Fox Sighting, a Lucky Hitch, Leadville

August 12, 2024

Mile 151.9-168.2 (16.3 miles) (Leadville, CO)

Believe it or not when the alarm went off at 5 I only snoozed it once. I didn't sleep great last night... honestly I feel like I never really do out here unless we're in town. I'm blaming it on the elevation and the fact that my heart rate never drops below 90. We ate breakfast and packed up in the darkness, crawling out to tear down the tent just as the sun rose and made the mountains in the distance glow.

Pretty great Duplex pitch thanks to Henry

A hiker walked by coming NOBO and said he'd just seen a fox nearby. A few minutes later, here she came scampering up the trail! She detoured into the grassy opening right beside our campsite, glanced at us and then kept on trotting. It was a magical experience, I've never seen a fox so close in my whole life.

We pushed hard all day because, ya know, town day. I woke with more diarrhea and nausea and was starting to worry. I had absolutely no energy but in the back of my mind I made up excuses and blamed it on lack of good sleep. I unbuckled my hipbelt and let my shoulders carry all of the weight to try to relieve some of the cramping of my stomach. Henry carried my pack for a few miles after that which really helped me move faster. I finished my audiobook Lilith- absolutely lost it with tears flowing down my face at the powerful ending. Finally after what felt like a full day of climbing we only had 3 miles of downhill to get to the trailhead.

As we hiked closer we realized our planned town road was dirt and began to get worried about our chances of a hitch. We tried to yogi a ride from a day hiker but they were just starting their hike and would be hours until they returned. We plopped down on the side of the road, resting against our packs and debating our options. I tried calling a shuttle but the call dropped just as she picked up. We would have to hike around 5 more miles to reach pavement and I was trying to really rally my strength when a truck came ambling down the road. We surged to our feet and stuck out our thumbs and she pulled over right away, telling us to hop in without any other questions. IDK if I've ever been so grateful for a ride in my life.

Hero

She dropped us off here at the Leadville Motor Inn where we ran into another hiker out front. I tried hard to make my sun baked diarrhea brain work as I read through my email trying to figure out how the fuck to get into our room while Henry chatted with him about the coming sections. I finally figured out our code and opened our door ecstatic to find that we had an entire cabin with a kitchen and living room! A sound machine played little twittering bird sounds, the interior was cool and breezy and the bed so soft and welcoming. Colorado really isn't disappointing in its accommodations. I walked around the room in a daze and decided to start easing myself back to humanity with a shower. Then we ambled down Main Street to pop into a gear shop so we could buy some more tent stakes (the Duplex's leaking problem is partially because we didn't stake out 2 of the guylines) (also the Duplex is really not made for two Viking length hikers to share). I wandered around the gear shop feeling dazed and bought the only thing my brain could think about- electrolytes. We picked up pizza from High Mountain Pies on our way back and demolished it while making reservations at an Airbnb to zero tomorrow. I really need to bring myself back to life before going back out there.