4/4- A Day of Dodgy Frontage Roads

My snow fort, though spectacularly crafted in all its glory, proved to be constructed all for naught. As far as I could tell there had been no snow that evening or morning as I rose to fluttering winds, overcast skies with a bit of a chill, but dry grounds. Alas.

It was about 9:30am, I think, when I crawled out from my hole and began the process of wrapping up my home. I had gotten a beautiful nights sleep, however, due to really making sure I didn't get cold this time, as I had the two previous nights. I had taken out all of my spare clothes and wore just about all of them to bed. Those that didn't make the cut as bed-wear I pushed to the bottom of the sleeping bag to insulate my socked feet which had continually been the source of my repeated wake-ups throughout the other nights from cold. Finally my hoody and parka were, as usual, my pillow. It all worked, and I slept comatose from midnight:30 until the a fore mentioned 9:30am waking.

After such a nights rest I felt calm, peaceful, and ready to experiment with the damned alcohol stove again that had failed me two days earlier. My first worry was starting a wild fire, so I busted out my great friend, ole Mr. Trowel, and dug myself a bit of a fire pit amid my brush. Then, armed with a lighter this time, I filled the stove with rubbing alcohol and warmed the bottom of out of the wind so that it would actually have a possibility of lighting this time. This brought on that pleasant crack head feeling as I sat, huddled in a ditch, warming the base of something to cook a dose of energy giving sustenance. Once it lit I put my pot of water on there, surrounded the flame in another metal shielding, and cooked my oatmeal. Delicious success.

After breakfast, I slithered under the barbed wire fence keeping me from the stream a little ways away, and washed my things before packing up. Even though we're homeless, we still must remain tidy, children. I then saddled up, still dressed in everything I've packed, clothing-wise, and head off down the road.

The high winds kept up all day, which kept the chill up all day. I, however, was quite toasty and warm in all my gear. About a mile down that Frontage Road I was on I hit an exit to the highway which put a dead end to my side route. There was a dirt road, though, past a big "don't come in here" blockade thing, so I just skirted that and took the road less traveled due to it being forbidden.

A mile more of that and I found out its forbidden because it simply ends in the middle of nowhere with a barbed wire fence cutting me off from the interstate. This began a great series of climbing over barbed wire fences, with Ole Blue in tow, and walking off road, or as I say for some reason "overland". With the wind in high gear I busted out the goggles for the three miles I walked through dust and hay blowing up off the ground into my eyes. I felt very Mad Max-ish roving over these side lands of interstate, desolate grey skies above, and a haunting wind thrusting on my back.

Essentially, that walk sums up that day. Once I hit the end of that stretch, I came across another exit that still held no access road for me to follow. I crossed, under the overpass, to the northbound side of the highway and went another mile overland, forging a small river and some more barbed wire in between before reaching the next exit. Also no frontage road.

Switching sides again, so as not to be seen as a hitcher and ticketed for it, I climbed a hill and walked about half a mile until I spotted a road on the other side of the highway. This end of the interstate is not heavily traveled, so I waited for a lull and darted across to walk pavement rather than lumpy grasslands. Weaving occasionally from one side of the freeway to the other I followed the barren side road about four or five miles before hitting Exit 83. All plans and intentions shifted at this point.

It was, by now, 5pm, and I figured I'd plop by the off ramp, check cell service to check in with Todd, and just take a rest before sallying forth. I sat for maybe ten minutes before a couple drove up to me with a can of Cherry Pepsi held out the window waving it at me. These are the things I've missed. The random niceties of people handing me food out the windows of their cars because they just want to do something nice for a guy out in the cold. Not only did they give me a Cherry Pepsi, but a big bag of fried chicken as well, with a wide smiled "good luck to you, Bro". This is what I love about being on the road. It exposes much more of the nice in people that it seems like otherwise you have to dig for.

