July 12, 2017
Feeling great after spending time yesterday in the lovely town of Buena Vista, we were ready to get back out on trail. We have two days of riding before our next planned Zero Day in Salida, CO. We are also so close to crossing the halfway point on trail!
Annie and Lissa wanted to find a farrier to come out and put new shoes on their horses, so Annie’s parents were going to be calling around to find a farrier that would be able to come and meet us in 3 days (on our zero day).
Colorado Trail – Segment 13
Today, we rode all of Segment 13, which is a 22.8 mile segment. The trail starts off with a steep 3.4 mile climb up Mount Yale at 11,889 ft. Then descends over another 3 or so miles to just under 9,000 ft.
A lot of this segment is spent on the roads, which is not always the most exciting thing. To top it off… it rained ALL day long! I actually did not mind the rain that much, but everything was getting soaked.
We did not know what to expect riding into the Mount Princeton Resort area. I honestly wonder what all the people were thinking as they drove by our group, with all of our horses and packs, just walking by side of the road. There were lots of cars and we rode by a lot of private property before we made it to our stopping point at Chalk Creek Trailhead. Here, there was water for the horses, but limited grazing. The horses we able to walk around and graze the rest of the afternoon into the late evening, and thankfully, it had just stopped raining when we started to set up camp.
Here are some photos I took while the horses grazed. We found a stirrup hanging from a tree, so I would guess this is a spot where people tend to set up camp with their horses and stock animals.
messy camp, trying to dry our wet clothes
How I got My Trail Name
The day before I had mentioned that we had not ridden through any “real” rain. Occasionally a small shower would blow in, but, I guess, I had been expecting much more rain. I really do not mind the rain! It can be refreshing on a hot day, but maybe I spoke too soon because today it RAINED. I mean RAIN RAINED. For hours. It did not stop.
According to the group, I summoned the upon us. Trail Name: Raindance
(Today) I met a family with two pack llamas that were rented – Carlos and Tomas (the llamas names). They were so cute. I want a llama.
– From My Actual Trail Journal
