We started this morning at about. 9:30. We hoped to meet mom at Camp Hale or vicinity- about 3.5-4mi down. We just went down today….all that work going up 😉 we had no cell service though and only a short conversation in a dying phone the morning before to go on hoping we would meet her there. Dad’s foot has really been hurting him. Pretty good to hike with plantar fascitis for over 30 mi and 6,000+ elevation gain over the past three days. But he had about had it. So our plan was for mom to pick us up there and take us into Leadville where we would resupply And wait a day for Anita and Cristin to get here and I would hike out with them Sat morning. Long story short mom found us!
We ended up staying at a campground near Turq lake after looking for the forest service campground and reading a sign there that they don ‘t allow pack animals….super annoying. Besides they wanted $18 for an overnight tent site with no bathrooms. We had just backed the trailer into the last site in the place when we read the no pack animals sign- and right then the up-to-then-off-duty camp host materializes to tell us we can’t have the horse here and how she just got chewed out a couple if weeks ago for having llamas in the campground….I understand her position but not that if the campground – especially one right off of the Colorado trail and it being 6-7 mi road walk to the next nearest one. Oh well, I got to take a shower and do laundry where we stayed so I guess it worked out ;). We ate in Leadville that night and boarded dad’s horse at an outfitter and then…. Set up our tents in the dark and rain. Ahhhh yes. Lol! I almost forgot that the Aspens are just starting to turn!!
