In this last stretch I transitioned from the Southern San Juans to the Northern San Juans. I make the 118 miles from Pagosa to Lake city in 5 days.

The San Juan range has more area above 10,000 feet than any other range in North America. Staring across these mountains is staggering.

The snow is melting fast and the different slope aspects mean less full coverage and more patchy snow.

Every time we crest a pass we hope to see less snow in the basin. Each aspect is undergoing a different stage of spring depending on how much direct sunlight it gets. Some basins will be in full bloom others still 90% covered.

“The Window” gives me a good opportunity to see the scale of the distance I’m traveling. See the notch circled in this photo.

That evening, I’m right below it. The next morning hike in between the two spires.

Geology…

Day 42 has a lot of bushwacking and sun cup traverses. Has anyone told you about sun cups? I could talk to you for an hour about the different types of sun cups. In short, they are a pain in the ass to walk over, contorting my legs and sucking the rhythm out from under my feet. I push hard and don’t realize how much the bushwacking has sliced my legs.

The thing with snowshoes is they suck at traversing and they suck at sun cups (and this is 90% of our snow travel). So they mostly stay on my back.

The view at 13,000 feet.

On day 2 out of Pagosa, I find out the pass to Silver is a really tough hitch. I’ll have to push my 84 mile food supply another 33 miles to Lake City. I end up rationing for two days, and make it with a few calories to spare.

This is Moose… Moose has the evolutionary backing of a wolf, so Moose is completely comfortable on this terrain. We are jealous.

Camp for the night.

The route off the knife edge.

Found a wing from a plane wreck.

I am pretty beat up from this last section, bushwacking through alpine shrubs and postholing against snow crust has torn my legs and left me with swollen ankles.

I rest a day in Lake City, preparing for a fast push to Salida. Caitlin is coming to visit and I am ebullient. I just need to travel over a 100 mile mountain range to get to her 😀