Tuesday 10/6 Journal

I fell out of my rhythm today. Sleeping in after having spent a little too long on Netflix last night, I hurriedly packed up my belongings from the AirBnB room, said goodbye to my hosts, and turned for downtown Steamboat Springs.

Breakfast this morning was truly memorable. I’m making a note here to return if (when) I am back in Steamboat. Creekside Cafe, menu item called “wafflelaughagus”: a malted waffle with two over easy eggs, sausage gravy, sausage patty, home fries, and hot sauce. I must admit that the addition of the waffle was perplexing but delicious!

I let some amount of the afternoon drift away sipping cappuccinos and writing, updating social media, and starting to look at my exit strategy for this route, assuming the weather grants me safe passage all the way to the Mexican border. As of today, it’s been 38 days on the road with 1,384 miles under the belt. I find it odd because I am not particularly staggered by these numbers. (With the exception of today) I think that I have fairly well assimilated to this sojourner’s lifestyle and habitude.

The downside of all this time spent in downtown was facing the reality that 40 miles and 4,000 ft of climbing was not realistic to complete starting at 3:00 in the afternoon.

That was no large matter as I’ve found and am staying at a state park just 20 miles outside of Steamboat. I’m confident that I’ll be able to roll those extra 20 in tomorrow as I climb towards the town of Kremmling. I spent some time this evening looking at the next 900 miles or so of route. My takeaway: Colorado until Salida (the end of section four out of six of my maps) will be an absolute fairyland with ski towns, sizable towns, even an REI (in Dillon). Looking to southern Colorado and into New Mexico the story, at least on paper, could not be more different.

With plenty of high altitude terrain to cover, civilization will be sparse. Additionally, it would seem that my last remaining riding partner, Zack, is peeling off in a few days to head towards Denver. That’s fine. I’ll have to be strategic with food, and I have a feeling that I may be almost wholly trading my freeze dried meals for whatever can be scrounged at the crossroads convenience stores. I think this will be the testing grounds of the trip, in a good way. I am looking forward to enjoying all the creature comforts that Colorado has to offer while becoming equally excited to plunge back into the wilderness (northern Montana style) with days of uninterrupted wilderness and certainly lots of stars.