By the Numbers

I finished the Colorado Trail over a week ago. I am now in Estes Park, Colorado, resting while my husband and two sons attempt a summit of Long's Peak, a round trip of about fifteen miles and an elevation gain of over 5,000 feet. The summit itself is 14,259'. The have only been out here since Friday, so they are not fully acclimated to altitude, but I think they will be able to do it.

 We haven't done a whole lot since we arrived in Estes Park, which has given me time to review my hike. Since I am a math teacher, I decided one way to summarize would be "by the numbers."

By the Numbers

• 485 - the length in miles of the CT according to the data book.
• 16 - the number of miles skipped because of heavy snow on the trail.
• 8 - the number of extra miles hiked because of a wrong turn and a missed turn.
• 477 - net miles hiked.
• 72,000 feet -- the number of feet of elevation gain I hiked -- in other words, how many feet I walked uphill.
• 39 - total number of days on the trail.
• 5 - number of "zero days" in a town without hiking.
• 34 - the number of hiking days.
• 14 - average number of miles hiked per day.
• 4 - the number of times I was hailed on while hiking.
• 1 - the number of times I was hailed on while in my tent.
• 2 - the number of times I was sleeted on.
• 4 - the number of days I was not rained on sometime during the 24-hour period.
• 1 - the number of times I was hiking above tree line during thunder and lightning (dumb thing to do).
• 1 - the average times per day that I wondered if I was nuts for doing this.
• 102 - energy bars eaten.
• 29 - freeze-dried meals eaten.
• 2200 - the approximate number of calories consumed per day while hiking.
• 4000 - the approximate number of calories consumed while in town on a zero day.
• 10 - the number of pounds I lost.
• 5 - women I met on the trail who were hiking at least overnight.
• 1 - women through-hikers I met.
• 4 - Continental Divide Trail through hikers I met ( the CDT is almost 3,000 miles long and takes 5-6 months. It is not a complete, marked trail and is very difficult).
• 2 - the number of mountain bikers I met who were biking the whole CT.
• 1 - the number of times I contacted local law enforcement. This was because of an abandoned backpack at a campsite with some disturbing notes inside. Abandoned backpacks can mean that a hiker left to do a side hike or summit a peak and was injured or killed, or it can mean that  hiker decided to give up and go home and was too lazy  to take his stuff with him. This hiker was the lazy kind. I hope the sheriff gave him a ticket for littering.
• 0 - the number of people I met who were unfriendly, unkind or unhelpful.
• 0 - the number of native Coloradans who asked me if I had a gun.
• 1 out of 2 - the number of Missourians who asked me before I left if I would bring a gun.
• 0 - bears sighted. I met people who had seen bears, I saw bears droppings and even a bear skull, but no live bears.
• 0 - mountain lions sighted.
• too many to count - members of the rodent family: chipmunks, ground squirrels, pine squirrels, marmots. The scouts call these "mini-bears" because they will steal your food just like a bear will, but they usually don't cause personal injuries when they do.
• too many too count - beautiful views, even in the rain.
• can't be quantified - the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment I have from finishing the trail.