CT Day 33: Down to Junction Creek & Finish Line

Daily Miles: 22.9, Total Miles: 486.4

I didn’t sleep well last night, just couldn’t seem to get comfortable. Or maybe thinking about what could be my last night on the trail. I did enjoy the stunning night sky against the backdrop of the La Platas and Taylor Lake.

After a quick breakfast, the morning started with a brisk two-mile climb. I watched the sunrise on the flank of Cumberland Mountain.

It was then mostly downhill, contouring around the heavily forested mountains in and out of drainages, but largely near Junction Creek.

About midway down I passed an impressively large pile of fresh bear scat in the middle of the trail. A bit further down the trail, a mountain biking couple passed by me going uphill. A few minutes later the same couple came barreling back down the hill, stopped and shouted, “Did you see that mama bear and cub?”. Just after they passed by me going uphill, they met the bear and cub coming down the trail and not backing off. They quickly turned their bikes around and retreated down the mountain. I have to admit, I did stop a few times to look behind me just to make sure the bears weren’t gaining on me!

Late in the afternoon and getting weary after some long hiking days, I entered familiar territory along Junction Creek. Getting down to the CT southern terminus, took the obligatory selfies, and finding I had service, called Mrs. Haze. She was only a few minutes away after driving up from Tucson!

We headed straight to Carvers in downtown Durango. They offer a free beer to CT finishers – went well with the green chili cheeseburger. After sitting awhile, I felt stiff but managed to hobble back to the car. We both had a very long day so hiker midnight came early for both of us.

I’ll have to recap and offer more thoughts on the CT in a future post. I can say no regrets on this one – 486 miles of Colorado at its finest.