I sat back down, meal in mouth now, and figured I'd check in with Todd. The plan at that time was for Todd to drive up Sunday afternoon and fetch me so we could get things done and I could be timely for my dentist appointment on the 7th. We figured I could just camp out at whatever exit I ended up on Saturday so I'd be easy to find in the shotty cell reception of front range southern Colorado. Being that it was a few hours from sundown and having no idea how far the next exit was, I figured this might be where I'd stay the night, despite there not really being any good places to set up. I'd soon find out all that didn't really matter.

When I called, Todd was on his way to meeting up with a couch surfer. Apparently this guy was in Santa Fe from California on a bike and looking to get to Denver. He had also done some train hopping and seemed to be of a similar mindset to Todd and I as to how he liked to move around; outside of the bike, of course. Todd's interest was picking his brain to see what his thoughts and plans were to see if they could coincide with ours. If nothing else, he could give him a ride up to where I was while picking me up to bring me down to Santa Fe. I could then also give the guy some inside information on where good spots along those roads he'd be riding on were for bedding down. Prefecto, no?

This began the process of escalating our plans for pick up, since Todd wasn't interested in having the guy stay over that night due to Shalain already having to put up with me coming for a week and I think quiet time before going on a giant trip is just nice in your home anyway. All this said, the new proposal was to drive that guy up and bring me down that night. This would mean a late night, but also mean not having to find a camp spot or anything for the evening. As he met with the guy to see what he thought of this plan I was left to myself sitting a bridge in the high, cold winds waiting to hear back. I got bored and antsy quickly.

A string of phone calls were then sent off by me. I called Ang, Loreli, and Wendie to see if they could look up online how far the next exit would be for me to walk to while Todd drove up. It seemed like a really dull plan to just sit by an off ramp for four or five hours waiting for him to get there, and I had gotten myself into the full swing of walking that day with all my on/off road trekking. No one was home, but after a little bit Ang did call back. We tried looking up exits to no avail, there was some strange thing going on where it was saying there were exits that I know there weren't since I'd passed those spots. In the end I just decided I'd simply head off anyway. I knew Colorado City was only ten miles away which, theoretically, I could do in just over three hours. Just before setting off, Todd called back.

The Couch Surfer had no interest in a part way ride to Denver. I guess he didn't like the idea of being dropped off in an area he didn't know at all late at night, which is understandable. It didn't matter though, we'd already gotten our brains going on the idea that I'd be picked up that night. Having wrapped that up, Todd told me all he had to do was grab Shalain and gas up, then he'd be on his way, likely getting to me by 10 or 10:30. I told him he could find me walking down the Frontage Road next to the highway and a plan was set.

When I hung up, I got back up and on the road just as a cop pulled up to my off ramp. Apparently there had been concern about my presence there. I'm not sure if the locals were concerned that I was cold, homeless, and hungry, or going to break into their homes, but the cop was nice, IDed me quickly, then sent me on my way.

The remainder of the night I strode down the roads into darkness. Snow started drifting in around sundown and after an hour or so of that glazing the road, my road then turned to gravel before turning away into the mountains. I was about two and a half miles from Colorado City where, through various voicemails back and forth, Todd and I figured we would meet. I could even see the glow of the gas stations in the sky. Unsure of where the road turning into the mountains would go, I hopped the barbed wire again and dropped into the snow covered grounds.

Two more miles overland I trekked, keeping the highway at my side. By now it was a bit of rough going being dark, on a slope in snow, with a heavy pack, and wind kicking snow flurries up from behind me. Once again, I was beaming with glorious adventure as I skulked on to my rendezvous.

Not long after 10pm I was sitting in a Diamond gas station sipping on a coffee, eating a microwavable lasagna, chatting up the cashier guy trying to encourage him to follow his ambitions to travel to Amsterdam. Todd's last voice mail had said he'd be an hour late due to the snow storm slowing the roads down to a 45 MPH drive. It gave me some good relaxation time to change out of my everything that I was wearing, and watch the meanderings of two loads of Greyhound people filing in and out of the store plucking out bus snacks.

Eventually Todd and Shalain arrived, road wearied, to my rescue. We all piled back in the car, Shalain crashed out in the back seat, Todd and I geeking out over the conspiricies of the world and our adventures to come following a brief stay of dental appointments in Santa Fe.