Glad you guys enjoyed the video. I started the trail on July 13. Weather was pretty typical for Colorado around that time–highs in the 70s-80s and lows in the 30s-40s. The first couple days out of Waterton Canyon were pretty hot–probably in the high 80s with not much tree cover, especially right in the canyon. I hiked quickly–trying to average around 3.5 miles an hour and hiking in the shade to avoid the heat. Once I climbed in elevation (around segment 3-4) the weather was much nicer. The dry stretch in segment 2 was probably the worst. I made the mistake of not camping at the South Platte (end of Segment 1, about 16.8 miles in), and continued on into Segment 2 the first night carrying only 2 liters of water. My thought was that I would make a lot of miles the second morning and so avoid the heat in Segment 2. Problem is that I ran out of water shortly after breakfast on day 2, using up my water for cooking at night and in the morning for breakfast. I only camped about 1.5 miles into Segment 2 the first night due to a thunderstorm rolling in and being concerned about camping in the exposed burn area. This mean that I had more miles in Segment 2 to reach the fire station (next water source just off trail), and the sun started to beat down pretty early on day 2. As it turned out, there was actually a lot of tree cover in Segment 2 and boulders which I could have used for shelter, and the storm rolled away that night. Anyway, I was lucky enough to get water from a fellow hiker (trail name PBR) who I then hiked with all the way until Segment 10. There was one more spot where it was scorching hot–right at Kenosha Pass, where I was in the open for a while and my forearms were getting roasted. It must have been in the high 80s. All of my hiking companions had chrome dome umbrellas. I had to borrow some arm sleeves from a fellow female hiker named Twig to keep my arms from being totally burned, despite having added sunscreen. Once we got back in the trees and then climbed in elevation, the heat wasn’t terrible.
I recall two serious thunderstorms between Denver and Twin Lakes. The first was at Guernsey Creek (sp?) right after Kenosha Pass, where we got hailed on while camping in a large meadow. The second was in Segment 9 while in the Holy Cross Wilderness, where a lightning bolt struck maybe a couple hundred yards away. Overall, the weather wasn’t bad–with more rain and mosquitoes in the Holy Cross.
I’m planning on picking up the trail at Twin Lakes next July, probably around the same time. I’m also trying to lighten my load–considering ditching my Hexamid tent and going with the Hexamid tarp (no netting). On the times that it rained, esp. in the Holy Cross, I had to pack up a wet shelter and the netting absorbed quite a bit of moisture.
Anyway, stayed tuned for my post-hike gear talk…Hopefully I’ll have some time over the fall/winter vacation to post a video soon.
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