Miles Hiked 345.4
Elevation 11,955 feet
Miles Hiked Today 15.0
My day didn’t start well. A small critter chewed through my tent screen to get at a garbage bag. Strictly speaking, you are supposed to hang your food bags in a tree. That works when there are trees around, which there were not. So I had something well known reinforced. Don’t leave food in the tent. Now I have to figure out how to repair the tent.
Today, there are four summits I have to make, which total almost 7,000 feet in elevation gain. It will also keep me around 12,000 feet of elevation all day. I have been having significant breathing problems when the elevation gets above 10,000 feet.
The first summit was a long hike to get to it. It took all morning. On the way, I got caught in another hail storm. Doesn’t it ever just rain in Colorado? While the other three summits did not take as long to make, they were nonetheless tough climbs.
I passed this ranch first thing in the morning. 
The trail
On the last summit, I talked with Joey, another hiker. He told me Lake City was full – no rooms. Not good! I was planning to stay there Thursday and Friday. I frantically texted my sister in the 5 minutes I had cell reception and asked her if she would find me a room.
I continued on and found some other hikers with tents up, so I joined them. Unfortunately, I was out of water and it was a mile round trip to get some. As I headed to the stream, one of the other hikers stopped me and offered some water. It was very much appreciated.
While tomorrow won’t be as arduous as today, I still have a couple of summits to make. The trail is proving tough in this area.
