We lazily left town and hiked a few miles in. We came upon a picnic table and trash can at the top of a ski lift and set up there for the night. We watched as smoked billowed into the sky from two nearby fires creating a magnificent sunset. The night was windy and by the morning it had only gotten worse. We traversed a ridge that morning and found it extremely difficult to stay upright. The wind pounced us from all angles, whipping the straps of our packs into our faces and legs. I couldn't feel my hands by the time the trail dropped off the ridge and got to lower ground. Off the ridge, we walked beside a bunch of alpine lakes that reminded me of the Sierra on the PCT.

It was incredibly beautiful but I wasn't having the best morning, so I took it for granted. We ran into another trail crew who told us the weather looked great for the next few days. I desperately hoped they were right. After being in a bad mood all morning, I decided to slow down and start taking more pictures. My mood immediately changed and I could stop dwelling on the terrible, cold, wind that had plagued all morning. We went over our first pass and had lunch on the other side. The sun came out and warmed our bodies and my eyelids slowly gave in to a, much needed, 20 minute nap. I felt rejuvenated after waking up which was good because we had a huge climb ahead of us. Luckily the trail was an old railroad track that gradually climbed up the side of the mountains to the pass. We also got to read some historical signs about when the railroad ran back in the early 1900s. We made it to the pass and over another before heading down into a river valley.

The views were expansive and it was good not to see so many dead trees from the beetle kill. The slopes were covered in dark green trees with small patches of snow popping out on occasion. We made it down to the river and set up camp just as the sun was setting. Birds chirped as I opened my eyes the next morning and the sun was slightly blinding. We packed up and started a 2000ft climb that seemed to go by in an instant. We walked up what seemed like hundreds of gradual switchbacks that got more and more windy with each turn. The view from the pass was striking and would be our first taste of what was to come that day. We would climb over high passes and drop down into valleys before climbing back up again. It was physically demanding but I didn't notice. We could see the trail for miles across the ridge, much like the PCT and never like the AT. It felt comforting to be able to see what was coming. I finally felt strong again and the excitement from that made me feel powerful. I bounded up the steep climbs and ran down the descents, feeling on top of the world. Finally I felt like I could finish this trail again. We ran into a women in her late sixties who was out for a day hike. When she heard of what we were doing she immediately started to dig in her backpack, saying she had something for us. Worried we would have to carry extra weight, we waited skeptically. She pulled a large bag of fresh, ripe, cherries out of her bag and tossed them to us. We were in heaven. Fresh fruit on trail was unheard of and suddenly those cherries were exactly what I had been wanting all day. We thanked her and started devouring them. As we hiked down, we shared them with the Colorado trail hikers and we all seemed to have the same reaction. "I think this is the best cherry I've ever had."

As we got closer to a road, many more day hikers were out for short trips. Many of them yelled congratulations on making it this far and said they'd be rooting for us. As the day winded down, our knees began to ache again and we came off our cherry high. We ran into a southbound hiker who had no good things to say about the trail she had just came from and said we definitely shouldn't go up at night. So we found a nice spot in the river valley and set up camp early. As we did our nightly chores, a rumble was growing louder and louder from behind us. Suddenly, six ATVs showed up and a bunch of people piled out. They were looking for moose and had spotted some right in the valley in front of our tents. Totally clueless, we stumbled out to look at the small, adolescent, male moose. He ran and jumped all over, like he was playing a game. I took a bunch of pictures and as I zoomed in on one, to see him closer, I saw a group of deer had shown up. They were just out of view by the naked eye but they hung around the moose as he ate his fill of bushes and scampered away.

