Starting a late heatwave week

Day 124

Date: 02.09.2022

CDT Mile: Mile 2'581.9

Miles hiked: 26 miles / 41.6 km

Elevation: 4'692 feet ascent (1'431.6 m Aufstieg) / 1'804 feet descent (Abstieg 330.6 m)

Camping at: 7'700 feet / 2'348.5 m

Cowboy camping wasn't the best idea. All our down gear is super moist. But otherwise I slept very well and feel recovered today. We took our time getting up and only left after 7.30am. It was a cool morning for the first 30 minutes, but the temperature changed and got hotter every minute. Apparently we are enjoying a late in the year heat wave for the next couple of days. We hiked along a flat dirt road for 3 miles. My right leg and hip hurted quite a bit, even so I take 200 ibu every morning now. And then the uphill started. For about 12 miles we hiked uphill on a dirt road. It was a very moderate but constant climb, a rather boring stretch on a very hot day. It seemed we never reach the top of this road. After 12 miles we rejoined with the CDT red line and the road turned into a nice trail, still climbing though. We shortly stopped for lunch just before re-joining the CDT at the last water source for a couple of miles. Hiking out again it was super hot. It felt like being back in the desert. And my water was gone in no time! We also noticed some smoke in the sky from a wildfire. Reaching Champions Pass, we run into some wildfire fighters. They are up here to check the smoke and potential wildfires. And they offer us cold and delicious water! I would have definitely made it to the next water source, but I am super thirsty and just drink a liter in one go. And I pack out another liter for later. That was awesome and I feel much better hiking on again. Shortly later we reach the water source, a cattle trough with a pipe next to a big shady tree. As we hiked all day today with not many breaks, we decided to take a power nap here and also wait out the heat. I jump into the cattle trough for a little dip and get water from the pipe😁 feeling super refreshed now🤣 we enjoy this spot for about 2.5 hrs and just as we want to hike out again, a southbound hiker comes along. 'Middle' has been flipp flopping, starting at the mexican boarder, but then hitched north and is now hiking south. We hike out to the next water source in 4 miles and spontaneously decided to eat dinner here. We have water here and it is already past 6pm. But we just stop for a short break and within 30 minutes we have cooked, eaten and are back on trail. While hiking on, the sun is setting and the temperatures finally a little cooler. And due to the smoke, the light is very red and it seems that the last sunrises set the trees in fire with the intense red colors, it is super beautiful. We hiked on till it was dark and we reached a junction where we can set camp.

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