I ended up having two zeroes in Breckenridge after my stay in Alma (a zero means 0 miles walked on trail, so a rest day). The public transport options in this neck of the woods are pretty damn good so I was able to catch a free bus from Alma to Breckenridge, which saved me from hitching. There are also a ton of free bus routes around Breckenridge, Frisco, and Copper Mountain resort, which made it super easy to get around.

I loved Breckenridge. Its a touristy, ski town, but I loved it all the same. On the first night I stayed at the Bivvy, which has a very comfy atrium area with a huge fireplace, free coffee and many comfortable places to sit. I spent most of the afternoon there, just hanging out, chatting with fellow hikers and bikepackers. I dont know what it is about being on a trail, but I am way more chatty than I am at home. I’m far more willing to talk to complete strangers about anything and everything.

The second night I stayed at the Fireside inn. This was a smaller place, but closer to the middle of town. It was also pretty nice and had the added bonus of Jennifer and Liam staying there.

But after the fun of not hiking, I had to get back on the trail. So I was up early to catch the bus back to the trailhead. The goal for today was to get up and over the mountain and head down to Copper Mountain resort. Only 13 or so miles, should be easy right?

I did not get off to a great start, as about 5 minutes in my stomach decided that it didn’t actually like the town food I’d been feeding it the past few days and I needed to take urgent action lest I…well I’m sure you get the picture.

I felt better after I got that sorted and could enjoy the trail for a while. It was quite pleasant. The track was heading up for nearly the whole day, but the first few miles were nicely graded, with plenty of switchbacks and lovely views back to town. The closer to the top the harder the trail got, with quite a few sections having over 20% grade. This meant you could not really stop on them, unless you wanted to replicate the Michael Jackson’s anti-gravity lean (I would not recommend it, it felt like my calf muscles were going to tear off). The trail did reward us from time to time, with the occasional mountain meadow, or amazing view.

It felt like an age had passed by the time I reached the top. So many false summits, so many times I thought the trail had stopped going up only to turn a corner to be faced with more climbing. But, there was a real sense of triumph when I made it to the top. My elation increased when I took my pack off and realised there was a bottle of coke in it. I had bought it the night before and forgot about it! It was without a doubt the best drink I have had in a long time.

After that epic climb, there was the epic descent down into Copper Mountain resort. The trail hugged the side of the mountain, with an alarming drop only a few feet from the trail. I was enjoying the view down into Copper Mountain when I started to feel a little woozy and it felt like I was going to take the quick, but deadly, route down to the bottom. To combat the vertigo I had to concentrate on the trail and avoid looking anywhere else for a good few miles. It made for boring walking, but boring is better than extremly exciting and fatal.

I didn’t fill up my water at the first water source I came to because I misread the map on when the next source was and (really the main reason) I was being lazy. This came back to bite me not long after, as I came across a great campsite but did not have enough water to stay there. I was more than a little annoyed at myself, as it wasn’t the first time I had made that mistake on this trip. Won’t be the last either. By the time I got to the next water source I was practically at the bottom of the climb.

The camping options near Copper Mountain were not great so I decided to catch the free bus back to Frisco and stay in a hotel for the night. I love hiking, and I love camping, but I find it almost impossible to resist a town if I am close enough. Especially after a long, hard day of climbing.

It felt a little like cheating, but the hot shower washed that away, along with the dirt.