This is the last full day on the trail…tomorrow will be a quick ~10mi to the trailhead in Durango.

It was a beautiful day with hardly a cloud in the sky.

There were several climbs that got back up over 12,500’ before descending to the first water in 23 miles. It was cool to see the ground cover starting to change to yellow as summer is coming to an end at these elevations.

This is what the final 25 miles look like…almost 8000’ of descent.

My final campsite under a giant pine (with a lot of cow pies).

Two “firsts” on this penultimate day:

1. Saw my first bear of the trip… mostly just his black rump scurrying up the hill when he heard me (so no pics).

2. My first blister…on my big toe. I have no idea why all of the sudden, other than the usual constantly dirty feet. A quick poke with a needle to drain the fluid and all was good 🙂