CDT Day 44: Weminuche Wilderness

Daily Miles: 23.0, Total Miles: 747.2

Didn’t take me long to hitch a ride to Wolf Creek Pass – on the trail by 8am.

I entered another one of my favorite areas – Weminuche Wilderness – a walk on the wild side. I skirted a couple of alpine lakes, Spotted Lake and Archuleta Lake, which I hiked to several years ago with friends, then started the real climb to over 12,700 ft.

Snow was not a problem yet, but got caught in a very wicked thunderstorm with big hail. The small trees at elevation did not offer much protection so I was quickly drenched. After about 45 minutes, I figured I couldn’t get much wetter or colder and the storm had eased a bit so kept going, sloshing through the hail to the top of the pass.

I hiked down to Piedra Pass and camped across from Piedra Peak.

Counted over 100 elk today in three different herds. What a treat!