CT 7.3.15 Day 1

Miles today: 16.4
Miles from Denver: 16.4
Days on the trail: 1
Approximate elevation gain: 2830

Optimistically happy at mile 0.0

Section 1 started off with 6 miles of flat road heading up Waterton canyon. My stomach was full and happy from Chick-Fil-My-Tummy and I was optimistically happy. There were a lot of cyclists and people out for walks. At one point we saw an older gentleman out cruising on his motorized scooter/wheelchair. Later we came upon him and some family members in a ditch pulling the scooter off of him. We tried to help by assisting with the scooter and offering advice on first aid. They called 911 which was good because it appeared he had hit his head and his shoulder/arm was numb. How do you say, "I know what I'm doing, I'm BLS, first responder certified and I work in health care" without sounding like an arrogant jerk? We wanted to help more but the family seemed to have it covered. We hope the older man has a swift recovery.

What the first five miles looked like

At mile 6.2 we entered an actual trail and headed all uphill from there. We had several opportunities for amazing views that just would not come out well on camera. ('twas a very hazy day). We stopped for water at the 8.9 mile mark and felt pretty good about walking to the campsite at 11.8 miles. When we got there it was taken so we resolved to keep walking until the end of section 1 where there would inevitably be a campground and water.

The view coming down towards the campground. A million switchbacks. So pretty!

At 16.4 miles we finally stopped at a private campsite just short of the busy campground. Feet hurt with big blisters so I followed a trick I had read about and took some 6-0 Ethibond (sterile needle with thread) and stuck it into my blister, cut off the needle and left it there to drain the blister(s) overnight. Worked surprisingly well. Views were amazing with the sunset and the storm clouds rolling in. Never got rain but heard lightening close by.

Blister at the end of day 1. It got much bigger the next day.