July 11, 2017
Our goal today was to finish Segment 12 and then meet Annie’s parents for a resupply at Silver Creek Trailhead. Since we had already ridden part of Segment 12 yesterday, our mileage for today was only twelve miles.
Not much happened on the trail today, but the trails were nice with some pretty views.
Colorado Trail: Segment 12 (cont.)
Although we tackled the biggest climb the day before, there was still more climbing to do today.
The trail ascends 1,500 ft for about three miles to reach the highest point of this segment at 11,845 ft. Then, mostly descends back down for the remaining nine miles.
We met Annie’s parents at the end of the segment. Oh, let’s just admit… we are about to get SPOILED! We were greeted with hugs and some of our favorite snacks. Also, thanks to the help of our trail parents, our resupplies would now be much more frequent.
We untacked the horses, and found a place to set up camp a little past the trailhead down the Colorado Trail. Our amazing trail parents offered to watch the horses as we headed into the town, Buena Vista. We had our eye on a nearby Hot Springs, and then dinner in town (aka more pizza).
Overall, it was just such a nice day. The horses had a shorter day on trail meaning more time to graze for the remainder of the day, and we were able to just relax a bit, as well.
When we got back, I took Makani a little further down the trail to hand graze until the sun set. I have been picking grass as she grazes so that she can have extra to eat while on the high line at night. Tomorrow, we will set out for two more days of riding until our next planned Zero Day.
