Joanna On The Trail

Tuesday, June 23, 2026
11.7 miles / 2,482 ft elevation gain

I woke at 5:45am well-rested. After another 9pm bedtime and an hour of The Salt Path, I’d slept beautifully, waking a few times to roll over but drifting right back to sleep. I’m loving my new sleeping bag and pad!

A Dry Stretch

Today was the first of two relatively shorter days — about 12 miles instead of the 15-plus of the other days — but it comes with a catch. Segment 2 passes through the area burned by the 1996 Buffalo Creek Fire, which is recovering but still largely exposed. The guidebook describes it as “brutally hot,” and with no water source until an unstaffed fire station at mile 10, the guides were emphatic: bring enough water. I loaded up with my full 3L bladder, a 16oz Nalgene of electrolyte mix, and a 32oz Nalgene about halfway full — roughly 4L total. I finished with about 1.5L to spare, so that felt about right, especially since the clouds were kind enough to block the sun for much of the climb. Hot, yes. Brutal, not quite.

The Gudy Gaskill Bridge

Segment 2 starts beautifully. The trail crosses over and then under the Gudy Gaskill Bridge, named for the woman who was instrumental in making the Colorado Trail a reality. What a lovely way to begin the day!

From there, the climbing starts in earnest. About 1,800 feet of the day’s elevation gain comes in the first 5 miles, after which it settles into gentle ups and downs for the rest of the segment. The landscape was noticeably prettier than Segment 1 — better views of the surrounding peaks, more visual variety in the recovering terrain.

On the Trail 

Sam was lead guide today (Ian was sweep), and was great company on the climb. He pointed out wildflowers and named distant peaks as we went, and we talked about his goal of climbing all of Colorado’s 13ers — having already completed all 58 14ers — what he does when he’s not guiding, working at Apple, the UK Coast to Coast, and hiking in California. Good conversation makes the miles go faster.

At some point Greg and I passed a sign that read:

NO SHOOTING
HUNTING ALLOWED

We spent a fair amount of time trying to parse this. Does it mean hunting isn’t allowed? Or that it’s fine as long as you don’t use a gun? We never did reach a consensus.

Wildlife was modest today — one enormous black squirrel, a Western Tanager (bird ID courtesy of Missy, naturally), and reportedly a mule deer spotted by hikers further back on the trail.

AFRICA

Somewhere along the trail we came across a curious sight: sticks arranged on the ground spelling out AFRICA. Sam’s theory was that it’s a form of communication between thru-hikers — a kind of trail graffiti with meaning only they would know. I have no better explanation.

The Rest of the Day

By the time we reached the van, the climb was a distant memory and everyone was in good spirits. Personally, I felt pretty great, which was encouraging given this was the most I’d hiked on back-to-back days. My feet were tired and sore, but I’d packed my Adissage slides in my daypack for exactly this moment. Slipping them on at the trailhead felt like a small miracle.

While waiting for the toilet at the trailhead, I spotted Aspen again — this time with just her dad. We chatted for a few minutes, during which I learned his trail name is Poison, his wife’s is Ivy, and their daughter’s is Firecracker. Coordinated trail names. I love it.

There was also cell service at the trailhead, so I sent texts and photos to Lee and my mom. They seemed relieved to hear from me — and to know I was surviving, if not thriving.

Wellington Lake

From the trailhead we drove to Wellington Lake, our home for the next 3 nights. No taking down the tent until Friday — a small but meaningful luxury. I chose my spot carefully: under 3 pine trees near Jim and Greg, which also turned out to be perfect for hanging my clothesline. I needed it. My duffel had somehow gotten soaked in the truck while moving camp today — a leaky water tank, it seemed — and everything inside was damp. I draped what I could and hoped for the best. (Spoiler: things got damper overnight.)

Wellington Lake is a popular campground, which brings opportunistic wildlife. The chipmunks were relentless — constantly infiltrating the kitchen and living room tents during dinner prep and beyond. It became a team sport to keep them out. We also learned the campground has a resident black bear named Blueberry, and a couple of unnamed mountain lions. There was a strict no food in the tents policy.

Dinner was Mexican night: burritos with all the fixings, and the universal human experience of overstuffing a burrito and eating it like a giant taco. Brownies for dessert.

After dinner I took a shower. I won’t oversell it: it was 2.5 gallons of hot water in a camp shower tent that awkwardly opened right into the space between the living room and kitchen tents. But after 2 days of hiking and a Pact wipe bath the night before, getting to actually wash the trail out of my hair and off my skin felt quite luxurious.

Lights out around 9pm. Tomorrow should be another manageable day, but I’m curious to see how my body holds up on day three of consecutive long hikes.

Tomorrow: Segment 3, Little Scraggy to Wellington Lake Road. 12.5 miles, 1,975 feet of elevation gain.