Figure 8 On A Bike

* Day 0: Zero day in Encampment . Since Susan washed the laundry yesterday we don't have too much to do today other than wandering around the convenience and general stores to buy more food. Thank goodness our cabin rental grants us free coffee at the general store because I guess the espresso shack that hung around last summer didn't make it back for this season. It's a dusty little town, without a lot of paved roads and subject to the fickle winds that kick up over the high, dry plains during the hot summer afternoons. But everyone seems proud of the place; the buildings have fresh paint and all their windows and the few lawns stand out crisp and green. We're staying in a small log cabin with one main room that looks like it was originally furnished in the 50's and a bathroom - indoor plumbing in a cabin is quite the upgrade. We can even cook eggs on the little gas range, although the mismatch between the size of the burner and the pan means frying them is out of...

* Day 0: Zero day in Steamboat Springs . Susan snags bagels and coffee from the hotel grab-n-go breakfast and we enjoy it alongside fried eggs, so pleased to have our own little kitchen. Chat with an old couple visiting from Texas who are very impressed with how far we can walk and give us a quick ride down across the street to the visitor center. Chat with the woman working there and get goody packets of snacks and coupons. Who ever said you can't earn anything through a life of leisure? It's a day out on the town, cruising on the surprisingly convenient local bus. Ace Hardware first, out west, then downtown for the bakery Norm recommended (it really was that good), doing shoe math on the bank of the Yampa River and calling the Lander post office to forward our box because that's at least 100 miles too far and I don't want to sew my shoes together again, getting Susan a new pair of earrings. Hoping she's not allergic to the metal. We picked up a couple cheap bathi...

* Bonus Day: Rocky Mountain marathon! The alarm goes off at 3:30 AM because the goal today is to cover about 26 miles of trail, 27 including the bit through town. But all the overnight kit stays home at the KOA cabin; this is our chance to hike the whole RMNP section in one day,  getting by without securing any permits. Fueled by pâtisseries and cans of cold brew, we crossed the campground in the dark morning and whispered out of instinct, not wanting to be the roosters that brought on daytime. The highway sits empty, the emulated-old-timey covered boardwalks don't creak and groan under the weight of passing tourists. Manage to find the trailhead and start the slow and steady ascent along North Inlet Creek. The dawn gathering weakly behind low, grey clouds backlights the charred spears of tree trunks; nearly the whole valley burned in 2020. Car-sized boulders  stand naked and exposed, all the lichen and moss burned away, leaving only white granite as a testament to what it to...

* Day 0: Zero day in Dillon . The Super 8 actually has a waffle station so breakfast is "elevated". That's a word we've learned from having Food Channel on the TV for literally about 10 hours straight. Maybe we expect to absorb some calories through the airwaves. Guy Fieri doesn't take himself too seriously and makes a lot of bad puns so he's my new favorite celebrity food personality. Second breakfast at the Blue Moon Bakery is actually elevated, a delicious lox bagel heaped with cream cheese, and a couple espressos. Susan is on a hunt for new underwear but strikes out at Sierra, although I snag a bunch of food we didn't come in there for and we also leave equipped with bear spray. Next stop is US Bank, and then to REI - this is the most amenities we've seen in a town in ages. But REI only sells women's underwear online. Make a proper grocery run at City Market and stock up on enough food to avoid leaving the hotel room again. Leftover pizza and ...

* Day 0: Zero day in Leadville . Wake up and get to cook ourselves fried eggs with English muffins. I haven't fried an egg in months. A CT hiker tries to talk to Susan about "segment numbers" for the second time this morning and she won't have it. Lolligag after breakfast, soaking in good feelings from 3 over-easy eggs and one-and-a-half muffins, but Susan finally gets me out the door to head for coffee. Smoke haze nearly obscures Mt. Massive and a faint charred smell wanders through the air. The lone barista at Zero Day coffee prepares an excellent cappuccino but the donuts in the counter case look suspiciously similar to the colorful assortments we found in Safeway. What are the odds both places would make Fruity Pebbles donuts? We check out their "gear store" and find mostly coffee paraphernalia that "ultralight" folks can carry without feeling too guilty. Nowhere in Leadville seems to be fully staffed. Caffeine kick-starts a bout of furious pl...

