Backpacking in Colorado: August 1998
During the summer of 1998 I was working for the K-State grounds and facilities department doing campus landscaping and irrigation repairs. My roommate, George Schreyer, also worked for the grounds crew, and we had been planning a trip to hike the continental divide for a few months or so. When August came we knew we needed to get on with our plans if we were going to pull it off before school started. Once we had a rough idea about what we were doing, we both quit our jobs and headed out on I-70 for Colorado.
Our adventure started early when I let George drive through western Kansas while I got some sleep. I woke up and we were on the side of the road, out of gas. We started walking back east on I-70 and got picked up by a guy and his family in a minivan. They took us what seemed like five miles back to a gas station. We caught a ride back to the car with some other people that were heading west, then we had to drive my car back to fill up—it was a minor set back.
Late that night we arrived in Durango, Colorado, and decided to sleep in the car. We found a dark street away from traffic and pulled out our sleeping bags. I woke early in the morning and saw that we were in front of an old cemetery and across the street from the international youth hostel. George and I ate at McDonald's and cleaned up in the bathroom, then we headed north in the car for Silverton.
When we got to Silverton, we still didn't know exactly what we were doing, but things came together. We went to an outfitter shop and bought topographic maps of the area, and we asked the store owner how to get up to the continental divide trail. They told us about the 4x4 tours that go up to Stony Pass each day, so we went a few doors down to talk to them. I negotiated 50% of the price, since we were only going one way. Before we left, I took my car to the Sheriff's office and asked if I could leave it for two weeks in their gravel parking lot. I told them where we were going and if we weren't back in two weeks then something had gone wrong. They said that would be alright, but if we got lost up there then they probably wouldn't come looking for us. So within the hour we were riding in the back of a topless Chevy Suburban on a Jeep trail up to the top of the continental divide.
George and I sat in the back of the Suburban because there was a newlywed couple paying for the 4x4 adventure, and we didn't want to disturb their experience. When we finally reached Stony Pass, we all got out of the car and looked around. You could see mountains over 100 miles away. The guy who was on his honeymoon asked me where we were going as I was looking at my map and compass. I looked to the southeast and said, "A hundred miles that way, past that big mountain." That big mountain was The Rio Grande Pyramid, elevation 13,821 Feet.
View the maps below to see the route we took and watch the slideshow above to see the 11-day trek through the Weminuche Wilderness on the CDT trail, through the San Juan Mountains in Southern Colorado. Thanks for visiting.
 State of Colorado |
 Area we covered |