The people then piled back in their ATVs and took off back down the road to look for more. We got back in our tents, but kept a watchful eye for more sightings before night set and we went to sleep. When I opened my eyes the next morning, I couldn't breathe. It felt as though someone was sitting on my chest and my incessant coughing couldn't budge them. I started to pack up, slowly, feeling very opposite to how I'd felt just the day before. The thought of having the toughest climbs so far, and being at high elevation, scared me. I wouldn't be able to breathe up there like this. We checked our map and chose a route that would keep us lower but would be a few more miles. The beginning of the day was filled with road walking but I didn't mind. I really enjoyed talking to Beaute and getting to know her better. As noon hit and the sun became relentless, things got a bit tougher. We were out of water for a while and I was being chased by a devil horse fly. Not to mention, the ATV road we were on was getting fairly steep and I would fall every chance I got. We finally got back to a trail and found the most amazing water source. Chugging as much as we could and then throwing ourselves in to beat the heat. After the water, we began our huge climb up to a pass. We trudged along as the breeze got cooler and cooler. We made it to the top and stopped to catch our breathe and take pictures. I mentioned that I wondered what was on the other side and went to check it out.

Further down trail, I saw the real pass about another 300ft up. When we made it to the actual pass, the trail disappeared and we thought they might have been on to something when the map said the trail was "unmaintained." We found the direction we wanted to go and started busting down the steep slope through thick willows. Our arms and legs were getting ripped to shreds and every so often, a branch would come dangerously close to my eyes. I couldn't help thinking that it was my favorite part of the whole day.

We made it down to a river and climbed up the opposite slope where we found a trail. We ran into a couple and they confirmed that we had made it to the right place. We began to hike fast, knowing there was promise of hot food later. We got down to the highway at around 6:30 after roughly 30 miles, and started to hitchhike. We knew that the small town only had one restaurant and that it would probably be closing soon. Luckily, after a few cars, one pulled over and let us in. We told him about trying to get to the restaurant and he asked if we were hungry. We looked at each other as we blurted out "always!" He gave us some chips and guacamole and we devoured it as he drove us into town. We got to town just in time and we're met with the owner of the general store who said we had a $20 credit. Our friend, Chimichanga, who had gone ahead and few days before, had left us money to grab a couple beers and some ice cream. We stuffed ourselves at the restaurant and waited till dark to sneak across the road to a lake where we set up camp for the night. We got sucked back into the general store the next morning by hot coffee and chairs, getting back to the trail much later than expected. We had some road walking to do in the morning and had a wonderful time listening to music and chatting. We made it to the trailhead and began our climb up to the top of the second highest mountain in the lower 48. It was relentlessly uphill but I felt strong and bounded up the mountain. We passed a group of kids as one exclaimed "people actually do this for fun?" The air got thinner and thinner as we climbed and the elevation was starting to get to us. We passed another hiker who was coming down and get warned us about the loose, steep, rock path that the trail would eventually become. He asked if we had traction as he lifted up his foot to show off his microspikes. Unfortunately for him, microspikes are for ice and would do absolutely nothing on a bunch of gravel. We kept climbing. I started to get extremely lightheaded and couldn't focus on anything. Waves of nausea hit us as we reached the ridgeline.

We turned and made our way to the summit, breathing hard and trying to adjust. We finally made it to the top where we sat down and had lunch after taking a bunch of summit photos. We even got to call a few friends and tell them where we were. As we sat there, Beaute noticed some figures on an adjacent ridge and remarked how funny it would be if that was the real Mt. Elbert. Knowing it couldn't be, I checked my GPS. As our location came up on the screen, my heart sunk. We were not on the summit of Mt Elbert, the second highest peak in the lower 48. We were just on a high point on the ridge. All we could do was laugh at ourselves and pack up to get to the top. The ridge was a narrow climb on a bunch of loose rocks and we were wary of the dark clouds being blown our way. We moved faster, trying to beat the inevitable storm. It took us three hours to make it five and a half miles with about 5000ft. of elevation gain. We made it to the real summit, took a picture and started heading down. As we did, the dark cloud engulfed the summit and blocked out the sun.

The hike down was extremely steep and gravelly. One trip and you'd go careening off the 14,433ft. mountain. We took it slow as snow flurries began to fly past us. Every step was a risk, trying to trust my footing. The dark cloud blew overhead and the sun returned to make a beautiful evening. We made it back to the CDT and hiked a few miles further before finding a perfect camp spot next to the river. We made dinner and laughed about our day on the fake Mt Elbert before drifting off to sleep for the night. The next morning we woke up early and the promise of food pulled us into town quick. We head out again soon to complete the next section! Mile marker 1217