We made it over Gray’s Peak and the ridge walk all the way out to Breckenridge! This section is considered the hardest section of the CDT and with good reason.

We had made the conscious decision to split the way from Grand Lake to Breckenridge into 2 parts so that we could start the hike up Gray’s Peak while being rested. The path up the mountain was fairly easy to hike and we actually got a ride in a Jeep up the first mile up the mountain to the Trailhead – on of my hitchhiking goals fulfilled…

We made it to the top of the peak and started to hear thunder and lightning in the distance. We saw some mountain goats on the ridge where we were headed and took that as a good sign that the lightning would not struck there.

The ridge was a knife edge and it took is the rest of the day to get over and take the path down from Argentina pass to escape the incoming weather (while being hailed on).

The next day we went back up on the ridge and had a long day of climbing and being exposed on the ridge while the weather was being rather rough and cold again. When we made it down the ridge in the evening or was already getting dark and we were glad to be able to go to sleep.

The next section will be easier and we are taking off today towards Twin Lakes.