As soon as the bus pulls into Salida, I’m out the front door, heading down to the old school motel – the one at the outskirts of town with the larger than life flamingo statues, classic cars decorating the front, and rock-bottom room prices. I check in, throw my pack on the bed, then I’m out the door for dinner and to find a few forgotten necessities I’ll need for the next week. Lights out after finishing up my French fries; a 1:30 am alarm set.

By 2:30am, I’m starting out from the Loaf ‘n Jug at the end of the corner, briskly walking up CR 107 towards the summit of Methodist Mountain, the first of a few dozen peaks that I’ll be topping out while traversing the entire Sangre de Cristo range, until the end of my traverse on Little Bear Peak, 120 miles away.

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