Hiking Plus: February 2021

Hiking Plus: February 2021
This month, we're headed back out on the Colorado Trail for the
second installment of Nola's "Adventure Within a Pandemic," a journey
that tragically turned as much emotional as it was originally physical.

Also included this month is an update of the status of our 2021 season.
We've lost a couple of tours, but that proverbial light at the end of the
tunnel is also growing a bit brighter.

Capping off this issue is our latest look at the great puzzle assembly. We've included a (sort-of) time-
lapse for you to see my (Steve's) incremental progress.

Adventure Within a Pandemic, Part 2: The Journey Continues
When we left off in last month’s newsletter, I had been training and starting to do a few overnights in preparation for
my bucket list adventure on the Colorado Trail (CT).

It was late June, almost July, when I heard reports of the trail being snow free. Theoretically, my plan was to start at
Kenosha Pass on Segment 6, where I left off in 2019. However, that segment ends in Breckenridge, where after 33
miles on the trail I’d have my first opportunity at a “resupply” of food... and maybe some toilet paper?!
Unfortunately, Breckenridge is also quite a bustling tourist town where Covid cases were widespread. Considering
the 4th of July holiday weekend was also on the horizon, I felt a lot of trepidation. But who said I had to hike the trail
in perfect order?

With Steve as my shuttle driver, I opted instead to get dropped off on Segment 8 at Copper Mountain and hike into
a more remote and less “pandemic-y” environment. I could come back to Kenosha later, when I felt things had
eased up a bit. I’d already hiked Segment 7 a few times in the past and starting on 8 just felt. . . right.

Right indeed, Segment 8 was fantastic! I was familiar with the first
part of the segment, with having lived in Summit County in the
1980s and early 90s. Although I’d covered a lot of ground in that
area, however, I had not ventured on the CT over to Kokomo Pass
and down into Camp Hale. The views were stunning from the
wildflower-studded alpine, looking east towards the Tenmile Range
and eventually west towards Mount of the Holy Cross.

My second and third days out past Tennessee Pass and into
Turquoise Lake were a bit like an episode of Ken Burns’ National
Park series. Parts of the trail were reminiscent of Yosemite and
Rocky Mountain National Parks as I meandered through varied
meadows and forests, steep, rocky climbs and shimmering
mountain lakes.

As the holiday weekend drew closer with Steve soon to come pick me up, I turned on my cell phone to find several
text messages alerting me to an accident a long time close friend had just had. It was serious and I immediately
sensed the outcome would not be good.

​We spent the weekend hiding out at home and early the next week I started again where I’d left off, continuing
 south. Shortly after starting my first climb, I received news of my friend’s passing. Although the news didn’t surprise
 me, I still felt the wind leave my sails and at the same time was grateful to be backpacking and out in nature at that
 point in time.

For two days I traced the flanks of Mount Massive and Mount Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado, eventually
popping out at Twin Lakes Village, located in the middle of Segment 11. My energy level was low due to my recent
loss and hot weather and monsoon season were setting in, so I opted to head home and hang out to remain healthy
until conditions improved. Thus, the “thru hike” idea got shelved for the time being and my goal became simply
“enjoy what I can and stay healthy.”

Although disappointed my goal was not to be realized in 2020, I decided to make the best of it. I got back out on the
trail at the end of July for Segment 6 (that I had skipped earlier). This turned out to be super fun when I hiked with
and camped near a handful of awesome people I met on the trail. After the rains, the wildflowers were everywhere
and the views were incredible! Plus, CT Segment 6 was a part of Summit County I hadn’t visited when I’d lived
there decades ago. It was a bit like visiting the home where you grew up but years later, familiar yet different.

Check out my personal hiking videos on my YouTube channel, “Postcards from CatTrax” (the story picks up here:
https://youtu.be/qQF798KZxIo). See Episodes 9 through 15 (yes, the videos improve a bit from last month, but I’m
still not a pro).

In the next installment, I am very excited to be headed to the Collegiate West and the alternate CT route along the
Continental Divide Trail!

Looking forward to seeing you all on the trail (for real) soon!

Nola, aka CatTrax

2021 Season Update
While conditions are improving pretty much nationwide, California and Arizona remain Covid hot spots
with, for example, no indoor dining allowed anywhere in the Golden State. Thus, we made the difficult call
several weeks ago to cancel our two April tours, Pinnacles National Park & the Big Sur Coast and Grand
Canyon South & Prescott AZ. Our sincerest thanks to the guests registered for these tours for their
understanding of our decision.

We are continuing to monitor conditions in the Four Corners region of Colorado and Utah along with the
Grand Canyon with hopes to conduct our three May tours: Capitol Reef & Trails of the Ancient North,
Grand Canyon Rim-Rim & the Legendary West, and Grand Canyon Rim-Rim 5-Day. We'll be making the
go/no-go decision for these tours in mid to late March.

Looking forward, we are very optimistic we'll be able to conduct our summer and fall tours, albeit with
some Covid control measures remaining in place. Hopefully by then most if not all of us will have had the
opportunity to receive Covid vaccinations (which we strongly encourage!). Here is a list of those tours with
links to details on our web page if you are interested:

        Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Parks (June 26 - July 2)
        "This Is Our Colorado" (July 11 - 16)
        Great Volcanoes: Mt. Rainier/Mt. St. Helens (August 1 - 6)
        Great Volcanoes 2: Mt. St. Helens/Mt. Hood (August 8 - 13)
        Lassen Volcanic National Park (Sept 4 - 9)
        Yosemite National Park (Sept 11 - 17)
        Canyonlands/Arches National Parks (Sept 26 - October 1)
        The Ice Age Trail (October 17 - 22)
        Great Smoky Mountains: Fall Colors (October 24 - 29)

Please note that due in part to capacity limits we're imposing based on the pandemic, several of our
summer and fall tours are sold out. If you are interested in one of those tours, please feel free to register
for the waiting list. If conditions continue to improve, we may ease those limits and, thus, be able to take
more "wait listers" than usual.

Also feel free to contact us at any time to check the status of any tour on our schedule.

Puzzle Update
Progress! I now estimate 50% completion. As our season nears, I'm getting a bit busier with preparations
and, sadly, contingency planning, so progress may slow in coming weeks. That said, I WILL eventually
complete the 9,000 piece "Wedding Feast At Cana" by Paolo Veronese.

         November (0%)--------------------------- December (15%)--------------------------- January (25%)
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                            February

    Hiking season is (finally) approaching, time to start training for your next adventure.

                                                          Nola & Steve
                                                  www.ParksPlusHiking.com

                                                      719-207-HIKE (4453)