Waymaker on the Colorado Trail - Day 30 - 34


Friday, August 22 - Tuesday, August 26
Mile 500 (483 trail miles / approx 17 town walking miles)
Isaiah 59 - 66

Finished!!!

After 34 days on the Colorado Trail, I hiked the last 16 miles today, finishing at the Durango trailhead. Since leaving Silverton Friday morning, the last 75 miles have been a blur.  I got a quick hitch out of Silverton to the pass early Friday, riding out with another hiker I’d crossed paths with earlier on the trail.

Friday and Saturday were relatively easy days, with only a few strenuous climbs.  The San Juans are beautiful, with soaring ranges, alpine lakes, and lots of wildlife.  Sunday and Monday were a little more challenging, with intermittent rain and hail in the high passes, more rockslides to contend with, and very windy conditions in spots.  Monday’s rain continued into the evening and I had to set my tent up in the rain.

It was still raining when I got up this morning, but I wanted to get an early start to finish today.  The rain finally stopped around 11 and the last 9 miles were a gradual downhill walk, making for a restful finish.  I got to the trailhead around 3:30, took the obligatory photo, and started looking for a ride into town.  As luck would have it, Pringles (a woman I’d met a few days ago on the trail), and her husband were at the trailhead and gave me a ride into town.

Once at the hostel, I met up with Firewalker, an Appalachian Trail alumnus I’d hiked parts of the AT with in 2021.  We had dinner and caught up.  He’s in the process of hitchhiking from coast to coast for a book he’s writing.

Overall, this hike has been filled with incredible sights, interesting people, and an opportunity for me to spend a lot of one on one time with God.  I worked my way through Isaiah, a couple of chapters at a time, supplementing my daily audio Bible reading with commentary from different pastors regarding what I read.  I plan to dig deeper into Isaiah when I get home.

For those supporting the Uganda and Kenya missions through pledges for the hike, I’ll send a separate note on how to best fulfill your pledges directly to the church.  Thank you for your support.  For all of the prayers sent my way, they were felt and appreciated.

I’ll post the final pictures from this week tomorrow. 

Blessings.

Mike “Waymaker” Bass




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