It’s only 5pm and we’re already in the tent, cleaned up, organized, and ready for dinner.   It’s been raining since 4pm and sporadically thundering and lightning since 3pm.  It feels wonderfully cozy to be dry and warm in the middle of a rainstorm.  

For the most part, the storm is going around us, so we could have just hiked through the rain and gotten to the road that takes us to Breckinridge.  However, since we don’t have a place to stay in Breckinridge already lined up, we decided to stop hiking early instead.  We only have ~6 miles to go until we get to the road, which will make for a nice little hike tomorrow morning. 

This morning we both slept in a little - I woke up at 5am and was so cold that the thought of getting out of my quilt seemed ridiculous.  Instead, I decided to wait for the sun before officially getting up.  Waiting for the sun was the best idea ever - the biting cold vanished as soon as the sun’s rays hit the tent and I was much better able to function.  

I still feel rejuvenated and strong from our time in Leadville and the hiking was great.  Even the climb after Copper Mountain wasn’t as terrible as I feared it would be based on everyone’s comments about it.  (The ginger candy from my BB ohana was perfect for the climb!).  While it had been sunny all morning, the further I got up the mountain the more the clouds rolled in; this was nice because the clouds kept me cool as I got out of the tree line and continued to hike up and up and up.  

By the time I got to the top it started to sprinkle a little; this, too, was ok, as I was pretty warm from the hike up.  I did stop to put on my rain jacket on the way down, though.  

There was still quite a bit of snow on the trail towards the bottom - it wasn’t sketchy at all and, surprisingly, it made the downhill a lot more fun for me, even when I postholed.  (It wasn’t quite steep enough to glissade, otherwise I would have.)

I made it to our planned meeting spot by 3pm, which is when the sprinkling of rain was accompanied by some thunder.  By the time Nick met me 45 minutes later, I was huddled under a tree, wearing all my warm things (it gets chilly fast when you aren’t hiking), listening to Ian McKellen read me a book.  We briefly discussed our options, but a flash of lightning sealed the deal - get the tent up ASAP.

Nick heroically set up the tent as the rain and thunder intensified while I filtered as much water as I could.  Once the tent was up, we both scrambled in as fast as we could. 

I’m looking forward to more town food tomorrow, although we don’t plan to stay in Breckinridge long.  

Now I’m going to finally read my Thunderstorm Happy Trails letter - I’ve been carrying it with me most of Colorado!

Along the trail:

Camp:

P.S. OMG, I love this letter so much!  My friend Julia even included a crossword puzzle! (I don’t have a pen but I think I can do it in my head).  This is the best thing ever for someone stuck in a tent the rest of the evening!