Leadville bound

The next morning the trail just went down.  Down.  Down.

The trail was covered in big chunky rocks.  The worst.

This sign warns us not to touch.
Extreme danger if we do.
Dont touch WHAT?
it didnt say.

At the bottom there was the creek which we had to cross.  This waterfall was near the bridge.
I have been looking for this all along segment 8. 
A guy I met along the trail said it was on the other side of the pass. 
He was wrong. 

This bluff was the only interesting thing to look at.  Otherwise it was just sagebrush.

The trail became this long boring road.  At least it wasn't rocky and wasnt downhill.

Out of boredom I took this pic.
Len looks like a hiker.
I look like a Lego character.

We could hear many, many sheep before we saw them.  There were hundreds down in the valley and more coming off the mountain running in front of us across the trail.  Saw this one lone black sheep.  So cute.  I like black sheep.
So much more interesting than white sheep.

This guy who had a border collie confirmed there were 2,500 sheep!

Another warning sign.
Dont touch WHAT?

After walking down the long boring trail/road we came up on Len's truck.

He dropped off the extra food an I put on sunscreen.  The tailgate is just the right height to assist me with putting on the pack.

Looking back on the long valley full of sheep.
They are hidden on the right.

Ugh!  My sunscreen looks curdled.
It smells ok and still works.

Then we were off.
Down the boring road.
Looking for the trail.

The old Camp Hale site.
Len thinks they stored ammo in here.  He said the valley used to be full of tents and troops doing winter training.  The 10th mountain division.  Hard to imagine.  Would be cool to see.

The space inside is small.

I thought this was an interesting view.

The trail headed towards the trees and crossed this creek.
It was quite small and the water was low.  I noted it was a "good thing" there was a bridge over it.  Len agreed it would be very dangerous to cross without it.
I'm sure it is needed when the water is high.  On this day it was funny.

You go over water, you go up.
And up we go.

We stopped for a break for lunch and to take off our boots. 
This weird fly landed on my pack.

We had to cross the highway that headed to Leadville.

And we had to cross railroad tracks.  Looks like we will be heading back into the woods.
And back up.

These guys were wandering around with metal detectors. 
No idea what they were looking for.  Before we saw they had metal detectors it looked like they were looking for someone's contact, wedding ring or glasses.

Back into the trees.
And yep, up.

As we neared the end of segment 8 we came upon these white rocks.
They looked almost like trash in th woods.  So white.

Another segment done!
Now to get to Leadville.

But first a stop at the 10th Mountain division memorial.

It was really a nice memorial.

Interesting to read about it and see the pics. 
Probably would make a good movie.

I got a quick ride to Leadville by a lovely Christian couple.  So glad I didnt have to walk again.  Len told me he got a ride soon after me back to his truck.  The couple had a camper and were driving and touring the country.  They even did a stop at Safeway where I picked up a few things.  They gave me front door drop off at the hostel.
Such nice people.

I was a day early but was able to get a room in the girls dorm.
What a fun room.
The hostel was great and all the people were so nice.

The owner gave me my box.
They even had clothes for me to wear while I washed mine.

Most of my stuff is wool and doesn't go in the dryer.  But it all quickly dried in the Colorado sun!
I ordered a pizza from High Mountain Pies and spent time chatting with the other guests.  Lots of cyclists out training for the Leadville 100 bike ride.  There was a family and others just in to him and visit the region. The hostel is a great alternative to a hotel.  I will definately stay at one if it is available on any future trips.