CDT Day 72: Monarch, Granby and Grand Lakes

Daily Miles: 16.4, Total Miles: 1,189.0

I started early this morning before the blood-sucking skeeters woke up and wandered down to Monarch Lake. While taking a pic of the sunrise on the lake, I heard some branches snapping below me. A young bull moose was walking up a faint trail that ended at my feet. To avoid a surprise, I yelled, “Hey moose!”. He looked up and kept right on coming. I backed away and he kept coming. I finally turned off the trail and he slowly lumbered past, definitely on a mission.

I walked along the shore of long Granby Lake, passing through a sliver of the Rocky Mountain NP, before arriving at the touristy town of Grand Lake.

A welcome respite from the trail but found the only laundry in town had just been closed down. I handwashed my filthy clothes in the bathtub and headed to Sagebrush BBQ for a huge plate of beef brisket topped off with a big banana split from Dairy King.