Colorado Trail 22 - Day 35

Another beautiful day in Colorado. I had a wonderful night at my campsite and today is my last full day on the trail so I'm starting to get sad that the hike s coming to an end. I hit the trail early as usual in hopes of a big day. I at least hope to make it to the Platte River or at least get really close. It was one of the busiest days on the trail and I saw around 50 to 100 people on bikes, it was starting to get annoying because you couldn't walk more than 10 to 20 feet, and here comes another one and you have to break your momentum by stepping off the path. I finally got to the trailhead where all the bikes were coming from and once I passed it I only saw about 3 or 4 more. This section is so cool because it almost has a desert-like feel to it. It's an incredible section to hike through. I reached the North Fork Fire Department to load up with water since the stretch has about 10 miles with no water. I met the coolest girls at the fire department and they offered me some ice-cold Dr.Pepper, it was so refreshing and wonderful on a hot and dry day. I stood and talked with them for 10 to 15 minutes about all the trails we had hiked and they both hiked the PCT, so jealous. I pressed on after leaving the fire department and made it all the way to the river where I stayed for about 10 minutes drinking and filling up with water. I decided to take a chance and press on past the river even though I wasn't sure of any campsites beyond here. I climbed up the other side of the canyon and when I was fairly close to the summit I found the greatest cliffside campsite I've ever seen. I decided to take a chance and set up here and pray that it would be a calm night. The gamble paid off and I had the most glorious sunset from right inside the tent. I left the doors open all night and could see the most amazing view all night. I think this is the best campsite I've ever had on any trail it certainly will be the most memorable and I'm so happy that I was able to camp in such an amazing spot on my last night.

Campsite - Cliffside Paradise
Mile - 477.6
Elevation - 7,264 ft.