.

The Daily Ninjup Report
Done in town!