Day #61-Paying for a miscalculation. Miles hiked: 28.7

Today started with a magical ride from Golden back to Grand Lake with a dear family friend, RA. He’s been friends with my mom since long before I was born and it was great to catch up. Thanks for the lift!

After leaving Grand Lake, I spent most of my morning walking through a burn scar and admiring all of the wildflowers that are first on the scene to regrow from the charred soil.

I also saw two more moose and was sure to give them plenty of room.

After lunch came my miscalculation…although I had joyfully claimed I was done with snow and 3k foot climbs, I realized I had misread my map and had all of the above ahead of me. Entering the Never Summer Wilderness, I would venture to guess whoever named it might have been a CDT hiker.

By the end of the slog, I was rewarded with great views and managed a sneaky little road walk to get around the postholing on the back side.

Goodnight from a campsite tucked behind some live trees in a sea of burnt ones.