Mile 166.7 – 181.8 + 0cw – 5.4cw
We planned a brief stop in the tiny town of Twin Lakes to resupply and hopefully get lunch. We started a little early because the town is a bit off trail and we wanted to leave time for walking in and back out.
The town has a general store that is really small, but the owners are incredibly thoughtful about what they keep in stock and we were able to manage a full resupply with some creativity.
Rocket needed a new hat and decided to sport the general store merch since they were so friendly.
After this, we found a little farm market down the road with an amazing lunch that was just what we needed.
After returning to the trail, we endured the torturous seven miles around the lakes before coming to the main decision point of this trail. We are about to enter the Collegiate Peaks range and must choose from one of two official routes through that area. We chose the West route because, although a little longer with more elevation gain, it is said to be more scenic. The good weather over the last two days gave us confidence that we could manage the extended sections above treeline.
Note, we are using the abbreviation “cw” when we list miles on the Collegiate West alternate.
RocketWalk 