Colorado trail cut surprisingly short. On this evening when we got to the campsite, it was warm and lovely, very nice after all the hail and just starting to dry things out again. We had been up all night the previous night because sultana had the runs, so looking forward to a good, long sleep. However, the princess had a run in with a porcupine, the result of which is pictured here. Spent about 8 hours total over this evening and the following morning trying to pry the things out of her front paw and face, mostly successful but all of us very traumatized, in addition to sultana having another night of the major runs. in the morning, we were lucky enough to be next to a very remote but travelable dirt road, and someone showed up to drop off a load of boy scouts, and offered to take us to town (actually, we didn't even ask--I think we looked harried enough that he just guessed). So we got dropped off at the vet's in Salida, got one of the last 2 needles out of sultana's face, and found out she had giardia. The next day, we had to go back again because she had one embedded in her mouth, so she had a "light sedative" which caused her to barf twice and pass out promptly in the parking lot, and then we were able to pull the last quill out (and got her teeth cleaned in the meantime!)Somewhat of an unglorious end, but we definitely got the drama.

Well, we finally made it to Colorado, so we decided that in honor of our return to the state we would take some time to get to know it inch by inch via walking the Colorado trail. The trail is about 480 miles, and we anticipated taking about 6 weeks to complete it. So we spent a few weeks collecting and packing gear, sorting tons of food into little baggies, and then measuring it out bit by bit and putting it into individual boxes to be mailed for each leg of the trip. We left on the 4th of July with Greg and Nikki Knaddison and quickly realized how freaking heavy 45 lbs really is--but in good spirits we hit the trail and started on our way. *A sad note--all the photos from the leg of the trip with G & N were accidentally erased due to a new camera snafu--hoping to get some photos from that leg up soon but in the meantime I'll just put in a bit of description! Kelly joined us on the morning of day 2, and we headed off into the woods as a happy team of 6. That first 6 day leg with all of us was truly the wettest Colorado backpacking trip perhaps on record--we were soaked starting that first night almost all the way to Breckenridge! But we got to break in our walking shoes and get our first blisters and overall the group was peppy and fun. Additionally, we got to see how everyone does under a bit of duress and a whole lotta rain, and how cute Greg looks in pink "I've been Naughty" panties. Our first rest stop was at Kenosha pass, where we met up with a fantastic Colorado trail maintenance crew who gave us hot mocha and let us dry out a bit under their big tent. Also--Nikki's folks came to pick up the Knaddisons and brought us one of the most appreciated and heartily consumed feasts I've had. More of the adventure from there on is documented in the photos...

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steve-kaycie > A beautiful sunny morning heading out from highway 50.

steve-kaycie > Another fantastic pass gained post-hailstorm.

steve-kaycie > Colorado trail cut surprisingly short. On this evening when we got to the campsite, it was warm and lovely, very nice after all the hail and just starting to dry things out again. We had been up all night the previous night because sultana had the runs, so looking forward to a good, long sleep. However, the princess had a run in with a porcupine, the result of which is pictured here. Spent about 8 hours total over this evening and the following morning trying to pry the things out of her front paw and face, mostly successful but all of us very traumatized, in addition to sultana having another night of the major runs. in the morning, we were lucky enough to be next to a very remote but travelable dirt road, and someone showed up to drop off a load of boy scouts, and offered to take us to town (actually, we didn't even ask--I think we looked harried enough that he just guessed). So we got dropped off at the vet's in Salida, got one of the last 2 needles out of sultana's face, and found out she had giardia. The next day, we had to go back again because she had one embedded in her mouth, so she had a "light sedative" which caused her to barf twice and pass out promptly in the parking lot, and then we were able to pull the last quill out (and got her teeth cleaned in the meantime!)Somewhat of an unglorious end, but we definitely got the drama.

steve-kaycie > Funny enough, steve ran into some old buddies in Salida, so we got to spend a wonderful evening in the beautiful home of Mike and Gill, who were great hosts.

The following morning, everybody's tummies were still feeling a little wrong (apparently, it is very common for owners to get giardia from their doggies, and we weren't too sure whether this was true for us), so we made the emergency call to Denver and Steve's mum made a valiant rescue run to Salida to pick us up.

Colorado trail cut surprisingly short. On this evening when we got to the campsite, it was warm and lovely, very nice after all the hail and just starting to dry things out again. We had been up all night the previous night because sultana had the runs, so looking forward to a good, long sleep. However, the princess had a run in with a porcupine, the result of which is pictured here. Spent about 8 hours total over this evening and the following morning trying to pry the things out of her front paw and face, mostly successful but all of us very traumatized, in addition to sultana having another night of the major runs. in the morning, we were lucky enough to be next to a very remote but travelable dirt road, and someone showed up to drop off a load of boy scouts, and offered to take us to town (actually, we didn't even ask--I think we looked harried enough that he just guessed). So we got dropped off at the vet's in Salida, got one of the last 2 needles out of sultana's face, and found out she had giardia. The next day, we had to go back again because she had one embedded in her mouth, so she had a "light sedative" which caused her to barf twice and pass out promptly in the parking lot, and then we were able to pull the last quill out (and got her teeth cleaned in the meantime!)Somewhat of an unglorious end, but we definitely got the drama.