* Day 0: Zero day in Buena Vista (or BV, as many locals call it). Fighting with my body because it tries to be awake around 6 AM, when the room starts to lighten, but I'd really rather sleep in til at least 7:30. Breakfast and coffee from Brown Dog Coffee Company, and we walk out of there with our hands full of scones and brownies for later. Then it's off to Wally's Laundromat to clean our less-dirty-than-usual clothes (do we really even need to do laundry? Well, yes) and the grocery store. Continue our proud zero day tradition of spending too much money on food. But I don't look like I've lost much weight since Lake City so that's a good thing. This is honestly probably the healthiest clutch of food we've had yet, only 2 candy bars and not even any cookies (still have Pop Tarts though). Found MTV Classics on the TV and had 80's music videos in the background for a while, causing some mild concern about our parents. Did Prince's "Batdance...

* Day 1: Get out of the cabin by 6:05 AM; our easy days at Twin Lakes come to an end. Susan's mom and dad drive us the hour down to Poncha Springs , and we hug goodbye feeling so grateful that they made sure we could be part of the family trip. First step: coffee and bagel sandwiches from the FlaminGo food truck. Second step: hitchhike further to Saguache. We've barely even posted up under the highway sign when a Dodge cargo van pulls over and a van-lifer says he can take us there. He's a paramedic from Austin with a 16-year-old dog who gets to mostly set his own schedule and spends a lot of time in the area; he really likes the FlaminGo. The FlaminGo is a place of good fortune. The interior of the van is wood-paneled with care and sports a few nice paintings. The driver makes a reference to previously having a wife, but I leave that stone unturned. Susan's in the back, sitting on the floor; at least she has more space than when we were both tessellated in the trunk o...

It's time for us to crash someone else's travel plans: Susan's mom, dad, sister, and our two nieces were in Colorado for a week, so we got to join for their last 3 days around Twin Lakes and Leadville . 3 days of walking less than 2 miles a day, hanging out and recovering around the spacious "cabin" up on the hill above Twin Lakes, and eating as much food as we can. Even better, they brought a bag that had new shoes for us, and we could send a few extraneous items (like the Microspikes, no longer needed for the mostly-thawed mountains) back home. The convenience! Definitely worth it for cramming into the trunk of the Forester and trying not to bang our heads along bumpy dirt roads; who knew the Forester was a 7 passenger vehicle? 

  * Day 1: After enough watermelon and brownies in Lake City , we talked with the minister of the Presbyterian Church on our way out of the hiker center. He offered to find us a ride if we couldn't hitchhike within an hour. What a kind bunch of folks. We were supposed to stop at the store for sunscreen but after a few minutes of walking down the road a blue Subaru Crosstrek pulled over in front of us; the driver got out and shouted us over as she began rearranging luggage and the dog to make space for us. A hitch without even asking? Can't pass that up! So we climbed on in, sunscreen be damned. The driver and her friend were in Lake City for a stargazing festival, eagerly awaiting nightfall, when the observatory would open. She had some thru-hikers in her life, so was very friendly to us. Insisted we take some plums because "I know you aren't eating any fruit". Dropped back off at Spring Creek Pass about eight hours after leaving. Packs are heavy with... a kind ...

 * Day 0: Zero day in Silverton . Already finished groceries and laundry yesterday so hoping the day feels relaxed. Breakfast and coffee at the Coffee Bear. Silverton is pricey but the food is all really good. Spent almost $200 on groceries yesterday for just a 3 day section - Susan is worried I'm going to eat our savings. I eat like all the time while we're hiking and still need more calories. Susan has lost noticeable weight; I've lost some, but also seem to have new muscles in my legs. After breakfast I dunk my air mattress in the tub and think I spy the leak as little bubbles stream up from near the nozzle. Fixing gear, packing groceries, playing NY Times games, going back to the grocery store; the time goes more quickly than I want. Manage to find daytime Simpsons for most of the afternoon. Spend a solid hour sewing our shoes back together - they're in rough shape. Yesterday I looked down in dismay and found that the entire inside forefoot of my left shoe had blow...